December 11, 2013
by Peter Petersen

Dylan Frick, Mishka Steyn Wrap Up Downwind Dash Series In South Africa


The 2013 PRIMI Naish Downwind Championship decider was held at Woodbridge Island, Milnerton on 11th Dec. The race takes the paddlers 10.1km downwind to Big Bay. Conditions were very contestable with 17-23knots of wind and no swell.

As the country mourns the loss of one of the worlds greatest leaders, our paddling fraternity dedicated this paddle to the life of Nelson Mandela and held a one minutes silence prior to the start in his memory. It was quite emotional event having Robben Island as a backdrop, just trying to fathom how Madiba managed to come from incarceration to making such a profound difference in all of our lives – Respect.

Dylan Frick south africa

But back to the paddling – Dylan Frick was holding the lead going into the 10th and final race of the season. 4 races were cancelled due to lack of wind but fortunately the weather co-operated making it our 6th completed race this year. Ethan Koopmans was only 2 points behind in the championship and after last weeks photo-finish it was a hard one to call. Ethan has been improving in the lighter winds and this weeks conditions were sort of in between. There were lots of runs, but anything under 25knots is considered weak by Cape Town standards, so Dylan was definitely the favorite. The battle for the lower placings was pretty much over so all the focus was on the lead pair. Ethan needed two paddlers to wedge themselves between himself and Dylan to take the championship – a tall ask after the pair had dropped the field by 6minutes last week!

First start saw Armien Wohlgemuth fly onto the runs with Brigette van Aswegen also making a nice impression. The leading lady, Mishka Steyn, got off the beach around midfield and had some work to do. Armien led the first batch from start to finish and ended up in 8th overall with a time of 56.22. Mishka caught up to Brigette and took over 2 minutes out of her – and claimed her first PRIMI Naish Downwind overall title! Mishka is only 16yo and has now finally broken Brigettes stranglehold on the downwind discipline. Mishka now holds the Overall Ladies title as well as the Junior Ladies title – well done Mishka!

The first start had some epic close battles with amongst others Sean Avni and Nico Pfitzenmaier being literally side by side the entire way in a battle that eventually swung in favour of Nico. Nico is a multiple mountainbike champion including the current World Cross Country title – so there is a weapon for you! Sean reckons Nico had a little more left in the tank at the end….and yes, we wouldn’t argue with that….

Stand Up Paddle racing

Another noteworthy performance came from a first timer who had only ever done 2 downwinders prior to his first race. It was with some trepidation, as he was convinced he’d seen the landlord on his training run earlier in the week – but with dad on hand to chaperone our youngest competitor to date, 9yo Cameron Tripney, took to the seas and conquered, 1hr14min and 31st overall – and he weighs 27kg!!!! Brilliant cricket! Some of you may have seen the video we posted earlier in the year of his maiden run – if you haven’t, do yourself a favour and watch it now – it’s a hoot!

In the second start Dylan, as always, got off the beach in a hurry while Ethan dropped it going over a 2ft wave. Peter Petersen quickly filed into 2nd and tried to hang onto Dylan while eying Ethan catching up and taking over the pursuit duties. Brad Adams was hanging in 4th on a slightly wider line with Joshua Robertson close by. Dylan paddled like a man possessed and by halfway he’d built up a sizeable lead on Ethan – there was no way anyone would wedge themselves between Ethan and Dylan and Ethan did not look like he was in a position to close the gap. This meant that by halfway Dylan had pretty much cemented his position as the Downwind King of 2013! Dylan won in 48.54. With Ethan taking second in 50.33…Peter Petersen claimed 3rd in 52.55 holding off the youngsters barking from behind. Excellent performance from Dylan Frick who keeps posting the results – and he is our new Overall Downwind champ 2013!

Stand Up Paddling South Africa

Ethan’s 2nd place overall puts Joshua Robertson into 2nd place in the Juniors while a welcome return from injury saw Kimon Dos Santos take 3rd. This would also be their order in the overall series ranking – so well done Ethan, new junior champ! Ethan also claimed 2nd overall in the Open category while Joshua Robertson took a fine 3rd overall – well done juniors.

In the masters Peter Petersen cemented his masters title with a category win and 3rd overall while Gary van Rooyen was runner up in 6th overall. Third Master was Armien Wohlgemuth with his 8th place overall. Pietro Muscas takes second in the masters overall ranking, while Rob Munro’s consistency sees him take a deserved 3rd overall.

Monika Wohlgemuth improved on her husbands fine performance and took out the Lady masters race and title with Maleen Hoekstra once again taking second. Overall Patricia Kohrs managed to sneak ahead of Maleen to take 2nd – well done ladies – you guys rock!

Thanks to our intrepid timekeeping team, Lolo, Jen and Aden – the Wild Timing Team for making us look like pro’s and our sponsors: PRIMI, Naish, Bondiblu, Bodytec, Ocean Minded, BulkSMS, Vitaminwater, Island Tribe, SUPHQ, Mystic, Watersports Warehouse and SIC

That concludes our 10 race PRIMI Naish race series – we ended up racing 6 out of the 10 weeks and had 60 paddlers ranked. We’ll be back next year when the new 10 race series starts on the 8th of January.

