My 2^nd Trans Agulhas

My first Trans Agulhas

# 0Z1 2004

Mark Pantarotto, 2004

Remember this is my story based on my feelings and experiences it is my opinion and not meant to criticise or put down anybody it is how I saw it and felt after it.

 After my first TA who would have ever thought I would do another one. After coming home I could not stop thinking of the event I had been part of which I believed had been such a huge experience that it had changed my life.  Remember I went on my own with only a helmet and wetsuit to place I had only heard about.  It is an event that you relive and can only really talk about with another person who has experienced it.

 I certainly had regrets of my fist attempt as things did not quite go the way I though it would, mainly due to several reasons those mainly being the following, I did not have a reliable motor I was familiar with,  or could even change the height or trim believe it or not, I used a boat I was not familiar with, a crew I had never met before, prop’s which I didn’t even know what they were or how they went and was unable to practise or properly set up the boat and felt that no one appreciated how well I could have gone or understood the troubles I encountered, I also knew I could go a lot better than I did with better equipment.  I remember telling the guys a few times if only I had my gear, well this year I beat a lot of these guys.

 Why do it at all, there are plenty guys in aus who will never do this event, ever, in fact I don’t think SA will ever see any of the other current racers in AUS. They are happy to do a few very small surf crosses and think they are doing pretty good.  They hate doing long hauls, they will never find out how good they are in competing against the sea or the best competitors in the world.  I challenge every racer in the world to have a go at this event. Its not all about speed at all, it’s about how deep can you dig in your own personal drive and motivation to have a go and meet the challenge.  Go through the pain barrier and face the challenge of the ocean, see how well you can prepare a boat and motor and see if you can drive it to the end.

 The other motivating factor was that no racing of any value to me was happening in Australia, mainly due to a lack of interest and enough competitors in the sport.  Long Hauls here consist of less than 60km with no fuel change on a closed circuit, not much of a challenge.  Also I wanted to race the best long haulers in the world, better to come last and say you have raced the best than to win anything back home.

 I have been so inspired by guys I have met and respect in this sport such as Roy ball, Barry Marx, ludolf torein, Lionel ball, rowan Hawkes mike hatting, Dave Barnett, Hilton Otto, Ingo, Gordon, wimpie Ackerman, Roelf du preez, Fannie cronje and his dad mike, Marcelle Lourens, Leonard Pratt, Roy Macgregor, Lionel, leeon and so many others please forgive me if I have forgotten you.. These guys and anyone who finishes the challenge are great competitors who give advice freely so that you can learn from their experience and mistakes.  I can’t stress how helpful these guys can be and how important it is to them that you must try to at least finish.

 So the plan was started, my other factor which determined whether I went or not was if I at least got a sponsor to cover my airfares at least.  Thanks to my good friend Barry Marx and Hilton Otto I was given the money to pay for the majority of my airfare by H and H transport and Century 2000, thank you my friends.  

 My goal was not to let bad preparation happen to me again. The main motivating factor were my friends Loren ash and Dustin who I go out with most Sundays on runs of up to 200km just for fun in awesome areas such as Moreton and Stradbroke island with similar coastlines  though not quite as rough or harsh as in SA.

 Not long after the New Zealand VS Australia Trans Tasman in Ballina we decided it was time to get serious to be the two Australian representatives in the TA this year. I have heard that there maybe some critics that we were called Aus 1 and Aus two in the TA this year.  To that I can say that those were the numbers the organisers of the Agulhas gave us and secondly I must make note that during the 120km long haul in Trans Tasman which was the main two country long haul I came 1^st and Loren came 2^nd outright and further to this there were no Aus champs in relation to long hauls so I cannot think who should be better names Aus 1 and 2 for the TA 2004. 

 Of course David Barnett is an Australian and has lived and raced in South Africa for the past several years and has not participated in any recent Aus champs or internationals in Aus.  But if David had have said to me lets get sorted as an AUS team from 1 -3, I would have been the first to say great idea Dave as he certainly has done us all proud and been a friend quick to help and give good advice and share knowledge to all persons, I wouldn’t mind Dave on my team any day. Good on Dave for leaving AUS to go on to be one of the best Thundercat drivers in the world.

 So anyway Loren Ash myself and main partner Mark Hobler trained (Dustin and I may have done 2 training runs together at the most) all through winter last year and put in some good miles in all conditions whilst no real racing was occurring in Aus we certainly had a good time as always. One of our biggest concerns was engine reliability Loren’s especially as he had some pretty bad luck, like snapping a crank in two at the flywheel, never seen that before, engine missing, on and off the boil tiller problems gearbox problems and the rest.

