Hank McGregor and Michelle Burn take out KZN titles at the Engen Ballito Downwind!

After an initial postponement owing to rough seas, South Africa’s best finally got the chance to compete in the Engen Ballito Downwind on Sunday, 11 May. This was the final event of the first-ever Paddle Fest - organised by South Africa Surf Ski and sponsored by Engen Ballito and The Pumpsmith - which ran from 18 to 19 April. With perfect conditions marking this race day, it was Hank McGregor (Ballito) and Michelle Burn (Umhlanga) who raced home to first place, overtaking a field of top-class surf ski competitors.

“The Engen Ballito Downwind was treated to sublime open ocean conditions between Tiffany’s Beach and Blythedale Beach, with paddlers covering 18.5km course,” said Barry Lewin, Race Director. “The surf, while challenging, wasn’t too difficult, and made for a relatively even start with Hank McGregor going into an early lead, followed by Matthew Bouman. In the ladies’ race, Michelle Burn led from the start to finish.”

McGregor, who’s an 11-time World Canoe Senior Marathon Champion and winner of multiple canoe and surfski champs across the globe, described the Engen Ballito Downwind as a ‘fantastic day out’, saying: “I’m really happy to take the KZN S1 title for 2025. There were some strong local boys, from Matt Bouman and Brent Chiazzari to Luke Nisbet who made up the top of the podium.

“It was a great launch that was timed right with the weather. The organisers waited long enough for a great downwind but it wasn’t too out of control. It was a fantastic wind building out there that was super-fast. At Blythedale it was quite shallow on the bank but safe and easy to manage. I’m really happy with the event overall,” he said, extending thanks to the sponsors, Mark Jason from Engen and Mark Smith from The Pumpsmith.

Speaking after the event, Michelle Burn, commented, “I was very stoked that the race was able to go ahead as I’ve been looking forward to racing on the North Coast and it didn’t disappoint! There was a wonderful wave to navigate at the start and finish – it was a proper taste of surfski which we haven’t had for a very long time so I’m glad that this race is on the calendar.

“The wind picked up a bit later, but we had good wind. The last 3 or 4 kilometres from the point, the wind had picked up and the angle was great straight to the finish. It was amazing, I got some good, long runs from the point. The entire race was great, it was such a nice distance and the time was spot on. It’s not too long, you don’t get too tired, and everyone had a good time.”

Engen Ballito Downwind Results

Men’s

1st: Hank McGregor (Ballito, KZN) - 1.03.57

2nd: Matthew Bouman (Umhlanga, KZN) - 1.05.23

3rd: Brent Chiazarri - 1.07.08

Ladies

1st: Michelle Burn (Umhlanga, KZN) - 1.12.22

2nd: Saskia Hockley (eMdloti, KZN) - 1.14.34

3rd: Mikaela Brown - 1.39.59

U23 Men

1st: Kwanele Banda – 1.16.17

2nd: Ty Heyns - 1.16.33

3rd: Senzo Ngcobo – 1.18.13

Junior

1st: Keegan Vogt - 1.10.17

2nd: Luke O’Connor – 1.15.39

3rd: Jayden Jansen van Rensburg - 1.16.43

Paddle Fest 2025 kicked off on Friday (18 April) at Durban Underwater Club where interested newbies were given a free SASS coaching session to introduce them to the sport. This was followed by the spectator-friendly 800m Reef Shootout at Vetchies across 7 categories.

With Durban awarded the 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Champs from 17 to 19 October, the Paddle Fest organisers included a preview of the race course on Saturday (19 April) from DUC to Westbrook, culminating in the headline event – the Engen Ballito Downwind on Sunday (20 April).