Prescient Freedom Paddle starts the long walk to world titles

CAPE TOWN – THE 2024 Prescient Freedom Paddle on April 27 will kick-off an exciting new surfski series aimed at preparing competitors for the World Championships which will be held in South Africa in 2025.

The Euro Steel Surfski TRPL Crown is a three-event series made up of the country’s two biggest surfski events – the Prescient Freedom Paddle in Cape Town, and the Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race in East London in November – and a new event, the Durban Downwind, which will be a test event for next year’s World Championships on a date yet to be finalised.

The International Canoe Federation announced last week that Durban had won the bid to host the 2025 Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships, and the release of details for the Euro Steel Surfski TRPL Crown will give surfski paddlers a second reason for celebration.

The three events chosen for the series will give paddlers in each of South Africa’s three coastal provinces a “home” event, while the elite competitors will also have the chance to compete for what is being described as a “very generous” prizefund.

The exact figure of the prizes for the top 10 men and top 5 women are yet to be announced, but the organisers promise the prizemoney will be “a significant figure” and will help paddlers in their preparations as they aim for World titles on home water in 2025. All finishers of all three events will also receive a medal and a “high-class goodie bag”.

The winners will be determined by a simple calculation of total time for all three races. Paddlers must compete in S2 (double skis) for the Prescient Freedom Paddler around Robben Island, and S1 (single skis) for the Durban Downwind and Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race.

“South Africa has been one of the world’s top country’s for canoeing and surfski paddling for many years, and we have some of the best organised surfski races with some of the best conditions for off-shore paddling,” said Colin Wilson, CEO of Euro Steel.

“As long-time supporters of canoeing and surfski paddling in South Africa, Euro Steel want to help our elite athletes chase more world titles, and we are convinced this series will contribute to some South African World Champions in 2025.”

Prescient Freedom Paddle race director Robin Tindall is delighted to have the race as the first event in the exciting new series.

“I think it is so appropriate to have the event with a route around Robben Island as the launch pad for a series which could play such a big role in developing the sport in South Africa,” said Tindall.

“We all know the significance of Robben Island in South Africa’s history, and I think it is symbolic and appropriate for paddlers to start preparations for a South African-based World Championships with a paddle around the famous island.”

There is no direct entry fee for the series, although paddlers will have to enter all three events.

This Prescient Fredom paddle is open to all human paddle-powered craft that are seaworthy enough to complete the course, including surfskis, SUPs (stand-up paddleboards), prone boards, ocean rowing boats and ocean kayaks.

Entrants have the option of two distances: The majority of the field will tackle the full 27km route, which takes all competitors around Robben Island. However, for those paddlers and rowers not confident enough to take on the open-water crossing to the world-famous island, there is a shorter, 10km option. In this event the competitors will hug the shoreline past Mouille Point and Green Point to a turning buoy just off Sea Point, before returning back to the start/finish area at the Oceana Power Boat Club.