 I was fairly confident with my motor but eventually blue a gearbox, both times we towed each other back home some quite long distances, what are friends for anyway. Anyone considering the Agulhas should be very mechanically competent and know their motors well as quick diagnosis of trouble is critical for finishing on time and not getting into trouble at the wrong time. Note the Agulhas is an event where anything can happen no matter how much you do, but if you don’t do everything you possibly can it can place you in a predicament where your life can be at stake, make no mistake about it. 

 Break down in huge swell next to kilometres of cliffs with plenty of great whites around, there is no where to go but into them and be crushed.  The safety gear boats and helicopters are all there to reduce this risk, but you must be able to look after yourself until help arrives.

 So we built our motors at great expense with no sponsors and no mechanical help, building your own motor and getting it to the end with no outside help is an achievement in itself.  Costs of motor for me to prepare complete strip and rebuild with new gearbox approx $4000 should have bought a new one, but it did not miss a beat or let me down once.  Note Dustin gave me some help with $$ on parts such as rings and gaskets which shared the cost to an extent.

 Both of us had our challenges getting our propellers on the boil for maximum speed but grip in offshore conditions.  Loren has some great propeller ideas and gives me the shits at how he can so easily thrash me some times we have so many laughs just against each other that we don’t need to race anyone else, we can judge our progress and pace against each other very easily and makes training good fun. Costs of my propeller work to prepare approx $400 for me used the same old 15” quicksilver for the whole event no problems at all.

 Next to organise, fuel tanks, remember you need 2 - 3 tanks a day required to carry up to 50 litres per section, and no gas no go, grounds for disqualification from the event, so better to carry extra.  I bought 1 new floppy 50, lent 1 50 to Loren, bought 2 from a friend of Karen Bramley’s, borrowed one of Karen and borrowed two from Lionel ball.  Total cots of my tanks alone for the event $1700, Dustin paid $500. This was mainly a result of the fact that two of the second hands we bought over the internet were leaking badly and of no use to us as they could have failed catastrophically at any time.

 Nest step get a boat, I was broke from Trans TAS, wife being off with a beautiful new baby Gabrielle, and so I had no chance of buying a boat.  I tried very desperately to borrow a boat from one of my South African friends but none were available a big ask anyway. (Thanks again Karen for last year)  No sponsor, Dealer or manufacturers in Aus or SA were interested in helping in any way, (why should they) you can only ask.  I will say that Rowan Hawkes of Aquarius certainly offered his help but due to the fact I did not have an Aquarius to train in I thought it best to race a boat Dustin and I were familiar with, (thanks for the offer Rowan).

 Dustin was in need of a new boat so Barry Marx came up with a good second-hand Gemini for us.  It was the nearly the same price as a new boat but was built to a specification and certainly went very well, better than my new one at home.  Cost of second-hand boat $2800 for Dustin as it is now his boat.  Loren and ash went for a new Caesar which Caesar was happy to sell to them for the event.

 Next was the safety gear which is quite an amount of gear but if you are in trouble you cant get to it quick enough for sure, cost $400 between two of us.

 Special thanks to Dustin who did approach some businesses for some sponsorship.  Custom wetsuit designs owner Mr Keith young was happy to supply the whole team with custom wetsuits especially designed for thunder cat racing incorporating padding in key areas around the hips and up the side of the ribcage, best Thundercat wetsuits in the world Keith is available on 07 32574969, Tell him I sent you he will look after you for sure.

 Julbo sunglasses supplied us with some pretty trick iridium coated sunnies so we looked pretty special and a team on the beach, thanks julbo.  They should sponsor me anyway especially with a northern Italian background and heritage where julbo sunnies are made.

 Air tickets for this time of year need to be booked in advance nearly six months ahead, at a cost of nearly $3000 return each.

 We booked a hire van 6 seater to tow and store everything, cost $600 each.  Lucky for us David Barnett and Barry Marx lent us their trailers for the duration of the event 1 towed behind the other, wish we could do that here at home.

 Next send our motors over as we both had troubles getting them prepped on time we had to airfreight them cost $2400 between 4 of us.

 Also we needed to see if we could get someone to do our land crew backup.  Richey Cunningham of AUS team was keen but changed careers prior to the final plan so Dustin came up with a friend of his Troy Traynor.  Troy had no knowledge of boats or racing but was keen to offer help and meet South African women or any woman for that matter anywhere any time. 

 So off we went with 10 days prior to the event to allow for setup and some sightseeing.  The guys had some incredible amounts of luggage including complete floor foam, gearboxes; helmets, jackets, wetsuits and propellers the whole trip as my friend Lionel would say.  This cost extra fright of $300 divided by all of us.  After a brief half day stop in Perth not much to see in that time we were off in a small South African airways plane to Jo berg. From there to Cape Town a quicktrip. In Joberg I was telling Loren how to watch your gear all the time, some guy had some of his luggage from international to domestic and I am sure he was ready to take the gear and go, lucky we kept and eye on him and security may have done something or maybe he was suss in out minds only, but the gear went through ok

 One thing I couldn’t believe was how the guys with mobiles, mainly Loren and Dustin were just love struck and in another world man, I have never seen dudes stuck on mobiles on the other side of the world so much in my entire life, each to their own.  We married guy’s Ash and I just happy to keep in touch at the appropriate time and enjoy our time there.  We married guys don’t have to say I still love you every half an hour.

