The 2013 Durban Boat and Lifestyle Show once again lived up to expectations, with three days of magnificent weather greeting the Durban Marina from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 June.
Nearly 12 000 people ventured down to celebrate the tenth year of the aquatic show, with everything from small model boats to R6.5 million catamarans on display.
The main attraction was, of course, the Coca-Cola Cardboard Boat Race, which took place over the Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s event was a closed race organised by the eThekwini Maritime Cluster and was the end result of a week-long campaign called Welcome to the Water, in which 50 learners from around the province were given the opportunity to participate in a sailing course with Offshore Sailing Company.
The learners were then able to apply what they had been taught by creating and racing their own boats on Saturday, an event which was won by Washington Ngwabe, racing for the team The Star. His was the only boat to complete the course, as the other 6 competitors’ disintegrated along the way.
The race on Sunday was open to the public and saw seven teams racing around a track of 150m. With the designs consisting of only cardboard and duct tape, two teams were unfortunately unable to get out of the starting blocks, as their boats took on water.
After a close tussle at the finish, Gabriel Hilton-Clarke (10) from Morningside eventually took first place, receiving a R1000 cheque in the process. Nicolette Crozier, representing The Goblet Girls team, came agonisingly close but ultimately had to settle for second place, while 8-year old Jessica Lilly Jolley from Umbilo came in third.
Event organiser, Barry Meehan was delighted with this year’s show, “With the global financial situation, the show was smaller than previous years but we still managed to have some awesome attractions.”
The Durban International Boat and Lifestyle Show will be back, same time, same place in 2014.
