DURBAN – The excitement in the South African surfski community is building as the count-down continues to a three-weekend festival of international ocean racing that includes crowning the world champions for 2025.
The 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships – or Surfski World Champs for less formal conversations – takes place from the Durban Undersea Club on October 17-19, but is sandwiched between two of South Africa’s most popular events: The Pirates-Umhlanga-Pirates the week before in Durban, and East London’s Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race a week later.
Durban is considered to be the unofficial “home” of surfski paddling and has been recognised as the birthplace of the sport that developed from a combination of lifesaving and canoeing, so there is a lot of excitement for KwaZulu-Natal to host the World Championships for the first time.
The Pirates-Umhlanga-Pirates (PUP) on October 12 is the world’s oldest surfksi race still taking place annually, and this year will give the top international paddlers a chance to get a preview of the potential World Championship race area under race conditions.
The World Championships course and dates will be decided according weather and wind conditions within the race window period, but there is a strong possibility the paddlers will be racing from the Durban Undersea Club (DUC) to Westbrook Beach, north of Durban, in south-westerly winds. If that is the case, the PUP will see competitors getting a look at sea conditions for much of the course.
Other World Championships course options are DUC to Amanzimtoti in north-easterly winds, or an out-and-back course to Umhlanga if there is no wind, or, as a last resort, a course within the protection of the Durban Harbour in unsafe sea conditions.
The week after the World Championships, South Africa’s most popular surfski weekend will see hundreds of paddlers in East London for the Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race on October 25-26. The two-race weekend has singles races and doubles race on separate days.
The East London event traditionally attracts the biggest field of any surfski race in the country and offers the top paddlers the biggest prizefund of any event. However, the two days of festivities are known as much for the pre- and post-race festivities as for superb downwind racing conditions.
“We are so excited to be able to attract the world’s best ocean racing paddlers to the home of the surfski for the world championships,” said Colin Simpkins, the Secretary General of PaddleSport SA and the Race Director for the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships.
“But just as exciting for us is the fact we have two such special races the week before and week after the world champs, so our international visitors have an opportunity to see the best South Africa can offer on three consecutive weekends.
“The oversea visitors can paddle the oldest surfski race in the world, then compete for world titles a week later, and then just a week after that can take part in an event that combines serious downwind racing with good prize-money and a great paddling festival.
“So far just about all the world’s best ocean paddlers have indicated they will be in Durban and a lot are adding the extra races to their itineraries. so this is going to be a great showcase of South African ocean paddling – and of course KZN offers some spectacular tourist attractions so there really is something for everyone.”