  Wesell mathie of Caesar was at the airport to pick us up and some how got all of our gear in his car plus all 5 of use, should have taken a picture.  Out for first drinks at blouberg and then to the Ritz hotel at sea point where we were staying for our first week pretty much in the red light district with plenty of action to look at, at night time and in the day time.

 I can’t thank Wessell enough for his help he let us fit our boards out and keep our motors at his workplace.  Especial thanks for the fact he let me fit out a Gemini in his factory and store it there one of his competitors in business.  If only there were more guys like wessell in the sport no animosity or hidden agendas just keen for people to participate and help where he can in anyway whether you area customer or not, thanks so much for you help and camaraderie wessell.

 I got to say that Loren and ash are perfectionists which annoyed the crap out of me, but they certainly may have had the most well presented boat there. 

 Last year camps bay left an impression on me I will never forget some of the best scenery in the world at a location I am lost for words to describe, rated one t of the best beaches in the world on many surveys.  But most importantly some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, but I’m over that, happily married with kids and al that stuff but it’s still good to look.  The single boy certainly made the most of it; in fact we could not keep troy away from there after that, who could blame him.

 So we had a week mainly compromising of getting over jetlag and getting our rigs sorted out.  Thanks to Fannie and Roy for keeping our boat in a safe place until we picked up delivery of it. Dust troy and I booked six months in advance to do a Gainsbaii great white shark dive that was just not meant to be, 2 years in a row for me.  Got to spend a day in car going to Gansbaii to find out here were two trips a day and some how we were on the 2nd trip for the day.  If we had of known, knowing the sea, the morning is the best time to go out but we were not given the option.  We got to gainsbaii and the wind was howling, the guy said it’s too dangerous to go out so a totally wasted day, but it was the right call the boat was only about 24 ft and they wanted to get 12 people on it no thanks.  I knew we would be seeing this area and boat again in a few days anyway.

 So off to Mossellbaii, we finally got there and were ready to put boats in the water, bit of  a long trip seeing we were towing two trailers but it was easier than you think, they towed pretty good.  Mosselbaii is a great little town but probably lacked the nightlife for the guys nevertheless I enjoyed the wind down prior to the big event.

 Pretty soon you see everyone arriving in quick succession everyone checking out each others rigs colour schemes and sponsors, it’s a great spectacle just arriving at van Reinbeck sports field and seeing it get filled throughout the day.  So down to the water motors going well both teams both setups pretty right first go off the bat.  Typical male testosterone dictates you must drag race nearly every guy in sight a good chance to see if your pace is pretty good.  Not too many worries there I thought our suit all conditions set up was working pretty good in the bay probably 78 kph max.  

I saw the quickest boat I have ever seen I am sure there probably doing close to 90 – 95 kph.  Yeah the guy was quick and let everyone know by doing probably 80 kph past the slipway and through 6 -8 stationary boats in the wrong area and wrong time what a dickhead. We all thought yep he’s quick alright but won’t make it to the end; we were right on that call.

So final set ups done rigs finally prepped to go the distance.  My most disappointing experience started pretty quick with the drivers briefing being done 3 quarters in Africans, so us English speaking guys just had no idea of what was being said at all.  Yes it’s their country and their language but it does not promote or welcome international competitors.  Last year it was all English this year all Africans, I will talk more about this later.  I felt sorry for my guys who had not done the event before as it was important for them, lucky for me I had been there before and basically knew a lot of what the briefing was a bout.

Critical misunderstandings can easily occur which can lead to disqualifications, loss of time and penalties and it’s not even your fault as you haven’t even been told what is going on.  We spent the trip with the h and h transport guys who welcomed the Aussies with open arms and were genuinely pleased to have us with them.   We were with Gordon and Colin in one of the h and h pan tecs, pretty comfortable and enclosed bunk rooms with enough room for all of your gear.

The scary thing was Gordon’s land crew were Pete and john two bikies from Jo berg, Pete was bald had tattoos and was huge a pretty tough looking guy.  John was tall and bikie looking too; I was scared of them and what they might do in the night.  But soon we were all mates especially me liking bikes and we all got on very well right from the start. 

Klub Agulhas is certainly the best organisation for inflatable boat racing I have ever seen  behind this club are many volunteers workers who make this race happen, and from what I have seen it is because they enjoy it and love being part of such a great event.  Special thanks goes to the people who prepared our meals everyday and paid special attention to us I hate mentioning names here because there were so many people involved but thanks to Monica and Stian Clotze who certainly made us international competitors feel very welcome it really made us feel part of the event.

