Team Best 4 Kayak Centre’s Grant van der Walt claims his first victory of the Varsity College Marine Surfski series when he won the Hansa Surfski Challenge. Photo: Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media
Durban – Friday’s Hansa Surfski Challenge, race five of the Varsity College Marine Surfski Series, saw Varsity College student Grant van der Walt claim his first victory of the 2013 competition to become the third winner in five races.
With The Unlimited Dusi just days away the likes of series defending champ Hank McGregor (Team Best 4 Kayak Centre) and fellow title contender Matt Bouman enjoyed the lighter side of the sport when they opted to paddle with their partners Pippa Elliott and Keren Warlock respectively opening the door for a comfortable victory for van der Walt over his younger brother Brandon (Team Jeep) and Westville resident and regular top performer Adam Nisbet.
“It was fun out there tonight. It wasn’t as hot as it has been so that also made it more pleasant and it was nice to have gotten a win,” said van der Walt. “A heap of guys obviously weren’t racing it properly tonight with Dusi just around the corner but I guess a win’s a win and I’ll take it.”
“It’s always nicer to win against a full field but when things are as tight as they are I’ll take this one.
“It was still quite a tight race early on against my brother. We sat together for the first lap and as we turned for the second I went a bit harder and managed to open a bit of a gap which I held for the rest of the way.”
Tiffany Kruger continued her winning streak in the women’s race as she clinched win number four and now sits well clear of the rest of the leading ladies searching for a series win in 2013.