Full Race results: http://www.sup-culture.com/results.html

Stand Up Paddleboarding in South AfricaOverall Results:
Mens Open:
1st Dylan Frick – Starboard 14’ Allstar
2nd Ethan Koopmans – Naish 14’ LE
3rd Joshua Robertson – Naish 14’ LE

Ladies Open:
1st Mishka Steyn – Mocean 14’ LE
2nd Brigette van Aswegen – Starboard 14’ Allstar
3rd Monika Wohlgemuth – Naish 14’ Glide

Juniors:
1st Ethan Koopmans – Naish 14’ LE
2nd Joshua Robertson – Naish 14’ LE
3rd Kimon Dos Santos – SIC 14’ Bullet

Junior Ladies:
1st Mishka Steyn – Mocean 14’ LE

Kids:
1st Cameron Tripney – Hurricane Prone 10’6

Masters (o. 45yo):
1st Peter Petersen – Naish 14’ LE
2nd Pietro Muscas – Naish 14’ Glide
3rd Rob Munro – SIC F-16

Masters Ladies (o. 45yo):
1st Monika Wohlgemuth – Naish 14’ Glide
2nd Patricia Kohrs – Naish 14’ Glide
3rd Maleen Hoekstra – Naish 14’ Glide

*****

2013/2014 PRIMI Naish Downwind Dash Series – Final Leaderboard

#NAMEBoardClassRace #1#2#3#4#5#6Best 5
1Dylan FrickStarboard 14' AllstarOpen0.70.73'20.70.74.8
2Ethan KoopmansNaish 14 LEJunior35'30.70.7228.4
3Joshua RobertsonNaish 14 LEJunior247'74421
4Peter PetersenNaish 14 LEMasters7'6663324
5Tyran CooperSIC 14' BulletOpen8740'1071042
6Greg BertishSIC 14' BulletOpen35452734'44
7Brad AdamsFanatic 14' FalconOpen151116'85544
8Kimon Dos SantosSIC 14' BulletJunior48936'27957
9Pietro MuscasNaish 14 GlideMasters6910142734'66
10Rob MunroSIC F-16Masters19'171311111466
11Sean AvniCoreban 14' DartOpen20'131912101266
12Chris BertishSIC 17'6 BulletOpen35'223273468
13Mishka SteynMocean LELady junior16141517'91670
14Armien WohlgemuthNaish 14 GlideMasters3536'12156876
15Tom KingFanatic 14 FlyOpen536'53627780
16Brigette van AswegenStarboard 14' AllstarLady171218'18151981
17Craig GinsbergNaish 14 GlideMasters12211736'142084
18Christopher HowellNaish 14 GlideOpen211820191234'90
19Michael FietCoreban 14' DartOpen14101436'273499
20Doug JenmanNaish 14 GlideOpen2536'32241934'100
21Ivan van VuurenCoreban 14' DartMasters3536'842734108
22Mark HerdSIC F-16Open262931'231618112
23Alex NeusolCoreban 14' DartOpen36'1930362734'112
24Cameron ReinNaish 14 GlideOpen133640'362734'112
25Guy BubbNaish 14 GlideOpen103640'201334113
26Wayne RobertsonCoreban 14' DartOpen23262527'1821113
27Jason WallbangerSIC 14' BulletOpen181640'362717114
28Gary van RooyenCoreban 14'Masters93640'36276114
29Nicky CarstensCoreban 14' ProtoOpen3536'1192734116
30Grant DonaldCoreban 14' DartOpen2425'22222226116
31Oscar WollheimNaish 14 Glide ASTMasters111540'362734123
32Monika WohlgemuthNaish 14 GlideLady Masters29'2427262129127
33Wade KeetFanatic 14 OOJunior36'2224212734128
34Steve TripneySIC 14' BulletMasters22282936'1732128
35Barry BoswellNaish 14' GlideOpen363640'162715130
36Craig GirdlestoneNaish 14 GlideMasters272734'292429136
37Adrian van VarikCoreban 14' DartMasters343037'302024138
38Ernest van RietFanatic 14 OOOpen362040'362727146
39Nico PfitzenmaierNaish 14 GlideOpen363640'362711146
40Patricia KohrsNaish 14 GlideLady Masters3536'26282734150
41Tim StarkeStarboard 14' OOOpen36'3628252734150
42Tammy RobartsNaish 14 GlideLady363640'362521154
43Glen ThompsonNaish 14 GlideOpen3536'23362734155
44Derrick FrazerCoreban 14' DartMasters323140'362334156
45Tiaan VogelCoreban 14' DartOpen362340'362734156
46Brian WhiteCoreban 14' DartMasters2836'33362734158
47Tarryn KyteCoreban 14' DartLady333640'362728160
48Riaan RautenbachStarboard 12'6Open36'3636362725160
49Clellind FivazNaish 14 GlideLady30353536'2734161
50Dean PhillpsCoreban 14' DartOpen363239'322734161
53Maleen HoekstraNaish 14' GlideLady Masters353440'342633162
54Craig FisherCoreban 14' DartOpen363640'362529162
55Jonathan DonnerNaish 14 GlideOpen363640'312734164
56Cameron TripneyPRONE 10'6Lady363640'362531164
57Eddie TheronNaish 14 GlideOpen363340'362734166
58Dave SmithPRONE 10'6prone363640'332734166
59Daniel StokellCoreban 14' DartOpen363640'362534167
60Kim Du VenageCoreban 14' DartLady363640'352734168

SEARCH THE HISTORY OF SUP (2011-2023)