Also thanks to the officials once again so many but I only know a few, jurgen, Neil, Colin, Wessell and Hank sorry to the guys I don’t know the names of.

DAY 1

Early start next morning you leave at around 4 am to get to natures valley plettenberg bay so you need to drive to hours, fuel, put gear on and drive the boat 10 km to the start.  Everyone was tense and on edge keen to get underway so we could all relax a bit.  We were putting air in the boat and Loren and ash were at a stage where they could not be told anything about their rig or setup.  Dust and I were happy to guess pressure by feel, Loren thought his boat was ok and a guy came up and lent him a gauge, which had kpa and bar calibrations which we had to calculate to PSI which is what we use in AUS, we were running late but he checked it anyway, so he pumped it up further to probably the max pressure he could guess at being 8 psi which is concrete hard.  I would like to think Loren would be first to admit at the end of the day that helped to beat the crap out of him just that little bit more.

So then you have to line up and then walk the boats to the water.  With our setup with the 2 trailers this was quite hard work as we have to lift one off take the trailer off and then the other and the same the other way.  Also we had 1 crew which put a huge load on all of us.  To me carrying the boat around is harder than racing the boat and it does wear you out. Some of the top teams or other teams have plenty mates or friends to help them with the boats so you save that bit of extra energy left at the end of the day.

So into the water to natures valley no worries all going well day looking good fair conditions  I suppose the right thing to do was wait for loz and Ash but you know race face and everything I started looking for a spot.  I had been given the right tip of where to start but when I got there even a mate was waving me off.  So I found an empty spot middle field and the guy there was waving me, so i’m getting pretty pissed off I mean does everyone own the beach here or what.

So stuff it I parked there and then had a brief argument I mean so petty, the guy I will detail more later as we had run in s last year and this year again I will let you the reader be the judge of whether this is good sportsmanship or not.  But just imagine you have travelled half way round the world spent a lot of money to get here and guys a whinging that you want a spot on the beach next to them, I mean well everyone has to start the race somewhere haven’t they and no one owns the beach .

Brief chat and mental get ready, Dave Barnett came over and we Aussies had a good talk prior to race start. Dave has not only been a great competitor but always keen to talk and encourage or answer any questions.  We took a photo there which I will try to add at the end of this story.  So after a quick briefing prayer we were ready to go. The chopper arrives and the next thing you know you are off.  Well for me I got a hopeless start, lanyard wrapped around pull starter, so away in last 10 – 20 boats.

After getting through the break you settle in pretty quick and I had a good setup which was working quite well with good pace offshore and passing and catching guys fairly quickly.  The swell was big enough to have to be careful not to lose it.  I caught Loren at the first beach stop we came in side by side.  With the rules stating you much stop to the left of the boat in front if there are 20 boats in front of you as in my case you end up a couple of hundred meters down the beach and your co pilot has to run quite some distance.  So the leaders if say they beat you by 10 – 15 minutes on the day well that doesn’t mean they beat you on the water by that much coming into a non cluttered beach stop makes a huge difference you have the choice of line entry and exit plus a small run, very important.

Settle in a bit more and relax grip on controls as much a possible very important for fatigue, easy to say harder to do, but something I am getting much better at.  This is a huge day you need to push good time as it only gets harder to make time later.

However this coast line and day is the hardest on your body, the other days can be harder on you physiologically.  Our stops went well no dramas, passed my mate Barry Marx early in the piece (standard class)   the amount of cliffs and backwash along this day never seems to end and I can’t explain how much this water hurts, you just can’t read it or get good rhythm. 

After half way I settled with another two boats, one was Ingo another H and H boat and a bit of a veteran of this event.  I stayed with him for at least 80 km on a really hard stage, the waves and chop were similar to nth straddie I train so I felt pretty comfortable, head on into swell with chop doesn’t bother me, but the Back Wash does.  I swear I saw a southern right whale coming towards us and pass Ingo on the right by 1 -2 metres but he never saw it and it happened so quickly I m not even sure it happened.

Saw plenty dolphins up to 20 – 30 at a time jumping clear of the water coming towards us an a mazing sight.  Ingo showed me a way around the headland and some scary rocks not a shortcut so much but a much better way to go.  After headland and cliff section one after the other you just wonder when will it ever end and this plays on your mind, even more so when you do not know the coastline or headlands.  Going through the day your mind focuses so that the race part does go reasonably quickly, depends how much pain you are copping from the sea and back wash.

The part I was looking forward to was the last 20 – 30 kms of beach section where you could go full throttle move back in the boat and hold it on.  There as so many spectators and people at the stops you really look forward to seeing them, a big race with over 70 competitors but within a few Kays you are pretty much on your own or with 1 or 2 others only.  Anyway for the crowd I decided to wave as a friendly gesture and I don’t know if other competitor did but anyway the crowd waved back at me and it felt good.

