PADDLER 89
A BACKPACK AND A KAYAK
With a backpack , a kayak I had designed in the garage , and a girlfriend in tow , I bought a one-way ticket to the USA , walked into the Perception factory , and announced they needed to hire me as a designer . I grew up in the Dancer ( which I loved ), but it was time for something new , I asserted .
It was the summer of 1986 . Bill Masters , the founder , hired me on the spot . We filed for the necessary work permits , and I went to work under the watchful eye of expert shaper Alan Stancil . My first boat for them was the Corsica .
Through this , I met seven-time world champion slalom paddler Richard Fox . He had agreed to have his winning slalom design produced in plastic , and the task fell on Alan and me to convert this to something producible .
Bill , Alan , Richard , and I visited Japan to promote the new plastic Reflex with Mont . Bel amongst Japan ’ s slalom and whitewater paddlers . At the end of the week , a slalom race was held , and I placed second to Richard . He pulled me aside and told me that slalom would be in the 1992 Olympics and that I had the talent to be a good slalom paddler .
At that moment , everything changed . He gave me his composite Reflex in the US , and I began to train .
Alone .
EASLY , SOUTH CAROLINA
I was in Easly , South Carolina , and there was nothing in the way of slalom infrastructure near where Perception was located . I set up gates on the Saluda River in Greenville , and every day after work , I ’ d go ‘ work out ’.
It was an odd thing . I had yet to learn how to train or what to train . Ad hoc , I ’ d go down faithfully daily and ‘ do gates ’. It ’ s not like I could YouTube this .
Then , in December 1989 , I broke my back running the infamous Looking Glass Falls and spent the next three months as an invalid . It would be three more months before I could step back into a kayak again and a full year before I was functioning as I had before , with the ability to paddle the extreme rivers I ’ d come to love .
So , slalom was a useful respite . It allowed me to paddle low-impact and rebuild strength . 1990 , I left Perception and moved to the NOC to train full-time .
Unemployed , penniless , and with employment a limited prospect in Bryson City , I ambled about aimlessly between workouts . Chris Spellius , once a K1 sprint hopeful himself , took me in and allowed me to stay rent-free . He knew the drill . He ’ d been there . He ’ d feed me , and occasionally , I could use his car for the 30-minute drive to the slalom course .
More often than not , I hitchhiked to and from the workout twice a day , every day .
Broke , I ’ d bum food off of passing paddlers . There , I ’ d train with the other US Olympic hopefuls , with coach Fritz Haller , and slowly , I got faster and faster as I understood how to train . Hungry , half the time sleeping under trees at the NOC , Fritz ’ s wife took pity on me and insisted he bring me home ( like some stray dog ), where they gave me a place to sleep and food .
The Reflex2 I was using was not suited to my style , so I designed a slalom boat that would help me paddle my way – more rocker , wider bow , more bow volume , and an easier-to-pivot tail . Andy Bridge agreed to build the boat and gave me one if I could sell it to others . I went to DC , built the mould and the first boat , and competed at the nationals , where I didn ’ t do well .
APARTHEID ABANDONED
Then the hammer fell . South Africa announced that they would abandon the Apartheid racial system , and in return , the IOC said that they would allow South Africa to compete in the 1992 games .
I called my father and told him I was returning to train to make the South African team .
My economic status remained the same upon arrival . The other hopefuls lived and worked in South Africa and would train before and after work . In an oppressive drought , rivers with enough water were few and far between , and the best site was in Escort ( Kwazulu Natal ), a spot where , by chance , 1972 Olympic silver medalist Norbert Sattler was coaching the Austrian team over the winter .
Befriending Wayne Nicol , who lived in Weenen , the next town over , we set out to design new and better paddling equipment for the South African market . Years of isolation under Apartheid had left them without the equipment we took for granted in the US . It wasn ’ t much money , but it was a place to stay and some food .
Weenen was a solid 40-minute drive to the slalom course in Escort . Each day , I ’ d hitchhike there , spend the morning training , go down to the McDonalds afterwards and steel packets of crackers and ketchup to make a ‘ sandwich ’, sleep under the trees , do the afternoon workout , and then hitchhike back to Weenen , where we ’ d spend the evening designing and sewing the equipment we were creating .
Occasionally , I ’ d borrow Wayne ’ s Land Rover to drive to the Tugela to work out in ‘ bigger water ’. This car was a sight to be seen . With no seat or windshield , I ’ d sit on a cooler and squint into the wind . It had neither 1st gear nor reverse , so driving was tactical .
A CARJACKING
On one occasion , returning after dark from my workout , two minivans were parked across the desolate country road , blocking it off . I had Wayne ’ s 38 pistol in the cooler , and assuming this was a carjacking , I stopped early to ponder my options . Turning around was not one of them . It was hours of driving the other way , and I had only a few litres of petrol in the car .
I left the pistol where it was , drove up to the cars , hopped out , and , with a smile , asked if I could help them . They walked over to the car , saw its pitiful condition , and decided I wasn ’ t the right person to rob . They let me pass , and I went on my way .
A month later , a gunfight broke out outside the house while Wayne was in Durban getting materials . The distinctive clatter of an AK47 would make a short burst , followed by the retort from a pistol . Pop . Pop . Another short burst – pop pop .
PADDLER 89