Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon

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Name: Howard Baxter
Comment: Hi Looking for a lift from Cradock to PE on Sunday the 9th of October. Will contribute towards fuel etc - howard.baxter@standardbank.co.za

Name: Glenn Tippett
Comment: Please dont follow on with Dusi and Comrades, with people buying batches, i understand it all goes to charity, but I am sure there is other ways of doing it

Name: Trenton Lamble
Comment: I live in Durban and I am keen to paddle the pre-Fish (17th /18th Of September) but I am looking for a lift or to get a group together to split petrol costs. Please let me know if you hear of any paddlers from Durban / PMB travelling to the pre-Fish and I’ll try get in touch with them!
trenton6890@hotmail.com
084 2563194

Name: David Aikins
Comment: ‘Ode to The Fish 2010’……(with apologies to Mr. McDonald)
Old McDonald was a clown, EI, EI, O
‘Cos on his farm he had no FISH, EI, EI, O
No ‘have a Hansa here’, or ‘have a Hansa there’
Here a beer, there a beer, everywhere a down, down
Old McDonald was a clown, EI, EI, O

At Tarkastad we had great cheer, EI, EI, O
‘Cos in their pub we had much beer, EI, EI, O
With a ball crush here, and a fanny slap there,
Here a crush, there a slap, everywhere a Brandy ‘snap’
At Tarkastad we had great cheer, EI, EI, O

Ole Tanie Meisie gave us a room for three, EI, EI, O
For my driver, seconder and me, EI, EI, O
With a snoring Alistair here, and a farting Graeme there
Here a snort, there a fart, and sadly nowhere a ‘tart’
Ole Tanie Meisie gave us a room for three, EI, EI, O

On Tripping Day there was no fuss, EI, EI, O
Mark Mulder drove down Keiths for us, EI, EI, O
With a sharp stroke here, and a quick brace there
Here a stroke, there a brace – all before the big day race
On Tripping Day there was no fuss, EI, EI, O

Four hours long we toiled Day One, EI, EI, O
But on Day One we had great fun, EI, EI, O
With a Toast Rack here, and a Double Trouble there
Here a drop, there a slide – everywhere a monster ride
Four hours long we toiled Day One, EI, EI, O

On Day Two we breezed it through, EI, EI, O
Under 3 hours, we really flew, EI, EI, O
With a Gauging Weir here, and a Cradock Weir there
Here a slap, there a tap – everywhere an upright chap
On Day Two we breezed it through, EI, EI, O

But we finished FISH with all our limbs, EI, EI, O
‘Cos on that trip we had no swims, EI, EI, O
With driver Graeme here, and big Al there
Here a drink, there a drink – everynight another drink
But we finished FISH with all our limbs, EI, EI, O

So we’re all ‘FISHED OUT’ now, for this year EI, EI, O
Too much sun and too much beer EI, EI, O
With a sore ball here, and a sore head there
Here a sprain, there a pain – everywhere an aching brain
So we’re all ‘FISHED OUT’ now, for this year BYE-BYE, BYE-BYE, BYE……….
(DAVID AIKINS / GRAEME JOHNSTON / ALISTAIR CADDICK)

Name: Simon Barnes
Comment: My fine wife, Janey, needs a lift from Cradock to PE on Sunday the 3^rd of October – preferably to Sunridge Park, but anywhere in PE would be cool. Happy to contribute towards petrol. Please can you give me a shout on 082 452 1236, or reply to simonb@handmadecc.co.za

Name: Craig "Ogre" Smith
Comment: I only started canoeing last year...Fish now represents the best five days of my year. Better than Christmas and New Years combined! Can't wait for the next one!

Name: Gary Kroukamp
Comment: A suggestion for both Soutpans and Cradock Weir. The public love watching at these 2 sites and the new cleared section at Soutpans is great. I would suggest a public address system at both to let everyone know who is attempting it and to commentate on the action.

Name: Ted Waldburger
Comment: Thanks once again for a great event with superb organisation, in particulatr the improvement to roads is a big help.In the context of remaining competitive with other sports there is a need to review the camping facilities at the Spa. Having camped there for the last 11 years the standard of the abulutions leavs a lot to be desired.There was no hot water in the main men's ablutions -cold showers in 8 degree temps is no fun for the more mature set! The smaller toilet block near our campsite was never going to cope with the demand if the cistern is filled via a drop at a time and of course there are no doors on the toilets but this has not changed over many years.
Finally, on returning to the camp on Saturday around lunch time I discovered my electric camp fridge had been stolen. This fridge requires two people to lift so was stolen with the help of a vehicle and therefore was not the result of a opportunistic passer by.Clearly security is not up to standard.
Having camped at a number of multi day events it does not take a lot of effort to get things right and the main ingerdient seems to be adequate supervision to ensure that facilities are maintained throughour the period.

Name: Marais de Villiers
Comment: The incident at the Spa early on Sunday morning where a paddler shocked a student(s) with a stun gun was excessive and amounted to assault. Irrespective of the revellery amongst the students it is not good for the image of our sport that paddlers take the law into their own hands and mete out this kind of aggressive punitive action on another's person. The perpetrator was lucky that he was not mobbed by the indignant students. There were plenty of witnesses to this callous deed. Please investigate and nip this potentially explosive situation in the bud. Best canoeing wishes and our sincere thank's to all the Cradock folk for yet another wonderfull Fish !

Name: Adlof
Comment: This was once again a very well organised race. Hats off to the organizers and a great thanks to the Landowners as the one way road next to the river below Keith's is just great.

Sorry for the B-batch guys that got lost in the mist must have been an absolute bummer to realize you have paddled an extra 20+ minutes on the dam, better luck next time.

A shoot at the weir is a great idea, but if I listen to all the comments and opinions I believe that if there are funds available that something should rather be done at Toast rack. On the Highveld Crock there is a low level bridge/weir called Rambo's and another, higher bridge has been built on top of the existing one. I believe something similar can be done to Toast rack with a new bridge or a section of the bridge being lifted to accommodate the height of a paddler without hitting his/her head. One of the pillars at the bottom can also be removed that would result in a much easier negotiated entry and exit(smaller danger of wrapping boats an getting trapped and having to be rescued. I believe a number of the top paddler will say the race will be made to easy, but if you want to keep growing the event, the dangers should be managed and not the inconveniences.

Name: Barry Penn
Comment: Congratulations on 2009. Please convey my thanks to the lifesavers (excellent) and those responsible for attempting to keep the portable loos respectable. The one way system for the seconds worked very well. Having escaped with minor head and facial injuries and having witnessed and assisted 3 other competitors with similar injuries (one fairly serious ) I would encourage the use of protective head gear on day one. My helmet allowed me to complete the event. Thank you very much for a great event.

Name: Jennifer
Comments: A huge boquet to the organisers of this awesome race. It is certainly my favourite and I must compliment you on the fantastic suport you give to the seconds (we have recently moved to the Cape and the races in the Western Cape are most second 'unfriendly'). Also for a fantastic initiative with your new website. Glad to hear that the lifesaving at Cradock has been addressed (I was almost a victim two years ago), and the Collet Wier initiative sounds like a fab idea - for paddlers and seconds. Keep up the great work!

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