Auckland underwater racers on top again

Andy Douglas emerges from the tide to clinch a second straight victory for the Wettie Young Guns in Saturday's Russell to Paihia Snorkel-Scuba race. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A group of diving enthusiasts from Auckland has has won one of Northland's longest-running, and most peculiar, underwater contests for the second year running.

The Wettie Young Guns completed the 3.5km Russell-to-Opua snorkel-scuba relay race in 44m 10s on Saturday, beating 14 other teams.

The 32-year-old event involves five swimmers taking turns to snorkel across the Veronica Channel towing a decoy duck as a baton and the sixth team member completes the last 200m in scuba gear, then sprints up the beach and downs a beer.

The race had been won seven times in a row by the Port Valley team from Opua until injury forced it to pull out in 2013.

The team members were back this year but were no match for the Aucklanders.

Port Valley teams finished fourth and fifth, with first, second and third taken by Auckland entrants.

This year's event featured a family team for the first time. Six members of the Edwards family of Kerikeri and Paihia, ranging in age from 11 to 53, finished in a respectable seventh place with a time of 58m 37s.

As is now tradition, the race was preceded by an ice-breaker swim at Paihia in which children have to retrieve blocks of ice from the water to win prizes.

Later snorkel-scuba competitors took part in a spearfishing contest with the biggest catches auctioned for charity. Proceeds will go to Russell Radio, Bay of Islands Coastguard and the Paihia Fire Brigade.

The race start was delayed when the fire brigade team was called to a medical emergency.