On day 1 last year I had a terrible run last year but this year was reasonably happy,  bar the start, and a couple of slow fuel changes, some quick release gear is the go with big floppy tanks. Well we came in 9^th 14 minutes behind 2^nd and Loren came in 14^th 13 minutes behind me, both pretty happy with that result.  It is a great feeling coming in to the beach at Mossellbaii plenty of spectators, also remembering that some competitors never even get there no dnf's in blueprint that day.  The surf cross I recall being around third spot after lift push and run to the water with the boats, I have heaps of trouble starting this way I was getting cut off by a guy, Lionel Gerekei every time we went around a can, maybe the way SA guys race but no room for two boats I was frustrated as I had more pace and smoother lines, we have changed rules back home to allow race room so no boats gets pushed onto a buoy or into a t bone situation.

Anyway I gave Lionel a fair mouthful of Pantarotto crap and said well I can do the same thing to you buddy.  Anyway he came over later and said sorry and I did too so we became mates pretty well straight from that.  I must say Lionel Gericke a top guy, self sponsored by his business and had one of the best presented rigs and teams. Thanks for the camaraderie in the competition Lionel and tolerating me.  I don’t recall where I or Loren came but it was never last.

Back to camp the boys were stuffed which was to become a problem over the next few days with fatigue and chores required to be done.

The boat was fine no problems setup ok so not keen to change anything which is a good way to go for consistency. 

Getting ready for the next day included buying your own fuel checking the rig out fully engine inspection deflating and reinflating in the morning.  Navigation aids included an a4 map which we laminated and taped to the floor of the boat, important at times for crews unfamiliar with the coast to reorient themselves from time to time if in doubt of location on the coast.  We Also needed to make sure troy knew where to go for the fuel stop and get other guys from h and h had to help look after us and Gordon’s crew to look after us at least at 1 stop as you don’t want to wear the friendship out and if you don’t have fuel ready at your stop well you don’t go any further full stop, fuel = life.  Good nights sleep I recall it was to be the last 1 for while.

DAY 2

Early start, say around 6am, air boats and get fuel tanks sorted to get to the right locations.  Met with a good friend Roelf Du Preez legend of the Agulhas who gave me a good tip which I will still keep to my self.  This is the shortest day but anything can happen Good start which I thought was about 10 – 20 place I managed to get through field fairly quickly on the rough points which are rougher than anything you will see in the majority of the east coast of Australia, mainly due to us having a large continental shelf.  Settled in fairly quickly and got a good pace turned into one of the bays and followed the coastline closely this is a good call if you want to not get bashed as much instead of running further out to sea depends on the day of course but was my preference.

I could see the other boats out to sea and kept them in my peripheral vision. The swell was 4 – 5 metres and was just huge not breaking but great fun one of the modified guys was behind me I remember punching my hand into the air going yehaa and he responded the same meaning how great this section was and how much fun we were having.  I also remember having a great run with chalk Air’s, Zane and Stephan who became good friends as the event went on.

So as the bays go away all the boats come in together again on the points and you try to recognise a boat or team to estimate your position.  In my mind I thought I was around 10^th place and was ¾ distance so thought lets get into it.  Slow fuel change let a few guys past but within 10 minutes was in front of the pack I was running with and started to leave them behind.  It was rough rollers into 2 – 4 metre swell conditions really like back at home like points look out nth Stradbroke Island that section we train in is say 5 km long this one is 30 km long and the water is harder. I thought there was only 15 minutes or 2o km s left but I was wrong, it was heaps more to go.

So we pushed on copping a bit of punishment and could see a guy in front of us, and started to catch him but just couldn’t past after what seemed ages, so I thought well he can have 9^th place I will settle for 10^th., came in to the beach 5^th place outright if I had have known that well I would have pushed harder for longer to pass the guy, one of the mind games the Agulhas does to you.  I came in 4 minutes behind 1^st and 3 minutes behind 2^nd so was very happy with that. 

Loren came in 3 minutes behind me in 14^th place so it shows how close day 2 was great competition with most of the guys staying close together while on the course.  It is a great feeling on the Agulhas to look at other competitors and know you are not alone but quite often you are it’s a big ocean.  You see the helicopter every now and then and think gees I wouldn’t mind the ride up there for a rest and an awesome view.

Surf cross that afternoon was huge 2 metres breaking at least, a very large course and great fun suiting 15’ props.  Nearly had the hole shot only to have a guy fall out (Fannie’s dad mike I think what a team father and son great to do this event together would love to have been able to do same) and then restart. And did not go so well.  Had 3^rd in the bag and could not escape a swell onto c can so missed it Loren took the opportunity and we still have a laugh about it now back home, its racing with 15” props on large course with highly experienced racers, and are what the boats are really made for I believe, but still is dangerous without guards, but different format it seems to work ok over there.

