Mar 21 - Ballito Umhl

But while he has spent a significant
amount of time paddling in rivers,
the sea is his first love. “If I can’t
paddle, I will surf,” he laughs. “That’s
what we love about the lifestyle in
Ballito. You can surf, paddle, dive or
fish to your heart’s content.”
Unbeknown to him, Quinton’s
journey to breaking the world record
started when he met Mark three
years ago. “We became fast friends
and spent a lot of time paddling
and fishing together. He was one of
those people who I just wished I had
met 20 years earlier.”
Quinton was devastated when Mark,
a pilot, died tragically in a plane
crash in March. Shortly afterwards
South Africa went into hard
lockdown.
“When we were finally allowed out,
I got into the ocean and paddled
50km. The next time I paddled 80km.
When a friend asked why I was
doing it, I said I wasn’t sure.”
The same friend, an ex-pat in New
Zealand, also told Quinton that he
lived across the road from the world
record holder for the longest ocean
paddle. His record was 209km.
“I started thinking it was possible
to break the record. The next time
I pushed it to 100km. I was tired
afterwards but, two weeks later,
I did 133km, from Zinkwazi to
Scottburgh.”
With each long paddle, the idea of
breaking the record became more
of a reality and, when a tracking
company offered to install a live
tracking device in his paddle and the
SA paddling group got involved, it
became a tangible goal.
Quinton had to overcome a fear
or two of his own in the process
though. “I was attacked by a shark
off Karridene on the South Coast in
2000. It was a later afternoon and
the shark
launched me into the air and bit my
boat in half. I was also taken out by
a wave in 2005, 6km out off Durban.
My boat broke and I had to swim in. I
had to find a way to pack those fears
away.”
The logistics for breaking the record were complicated and, in order to avoid
paddling in the dark, Quinton had to maintain an average speed of 16km/h,
which would only be possible if it there were good North East winds and he was
able to catch the current that runs from Cape Vidal. His longest training paddle
was 164km from Richards Bay to Durban. He paddled from 7Am to 7pm, arriving
in Durban in the dark in late October. The paddle generated a lot of interest
and Quinton started securing sponsorships from Fenn Kayaks, Spilltech and
Engen Ballito, which were necessary to help cover the cost of R175 000 to have
Guinness officiate and record it.
With meticulous planning and after carefully considering the weather, Quinton
decided on a date and phoned his friend Mark’s wife to let her know. Both were
amazed to find that Quinton had inadvertently chosen Mark’s birthday.
The paddle was a huge success and Quinton far surpassed the record by
paddling 227km in one day. He started in Cape Vidal at day break and eventually
fell out of his boat just past Thompson’s Bay, almost directly in front of Mark’s
house. “I ended up having to go 34km out to sea to catch the current. We were
dealing with 32 knot winds and 8m to 10m swells, so it was quite challenging for
the support vessel. I think they had a harder time than I did at times,” he laughs.
While his friend Mark was the motivation for him taking up the challenge,
Quinton says he has had a number of people reach out to him since then to tell
him how they have been inspired by him to do something different.
“It just felt like something that was possible – and I was looking for a challenge.
We couldn’t participate in any races, so I guess I just made my own race. I really
believe that anyone can do something like this – you don’t have to be special
or very talented. You just have to make up your mind and, if you’re passionate
enough, you’ll do it.”
Quinton’s next goal? To paddle across the Atlantic in a conventional surfski –
something that’s never been done. Watch this space!
March 2021 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga 09