Trans Agulhas 2014/15
The choppy, unpredictable sea showed pilots no mercy during the 27th Trans Agulhas, with more than a dozen floor boards breaking in half, engines ceasing and bladder sacks bursting. Add to that the physical injuries many of the participants suffered, and it’s evident this year’s race was as tough as ever. There’s a reason the Trans Agulhas Inflatable Boat Challenge is called “the world’s toughest and longest inflatable boat race in the world”.
It isn’t so much a race in the sense that the fastest time takes all the glory, but more an endurance challenge so that each team that manages to cross the finish line can count themselves victors. On December 28 last year, 34 boats lined up for the start of the 2014/15 Trans Agulhas in Plettenberg Bay. More than 650 km later, the race ended on New Year’s Day in Strand, where thousands of holidaymakers welcomed the teams at the finish line. Of the 34 boats that started the race, only 26 made it to Strand. It was a particularly enjoyable race for Team Nulandis/Pomula who, after 12 years of participating in the Trans Agulhas, achieved the fastest time of the 2014/15 race. Stefan Lindique and Tony Ingram, who finished the race in a time of 9:51:58, were over the moon with the result.