Fatigue setting in some sores and pain glad to get out of that wetsuit everyday, you just don’t know how good that is and I really mean it. No time to relax checking everything again including motor bolts gear box, power head miscellaneous bolts only a tohatsu person knows what to check but all good.  At this stage using 2 trailers was really becoming an effort lifting carrying moving waiting all the time a huge task with only 1 crew.  A couple of Barry Marx crew I remember helped a bit I can only remember Brett and Mikes names but here were more saw us struggling and offered their help as much as they could.  Bearing in mind they also had to look after other crews as well, Agulhas is tough on land crews as well as competitors.

My leg with the plate and screws in my femur was giving me the usual trouble but nothing I couldn’t deal with, when racing it actually doesn’t bother me its only when lifting the boat.  So troy Dustin and Loren were completely spent, ending the day at say 3 -4 PM , they just disappeared to go to sleep or whatever while Ashley I sorted fuel transportation did maintenance, air and boat mechanically ready for next day, I was feeling the burden of the guys not pulling their weight but had trained to make the distance.  Loren was suffering immense pain from a sore back but kept pushing on and showed a face which didn’t make you realise how much he was really hurting.

Nighttimes now were just too much with john snoring and everyone not doing anything about it even though he promised he would sleep somewhere else from then on.  So I slept under the stars and had a good nights sleep.

DAY 3

Day 3 was on my mind because that is where Fannie Cronje warned me about the invisible waves last year which I did not see and flipped my boat end for end flat out.  So I told Loren and ash if you see a place that looks like home back off because that is where I remembered my stack it looked like the southern end of Moreton Island back home.  So took goggles off and went ¾ pace with only one scary moment.  A very long day where I took the coast line option where it would have been faster to go further out to sea.  Nothing much to say except for getting to Saxon reef I saw Barry Marx put his bot 1 foot from the beach and the reef and still nearly took his gearbox off, so I went safe as last year and just went around.

Came into the beach 12 minutes behind 2^nd in 8 or 9^th place with Loren 12 minutes behind in 13 th place once again a reasonably close field still no dnf's recorded.  This day was a day when I probably could have gone quicker but opted to back off the pace slightly in order to finish upright, a decision which you must not take lightly, a long way to go to risk say 10 minutes for a dnf or damage or injury which you will lose further time or not be able to continue on.

Surf cross that day consisted of props off then on start, Loren and I just weren’t prepared as some with quick release securing clips so the old prop nut and spanner was the go with a split pin, I wasn’t losing that prop for anyone.  As would be expected last off the beach but put in our best effort we could pretty sure once again we did not come last.

Night time same as before except some of the guys found me under the starts and tried to find me an empty container which they did.  But after 5 minutes I realised one of the truck drivers was in there as well snoring so back under the stars. Again.

DAY 4

 

What can I say nothing prepares you for this very hard day, to even know where to start, the videos never do this justice, everyone who does the Agulhas has a place they fear and respect to me day 4 is it. Starts early with cape Agulhas southernmost part of the African continent and goes for what seems ages, probably 50 km of sheer and rough cliffs, this year big swell with 25 knot winds kept you on your guard always, I was up in the top ten and rode next to for most of the trip with mike hatting and Barry Marx two very experienced Agulhas competitors and very successful in national championships in the past so I was very happy to be maintaining pace with them.

Hard to recall what to mention here except the concentration level on not flipping in these conditions is absolutely huge and demands every single second 200% concentration or you are gone.  Certainly scary for me as once your over here no one going to stop in a hurry plus its just not a place you would ever remotely consider getting in the water, it’s the great white centre of the world in my eyes and opinion from what I have seen and read and only gets worse as you get closer to Gansbaii where most of the white documentaries are done.

First beach stop with only one litre left in the tank now that was a worry and also shows how much extra fuel you use when the weather is bad, Loren and I on average carried extra 10 – 15 litres everyday to have some in reserve.  Most days’ 45 litres was carried with another 45 litres at the 1str fuel stop sometimes even a 3^rd with 10 – 15 litres this also gives you an idea of how far you go everyday, try doing 90 litres offshore at home sometime and see how far and how sore you get.

The white-water at all the beach stops was huge and you had to be especially careful as once again so easy to get it wrong and go over, the Agulhas it is always better to back off and let someone else flip and move up a place or 2 that simple, (quote Marcelle Loren’s Agulhas legend and good friend 3^rd 2002, standards). Could not get Marcelle words out of my head. And luckily that kept me on the straight and narrow.

