| Paddlers | Brigitte Le Court de Billot & Jacqui (Jax) De Billot |
| Boat | Double Surfski |
| Course | Long Course |
| Year | 2026 |
| Finish Time | 4:08:54.2 |
| Category | 100–119 Women |
| Total Distance | 32 km |
Sunday afternoon, 12 April, 4pm.
A message from Jax in KZN:
Hey Brig… I’ve had a thought. Do you still have a double surfski? I need to come down for a Navy demo — maybe we line it up with the Freedom Paddle and do it together?
My reply: “I’d love to… but I haven’t been in a ski for 18 months.”
Just a Yes
We had never paddled together. I hadn’t gone further than 12 km over a year and a half. No real training. No plan. Trust and reliance on Jax’s experience.
Just a yes.
There was admin — joining a club, registering, figuring things out — but training? That became dry paddling in my lounge. Muscle memory. Hope.
A rushed Tuesday time trial. A borrowed K1. A shaky loop around Intaka Island. Just staying upright felt like a win.
Race Day
By Friday, Jax arrived. By Saturday, we were in the ocean together for the first time. The anxiety was loud. Cold water. Unfamiliar rhythm. Uncertainty. Remount practice. Breath control. Finding flow.
Sunday: a storm rolling in over Fish Hoek, waves building, wind rising. That was our preparation. That was enough.
We stretched on the shoreline. Checked gear. I tested my hydration pack — nothing. A loose hose. A frantic sprint back to shore to fix it. Then… no more time. We lined up at the back.
Game plan: survive. Slow and steady.
Into the Chaos
From the first stroke — it was chaos. Relentless chop. Unstable water. No rhythm. Tap. Tap. Tap. Every second, micro-adjustments just to stay upright.
At 5 km — we capsized. I got back on. Fell off again. Held the ski so Jax could mount first. We climbed back in — soaked, shaken, but sharper than ever. No panic. Just focus.
The ocean didn’t ease. At times the ski was completely submerged — water up to my waist. Still pushing toward the island.
The Wild Side
We reached the leeward side. Took a breath. Ate something. Made a call: wide line. Longer distance. Safer route. We accepted it — this would be over 30 km. No shortcuts.
Then the north side of the island. Walls of water. Mountains.
“Tap, tap, tap,” Jax kept saying — bracing, adjusting, refusing to fall.
Adrenaline surged. The cold cut through everything. The ski constantly flooded. No comfort. No control. We watched others pull out. Get rescued. For a moment — it looked tempting. But we kept going.
Because somewhere along the way, the goal had changed. It wasn’t about finishing fast. It was about not giving up.
The Longest Stretch
The lighthouse felt unreachable. Time stretched. “The island curves,” Jax said. “It only looks like we’re not moving.”
So we kept moving. Stroke by stroke. Birds skimmed the water where I thought there was kelp. Seals slipped beneath us. The ocean reminding us — we were small. But still in it.
Then — cheering. Voices carrying over the water. People waving. Jax asked, “Who is that?” I said, “Those are my friends…” And I broke. Tears. Relief. Pride. Disbelief.
We crossed the line. 32 km. Untrained. Unprepared. Uncertain. But unstoppable.
Somewhere between the fear, the capsizes, the freezing water and the endless swell — we proved something simple and powerful:
We can all do hard things.
— Brigitte Le Court de Billot | 2026 Prescient Freedom Paddle | Double Surfski Long Course | 4:08:54.2 | Category: 100–119 Women
