Pietermaritzburg – Fish Hoek surfski sensation Dawid Mocké is steadily readying himself for a personal paddling first as he looks to take on the 2015 Dusi Canoe Marathon from Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon in Durban from 19-21 February.
Kassie Crouse/ Gameplan Media
The five-time World Surfski Series champ has clinched almost every major title there is in the world of surfski paddling however competing in a K1 is something completely new, especially on KwaZulu-Natal’s rivers.
“I decided to give next year’s Dusi a go because I’ve never done one,” explains Mocké. “I started on in 2005 but never finished it, plus it was in a K2 so I’m not counting that so this will definitely be uncharted waters for me!”
“Previously the January slot of the Dusi didn’t work for me because I was always in Perth for the Perth Doctor surfski race. Since the Dusi was moved to February it has worked for me and I’ve always been keen, I’ve just never got around to doing one.
“Should all things go well between now and then though, come February next year I’ll be on the start line!” he adds.
The Mocké Paddling athlete chuckles nervously when asked about his goals for the iconic 120km paddling and running adventure but while remaining realistic, still hopes to be as competitive as he can.
“Look, one thing I do know about the Dusi is that if you haven’t started training now then you’re in trouble. And I’ve been paddling but I haven’t started running yet,” laughs Mocké.
“However, while I’m not the youngest guy around, a couple of other older guys have proven recently that with the right application you can still be competitive so we’ll see how things go.”
Mocké admits to having spent precious little time on the Msundusi and Mngeni Rivers previously and that his unlikelihood of making it up from the Western Cape to KZN in the build up to next year’s Dusi will make his preparations more difficult.
He is however looking forward to the new challenge and believes he has what it takes to adapt accordingly.
“This is will be more of a fact finding mission for me; it’s all about learning the river and experiencing the race. It will also be the start of my 2015 Fish training.
“I’ll go and check it out and even though I haven’t got a river racing background I’ll take my time to figure it out,” says Mocké.
The 64th edition of the Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place from Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon in Durban from Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 February 2015. More information can be found at www.dusi.co.za
