HART FEELS HE’S FINALLY ARRIVED AFTER BREAKTHROUGH NATIONAL TITLE
Uli Hart has won an Under 23 ICF World Championship, claimed victory at the iconic Cape Point Challenge and stood tall on the overall podium at the Doctor, finishing third.
But after winning his first South African national surfski title over the weekend, only now does he feel like he belongs.
“It was a really strong field and it was a proper downwind in Durban,” Hart explains to The Paddler. “So it was good to get a ‘real one’. I’m pretty happy about that.”
“It’s quite cool to be someone with an SA Surfski title. It’s a competitive one to get.
“Hank has had a five-year streak, so to now join him in the ranks of having one… not many people can say that.
“All of the good guys were on the start line, and in a downwind, anything can happen. Everyone has the skills. It makes you feel like you’ve arrived.”
Hart’s reflections are well-placed – this was a proper downwind.
Although it was flat at Durban Point when the field of more than 110 paddlers gathered for the start, out to sea, removed from the protection of the Bluff, the wind was starting to blow.
“As you go, the runs get bigger and bigger, and the swell grows, making it more and more complex.” Hart says.
That didn’t calm the elite men’s field, though.
They didn’t give an inch, jumping into their skis from chest-deep water once the start sounded.
At the front of the field in that opening sprint, five-time defending champion, Hank McGregor.
“Hank jumped on his ski the quickest and set the pace.” Hart recalls.
“After the buoy, the wind chop started picking up and I was on Hank’s first wave, so I surfed left to get my own line in the runs. From there, I started trying to set my own pace that might have hurt the others.
“It was pretty fast, even for me,” he laughs.
Hart’s race plan was clear.
The course to Umdloti was 23 kilometres long, but he wasn’t going to be leaving anything in the tank.
“I wanted to try and break everyone up and see what happens,” he says.
“I got a few runs on Hank and decided, ‘Alright, I’m just going to send it.’ I did, and it seemed to work.”
That’s not to say it was all smooth paddling.
Hart would encounter two more major hurdles before the finish.
The first was actually finding it.
“The whole last two or three kilometres, I couldn’t see where the turn buoy was,” he recalls.
“I came in quite early and had to hammer it up the coast for the last kilometre.”
Even though he’d now found the finish, the final challenge was reaching it.
As is so often the case in Durban, the shorebreak was solid. And Hart knew that one wrong move could derail his race.
“I didn’t want to arrive at the buoy and have everyone come up on me for a sprint finish,” Hart says. “That’s where you make mistakes.
“When I got to the buoy I looked around and realised I could take a breath… then just went for it.
“You just have to back yourself,” he laughs. “Speed is your best friend.”
Hart flew onto the sand with enough of a gap to soak up his first South African senior surfski title.
The 23 year-old crossing the line in 1 hour, 25 minutes and 53 seconds, which was exactly 30 seconds ahead of Mark Keeling (1:26:23) in second place and the legendary Dawid Mocke (1:26:55) in third.
Hank McGregor (1:27:06) and Josh Fenn (1:28:11) rounded out the top five, in what was an extremely competitive field.
To view the full results of the 2024 South African National Surfski Titles, click here.
Michelle Burn recaptured the women’s crown ahead of Kira Bester and junior paddler Georgia Singe.
To read about Burn’s victory, and why it provided some important reassurance ahead of October’s World Championships, click here.
Victory also gave Hart reassurance that his own paddling journey is on the right path.
“I feel like I’ve been training really well,” he says.
“I’ve been focusing on marathons for the last couple of months, then in the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to get in the ocean as much as I can, paddling all around Cape Town to try and get exposure to different conditions.
“You never know how you’re going to go in a race. As long as you back your skill, back your strength, then anything can happen.
“When I was at the front of the race early on, I thought, ‘This is my race now, they have to bring it to me.’ That felt pretty cool.”
“It’s definitely a confidence-booster. You gain more confidence in your skill with every good race that you have. This is a really cool one for me.”
Now, it’s back to training.
Hart is eyeing off another heavy block of training ahead of the Canoe Marathon World Championships to be held in Croatia in late September, before the Ocean Racing World Championships in Madeira 10 days later.
He’ll compete for the Under 23 K1 title for the final time, while also partnering with McGregor in the Senior K2.
The fact that Hart was the one to end McGregor’s incredible run of five-straight South African surfski titles has added even more significance to this win.
“It’s really special,” Hart admits. “Initially, he wanted me to drive the K2 for marathon because he thought he could help me more from the back, giving me advice. But we just go faster with him in the front,” he laughs.
“It’s really cool to be able to see his style of racing and how much belief he has in himself and his ability. He brings so much composure to the start line.
“Even to be able to race him in singles, you just learn so much. He’s still a super competitive guy, really fit and really strong.
“You might get him one time, but he’ll always come back stronger. He’ll fix up a plan, he always comes back with something… it’s a great attitude to learn.”
