Fitting finale for majestic 2016 Marine Series

Durban - The 2016 Varsity College FNB Marine Surfski Series came to an end on Friday evening with the Varsity College FNB South African Schools Surfski Championships taking centre stage as Mark Keeling and Kyeta Purchase became national champions whilst Hank McGregor took the overall spoils in the series. Keeling finished second to Bailey de Fondaumiere in 2015, however, he was too strong for the rest of the schools field as he cantered to a win by just over a minute whilst Kyeta Purchase repeated her win of 2015 as she outgunned the other girls to take the national championship title. The overall series title was up for grabs as Euro Steel/Epic Kayak's Hank McGregor was chasing Matt Bouman for the spoils, however, it was the former who produced the goods to claim yet another Varsity College Marine Series title. "It was a perfect evening for racing with a light westerly wind blowing," McGregor said. "There was a great field there and I knew that I was under a bit of pressure because I needed this result if I was going to win. "It was an awesome evening for racing and I am really glad that I have another title," he added. McGregor always knew that he had to finish at the front of the field if he wanted his sixth and final result to count in his favour so when he started the race he made sure that he got himself in front of the rest of the field early. "I decided that I wanted to deliver the hurt from the beginning of the race as I needed to get myself away. "I had a great start and got a substantial lead quickly because I really didn't want to leave it to the final lap because you never know what can happen. "When I got ahead I just tried to chase down the doubles and the paddlers in the schools race so I always had a marker to chase. "It was a fantastic win for me and I am glad that I could get another series win!" he added. The series has become known for its strong field that it accumulates every week and Friday night's racing was no different. "It was good to...

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