CapeArgus
22 Dec 2004
By MURRAY WILLIAMS
When you see those little Cape birds that migrate more than 10 000km northto and from the Arctic every year, it strikes you: where do those tinybodies muster such stamina?
Meeting young Wendren Milford of Fish Hoek, you're left with the same question.On Saturday she became only the third woman to complete the toughest oceanpaddling race on the African coast, the Sunshine Coast Challenge - 255kmbetween Port Elizabeth and East London over four days.The 20-year-old set out with 51 fellow paddlers in single surf skis and 52in double surf skis on Wednesday morning.Four days later, after 30 hours of paddling, she was blinded fromover-exposure to the sun. She was burnt to a crips, her legs blistered. Butthe salt from her tears had dried. She had made it!The PE-East London race is more than 20 years old and takes place everysecond year.For three months Millford had trained four four hours a day – everymorning, every evening."The race blew my mind," she said. "You can prepare your body, but youcan't train for it emotionally or psychologically. That part was thehardest."
Day One is traditionally the toughtest day: 76km with no fresh supplieswaiting on the beach at the half-way mark - no stops along the shore lineat all. Paddlers set off armed with around six litres of sustainance incamel pack drink bags and laden with bar ones and energy bars. Millfordcrossed the line 7.5 hours later.Day Two began in drama. Surf estimated at between seven and 11 feet high
pounded WoodyCape. Paddlers had to first punch through wave after wave toget to the open sea. At least a handful did not make it – theirhigh-performance crafts having been snapped like matchsticks by thepounding surf.Then, halfway through the 54km course, a vicious headwind reared up -slowing paddlers to a crawl. After eight hours and 54 minutes, withdarkness and exhaustion approaching many paddlers were still out at sea.The race organisers had no choice but to call it a day. Rubber ducks weredispatched to find the paddlers out at sea and order them in.For at least three paddlers, giving up was not an option. Landing ashore,they refused point blank to give up and turned down lifts to the finish.Instead, for three hours, they plodded 10km along the soft sand, their6m-long boats balanced on their shoulders, leaning in the housling wind,until they reached the finish line."It's something we'll tell our grandchildren about," said one of them,Jamii Hamlin of Somerset West.
Most paddlers spent the night at Kenton-on-Sea or thereabouts. Contestantswould typically get off the water and crash straight to sleep."I slept like a bomb in the late afternoons," Millford said. "You'd wakeand have to force yourself to eat, then sleep again." And wake the nextmorning to yet another gruelling challenge.Almost 68km awaited them on Day Three and 53km on Day Four."On Day Four I got arc eye - snowblindness - from the UV exposure, justbeing out there too long," Millford said yesterday from her home in FishHoek."But Dominic Strano, a mate from Fish Hoek Lifesaving Club, sacrificed somuch for me - he was amazing. He stayed with me for six hours. There's noway I would have finished without him."My eyes were so bad that I couldn't see the finish line. He had to
describe it to me. But it was a wonderful ocean trip. We saw loads ofdolphins and little hammerhead sharks. They kept me sane!""I'm glad i did it - it's all done now."
Of the 51 single surf-skis that began the race, only 32 finished. Millfordwas the only woman entrant to paddle a single craft. Only two women havefinished in years past, both on slightly shorter courses.
Said Peter Cole, Cape paddling legend, her trainer and the third-placedfinisher: "QUOTE BY PETER."The men's race was won by Capetonian Paul Marais.
ends//
Murray Williams
(Acting) Assistant to the Editor
Cape Argus