Many Agulhas veterans give you plenty good advice but if you haven’t been there and done that and seen the coastline or course before, it’s hard to remember and visualise what they are saying.  This especially goes for blinders reefs and all of that stuff and giant swells with nothing but reef to crash into.  Like Fannie says to me, draws a map in the sand “mark when you leave pearly beach you will see 2 blinders when you are out in the water go through  them and turn right but you only have a couple of metres or you hit reef.” 

I mean, I appreciate these guys’ knowledge and try to visualise it but when you get there man you are so paranoid you think every time you hold it flat you are going to hit something or just get lost or stuck in a very bad area covered in kelp.

The scariest story I heard was that mike hatting thought he was going into kelp but hit a reef, it was a big crash, smashed the gearbox and flipped and took off the starter and cowl.  But Mike being a true champion and competitor started again the next day true example of a great sportsman.

Anyway I was lucky enough to stay with Barry and Jacque all day 4 and got through all the areas without incident, I remember coming into one beach stop next to Barry and heard his gearbox just crunch right out on something and I was 3 metres away I mean what can you do, lady luck plays a part here for sure. 

I remember seeing an island covered in seals which has been on so many white shark documentaries its not funny and then going down an alley side by side with Barry through kelp where the water was calm and it was just like a superhighway and we were both going yahoo and having A great time.  I was having An excellent day and was actually looking forward to the kelp challenge which comes up next, you know reading the swell, hitting the kelp at the right time, so that you lift up over it, hard even to describe what kelp is like just like trees and tentacles coming out of the water, Loren told me later he got stuck on some and reckons it was so thick he could walk across it.

Only once did I hit a 5 metre section flat out and start to worry remembering if you hit it flat out you can damage your prop bush and if you don’t well you get stuck, hard compromise.  Next rolling swell 2 -4 metres and I came around a point and nearly hit and or got dumped onto a huge blinder and thought no way that was nearly it.  Well 5 minutes later I realised I had just gone around danger point one of the most dangerous points in the world and hadn’t even realised it.  Like I have had nightmares about this place from last year when there was 6 – 8 metre swell off this point.

Birkenhead reef which is off here is named after a steamship which foundered in the late 1800’s and is where the historical term women and children first actually comes from.  Apparently there were soldiers on board and not enough boats for everyone. So women and children first, the soldiers and hoers tried to make it to shore but were eaten alive by great whites. Kinda place that is hard to forget.

From Danger point you then head to Hermanous which is 40km and quite a rough bay, I managed to pull away from some other guys back had to slow down nearing the end of the bay as I was unsure where the boats or cans were as  the morning briefing was in Africans.  This stage is also the night stage so we took a good look to try and remember some bearings for where we might be in 6 hours time.

 

The finish was at Hermanous old harbour which is a really classically old fishing harbour which I think is in a very pretty setting.  I came in 5^th place outright 11 minutes behind first place Loren came in 11^th place approximately 15 minutes behind me. The day was mentally, psychologically and physically tough for me and I was on a real high after finishing this day so many world famous places we had passed and so many scenes you can’t forget.  3dnfs today.

I was coming down from this high and was wondering how Loren was going and even though he was only 15 mins behind it seemed ages.  When he came in I went down to bench race because it was just such a full on day and Loren’s reckons I looked at him like a ghost as I couldn’t believe he finished the day especially with his back becoming a major problem now with much pain. 

Surf circuit briefing was more complicated than usual as the race was deep water start with a course next to the harbour and a reef.  I specifically asked for this briefing to be in English but it did not happen.  We were asked later if we understood what was said and we said yes as we had managed before. We should have been asked what exactly we understood to be sure we got the message.  Apparently you had to go around the chequered buoy every lap I thought it was on the last lap as it was right next to a reef and dangerous.

Anyway I pulled the hole shot went around 4 bouys and race restart as apparently I went around the course wrong.  As we were getting the boats ready and everything I did not have an opportunity to watch other races.  2^ndrestart hole shot and win, deep water start and water I liked and no detriment to any competitors. Loren struggled to just get around and that was a top effort seeing he was in such pain.

That afternoon mark Pym took Loren to the doctors or physiotherapist who said no more, swelling on Loren’s spine was causing him to lose feeling in his feet. What do you do, the organisers let Loren and ash get another driver to continue on, a good decision I reckon.  I got all the fuel and did all mechanical prep on my own getting ready for the night stage, plenty more hard work thanks to my south Africans friends who congratulated me on my efforts as they noticed I was  doing most of the work myself, with some of ashes help keep Loren’s boat going as well.

At this stage I was then told that a person was whinging about the restart I caused with the buoy issue, if he was a competitor in my heat maybe he had a case, but no one in my heat had a problem with this and understood what had happened.  I went to the results of the day amidst all the prep for night stage to see I had been penalised last place plus 2 for the night stage.  Well man I was so angry I just lost it, I found the whinger and gave him the biggest mouthful I have given anyone in my life, screaming so loud his hair was blowing backwards,  he was not in my race not in my heat not an official and had caused him no detriment whatsoever.

