Thundercats are go for Waikanae

IRB crews from Waikanae Surf Lifesaving Club will be in action next week at the Australian inflatable rescue boat championships at Kingscliff Beach in northern New South Wales. Connor Mitchell and Oliver Shivnan (pictured in action with Silke McNaught at the back) and Harry Allan and Travis Mitchell are looking forward to the challenge. Herald File picture

A team of Waikanae racers will be in action next week in the Australian inflatable rescue boat championships at Kingscliff Beach in northern New South Wales.

The championships start on Thursday and go for four days.

Kaiaponi Farms Waikanae’s well performed and seasoned crew of Connor Mitchell (driver) and Oliver Shivnan (crewman), with patient Hamish Swann, will race in the open men’s division.

Harry Allan (driver), Travis Mitchell, (crewman), Swann and Australian-based Summer Rolston will race in the under-23 and open men’s divisions.

A crew from Waimarama in Hawke’s Bay have joined Waikanae for the trip and will also race at the championships in Waikanae colours.

The teams head across the Tasman on Tuesday.

“We’ll be racing in unfamiliar craft, the Thundercat brand of IRB, as opposed to our usual Arancia craft used in New Zealand,” Connor Mitchell said.

“The Thundercats have a shorter hull and a lower-powered engine. It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment but we think we’ll do it well.

“I think we can go over there and be quite successful.”

Both Waikanae teams won titles at the New Zealand championships earlier this year.

“The rules in the Australian competition are different from ours, too, so we’ve been studying up on them,” Mitchell said.

He and Shivnan raced in the Australian titles last year and made the semifinals.

“The Aussie competition is about six times the size of the New Zealand titles, so medalling will be a challenge. But we’ll give it our best shot.”

A feature of the Aussie national championships will be the flying of the Waikanae SLSC flag in the march past held as part of the event.

The Waikanae flag has not been carried at a championships since the march past was done away with in New Zealand a number of years ago.

“It will be special for us to march behind the Waikanae club flag at Kingscliff.”