new zealand

An angry sea and some supercharged paddlers gave the 2019 Zest Brokers Poor Knights Crossing ocean paddle race a dramatic edge with race records tumbling thanks to strong tailwind conditions for the event held in Tutukaka, Aotearoa.

“This was one of the toughest races I’ve done in a long time!”. When a campaigner like Oscar Chalupsky says that, you know the conditions must have been challenging. Chalupsky had been in New Zealand for a two-week trip, culminating in the Vaikobi King and Queen of the Harbour race in Auckland.

Tough Course

Given the forecast 20kt Northeaster, the race directors chose a 23km route known to the locals as the “Gnarly Northerner” from Whangaparaoa Peninsula on Auckland’s north shore to finish at Takapuna Boating Club.

The first leg of the course was a flat-out 3km grind into the wind and waves, and any thought of an easy downwind was quickly dashed as the paddlers rounded the buoy.

“Once we turned, I thought it would be an easy downwind,” said Chalupsky. “But I was mistaken!” In fact they were faced with almost side-on wind and waves, extremely testing, technical conditions.

Looking at some of the race tracks on Strava, you can see how they were catching runs by turning right and then working left to stay on course for Takapuna.

Walking away with it

Defending champion Andy Mowlem reached the turn-buoy first and simply paddled away from the rest of the field, finishing in 1:34:54, a massive 3 ½ minutes ahead of second placed Sam Mayhew.

Andy Mowlem hurtles downwind...

The real race was for second place; a tremendous dice between Mayhew, Toby Brooke and Oscar Chalupsky.

Takapuna club member Mayhew, with the benefit of local knowledge, took an inside line to the final turn and pipped Brooke by seven seconds with hard charging Chalupsky (“you can see from my heart rate that I pushed my hardest in a long while!”) just two seconds behind.

"Finally cracked the podium!" said an elated Mayhew on Facebook.  "2nd place at the King of the harbour which is also the NZ Ocean Ski Nationals!"

"6 years ago I started falling out of a SLS ski for the first time," he added, "and later that year I did my first king of the harbour. I was near last but I was hooked..."

In the women’s race, Rachel Clarke dominated, coming in 7^th overall in the single skis with Rebecca Cole and Danika Mowlem coming in 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

“VERY technical conditions out there today,” said Clarke, “… which I loved!”  It was Clarke's seventh win in this iconic event.

Rachel Clarke heads out into the chop at the start...

Sam Mayhew might have left it too late in the race to try to catch the eventual winner, Aussie Sam Djoden, but he did experience a proper adrenalin spike when a breaching orca landed right next to him…  The 2018 Zest Brokers Poor Knights Crossing lived up to the paddlers’ expectations – wildlife, exquisite scenery and hard racing…

“I had two or three extended, paddles-down, ‘whooosah!’ moments”, said race director Garth Spencer, “and I pulled a few cheeky chakas for the camera crew on the media boat…

“…but those failed to show up in the photos, so there’s no proof, haha!”

New Zealand’s National Ocean Racing Championship once again graces the Surfski World Series on the 7^th March 2015, after a hiatus of a few years. International paddling greats have used this event to pick up some much sought after points in order to determine the best marathon distance surfski paddler in the world, and last year’s winner South African Dawid Mocke (3 X World Champion) was no exception. 

The – 2014 New Zealand surfski scene is building up to a hightened level of activity, with solid races every few weeks currently, as we head into the countries premier event, the 2014 King Of The Harbour, sponsored by Vaikobi Paddlewear. This event doubles as Canoe Racing New Zealand's national ocean racing title event, and is rumoured to have some of the planets finest paddle-weilding atheletes lining up to smash it out in this year's event on the iconic Auckland-Waiheke Island course.

Race Details

The predominant spring SW’s and late summer NE’s make this a logical choice for an Auckland-to-Waiheke or Waiheke-to-Auckland course respectively. Last year I clocked 24.29km on my Garmin over the same course, which again will be held between Waiheke Island's picturesque Matiatia Bay and Birkenhead Wharf in Auckland's inner harbour. For the first time in many years, this event has lost it's standing on the World Surfski Series, meaning the door is wide open for a New Zealand based downwind event on the series calendar for future years! 

 The 24.29km course between Waiheke Island and the Auckland harbour, on the Hauraki Gulf:Prone to strong SW's and the odd NE weather system.

Who?

Dawid Mocke and Cory Hill (current 2014 World Surfski Series second and thrid placed respectively) are both starters at this early stage. Local boy, Mike Walker, Olympian and multiple previous King Of The Harbour title holder, was heard to have exclaimed at the recent Butty Moore race in Taurange: "I just CANT retire now, bloody Oskar (Stielau) beat me mate!", making him a potential podium contender. A number of other Australian representative paddlers and even a few South Islanders are expected to make the trip. Birthday Boy Ben Fouhy, NZ’s Olympic Medallist in the K1 1000m event and last year's victor could be a threat if his calendar allows for a show this year (Happy Birthday Ben!). Rachel Clarke, last year's Queen of the Harbour is rumoured to be using this as a stepping stone to her Molokai ascent for this year, keeping the womans rankings honest.

New Zealand Season Roundup

A number of local and offshore events are listed below, rounding out the New Zealand surfski season for 2014, with the Tahitian Mara'amu classic drawing the keenest paddlers deep into a winter training regime. There are a number of weekly race series, and the prominant ocean paddling clubs of Takapuna Beach (on Auckland's north shore), and the Royal Akarana Club (for the city boys and girls) have regular squad sessions throughout the week. If anybody is interested in finding out more about the New Zealand surfski scene, jump online the Pacific Paddlers Facebook Group and have a chat with the local paddlers, whether it's a boat you need for an upcoming race, or some more information on events or clubs.

• 22 March: Great Barrier Island Ocean Race, NZ. A new entry onto the NZ calendar, and timed to capatilise on the competitors travelling to Auckland for the King Of The Harbour the following weekend.
• 29 March: King Of The Harbour, Auckland, NZ. New Zealand's premier Surfski Event! Ferry trips and down winds on the menu.
• 30 March: Dawid Mocke Paddling Clinic, Auckland NZ. Learn to Paddle like the Pro! A number of demo-boats will be available for this clinic day, including the long-anticipated new Flow Kayaks 'Addict'
• 12 April: Mighty Bo Herbert race, Tutukaka, NZ. Will we see the same monstrous seas that smashed many a boat at last years classic?...
• 13 September: The Mara'amu World Series Surfski Race, Tahiti. As overseas competitors fly through Auckland to this venue, local paddlers are capatilising on this, and seeking to establish an exciting event in the World Heritage NZ Northland east coast waters a week or so before the Mara'amu event. Watch this space!

Brad Hayes of Hamilton, New Zealand sent us some pics of his new surf ski... 

Cockpit, complete with 'Bumfortable' seat (Pic: Brad Hayes)