Anyway this was also the same guy who whinged last year when I let Rocco Erasmus come in before me on day 3 as I had flipped he gave me help he had broke an engine bracket and I thought the sportsman like thing to do was to go home the last 10 kms together, I came last and this guy whinged, mate what an absolute bad sport.

This guy a year later did it again an after I had asked for and English briefing and didn’t get it this was just too much for me.  Sure I was a bad sport for swearing and carrying on but I went half way around the world to give this my best shot 99% self funded and just wouldn’t cop this.  I think Australians certainly have a much better sportsmanship quality here, but with that said it was only 1 guy 99% of the South Africans are the best sportsmen I have ever met, it’s a shame they have some one competing like him but you get those people in every sport.

I apologised for my words and actually got told by several competitors the next day I did the right thing and that he deserved it and one guy got up me because I should have never apologised to the whinger.

I then went to the RD who said he would adjust the times and that I would not be penalised, to date this has not been rectified.  Enough of my drama here for now.

The night stage is not as bad as it seems really you just go a steady pace and get to the end plus it old years night time to celebrate as the last day is tomorrow.  Sick of that wetsuit well you get to put it on again before you go to bed.  Ribs went off first and then the rubber ducks, I was with the front 3 for quite a while even felt on my own out the front for a while but not sure, but anyway doubt crept into my mind as I could not remember the land marks or lights from last year, plus I did not get a chance to ask any of my experienced friends where to go.

So we backed off and let some guys through the moon was out and we followed their wash which lit up like a light, after one bad nearly flip over side ways we backed off and ended up coming in 4^th place 1 –2 minutes behind first pretty happy with that, ash and his new driver came in 18^th place.  Apparently ash knew where to go but so did the driver so they ended up way off course with huge waves and cliffs but made it back although losing ten minutes because of the driver’s idea of where to go.

Glad to get out of the water, while waiting I got to meet the best rib driver I have ever seen   a real nice guy and great to watch race rib sponsored by OK FOODS.  But where was our car Loren and troy.  Troy got pulled over by the police, no light no rego and we found out you needed a special license to tow two trailers in tandem.  We knew about the lights but not everything else.  Lucky Loren was there who has a great way with the law and he managed to get us out of  a bad situation, don’t know how but that’s one of Loren’s secrets.

New years ended with  a big feed around midnight with Hans and Hilton Otto putting on the food, couldn’t spend new years with a greater bunch of people, thanks Hans and Hilton.  All good people including Ingo, Eddie, Jacque Barry Brett ken and Tyrone, sorry to the guys I have forgotten your names.

DAY 5

Not too interested in the boat anymore figured it was going ok so why mess with a good thing took heaps of fuel most of the time as didn’t mind carrying the weight just wanted plenty fuel.  Great start managed to keep Dave and Roy 1^ST and 2^nd within 100 m for age’s right up to the 2^nd beach stop, glad to have said I have raced the best of the best, like I said better to race the best than win any unknown series.  Still big shore breaks and plenty white water, and of course kelp, all good fun today but round the point’s really painful bumpy water again.  Was around 4 th or 5^th and broke a fuel line the only trouble I had all event, not complaining about that 4 – 5 mins lost and away again got passed by a few but managed to overtake a lot of them again seeing the Strand what a sight, glad to be back and now you made it and its all over, plus thousands of spectators.

I finished 8^th place despite the trouble I had and ash finished 13^th with his new driver.

Finishing is the ultimate achievement for everyone, well done to Dave Barnett Tjaat Oosthuizen, Roy ball, PJ Fourie and wimpie ackerman dian gillomee and everyone else I shared the event with.

To the international guys who are thinking of doing this event, make sure you are fit, boat fit , mentally fit and physically fit and know your gear.  As for the language a problem for sure hopefully driver’s briefings will be different in the future especially if it’s your first time there.  Don’t give up keep going forget about others on the water or find yourself a buddy like I did.  Chalk airs Zane and Stephan, Barry and Jacque and Lionel Gericke and Carlo thiart and me shared plenty yahoos and yell in fun whilst on the course, that’s what competition is all about for the average guys, and bench racing at night about what you did that day, the wave was 10 metres and then It gets bigger as you drink more.

Special thanks to wesell Mattie of Caesar for helping us store and set up our gear, couldn’t have done it without you Wessell

Would I do it again?, having 2 greats kids its hard to be away at Christmas for this event, plus no dollars left when you are a dad an children to look after.  If a sponsor well good enough maybe, but for now I think this is it for me.  Good luck to the kiwi team if you go at the end of this year, would have loved to race you guys, and good luck to anyone who takes on the challenge in the future.

Cheers and well done to all competitors.

Mark Pantarotto

COMMENTS

LOREN HALLET

ASHLEY ROWE,

DUSTIN GASKELL