The Malta Canoe Union is preparing for its fourth 10km time-trial of the season, being held on Sunday. The previous event, held recently at Marsam-xett Harbour, was by far the most exciting so far.
The strong winds from the east, along with the race handicap mechanism, induced tough competition for the top positions.
Paddling out from the Manoel Island marina into the open required strong effort to negotiate the resistance caused by the continuous cross currents.
Gerald DeGaetano, once again, pushed hard for most of the distance, overtaking three boats during the race. He was close to third position, in elapsed timing, after crossing the finish line a few seconds behind Peter Zammit.
DeGaetano completed the distance in a corrected time of 53:33, four minutes better off than Zammit who had a satisfactory performance displaying his expertise in tackling long distance paddling in rough conditions.
Zammit kept a solid pace throughout. His last frantic efforts saw him chasing Iveta Leo and Ian Busuttil but had to settle for third position.
The leading duo were pushing hard for positions. Busuttil, who was first off the line due to his better placing in the previous race, clocked roughly the same time. He retained his first position even though he was pressed hard by Leo.
At the beginning of the second lap Busuttil expected Leo to be at a safe distance behind but the margin between them slowly got shorter and only a final effort to the finishing line enabled Busuttil to retain his position.
All this created one of the most exciting finishes in a long time with four competitors ahead of the field and vying for the honours.
Craig Wightman was fifth behind DeGaetano after catching up with previous winner Joe Borg at the bridge in the first lap.
Borg was significantly slowed down by the waves due to the particular boat he had opted for on the day.
Double kayak record
The time trial was also attempted by Joseph Cremona and David Galea in the first K2 (double kayak) this season.
They covered the distance in 62:10, setting a course record in the process.
Top three positions:
1. Gerald DeGaetano (K1 sea kayak) 53:33 (65:55) 2. Peter Zammit (K1 sea kayak) 57:53 (65:47) 3. Craig Wightman (K1 sea kayak) 63:12 (68:00)