Australian James Porter had a good day out on the water on Saturday and came very close to claiming a course record. Photo / John Stone
Australian James Porter had a good day out on the water on Saturday and came very close to claiming a course record. Photo / John Stone
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.
In steady 15 knot winds and boosted by a following sea that started as a gentle assisting wind swell but finished in a confusing array of white capping waves, a collection of the best open ocean athletes in Australasia were in their element.
Whangārei waka paddler Jamille Ruka worked hard for his 10th place finish on the water on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
James Porter, an oceanski paddler based on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, took line honours for the 28-kilometre course in one hour, 38 minutes and 51 seconds, just a whisker short of claiming the course record set five years ago.
But the most impressive performance of the day came from Pawarenga's waka ama paddler Conan Herbert, who won out in a three-way duel with his younger brothers Sean and Chase to set a new record of 1h 50m 56s.
The Herbert brothers were locked in a fascinating tussle from the halfway mark, where the conditions were prime for downwind paddling. Conan managed to skip away with some impressive surfing skills, cruising up the field to finish in the top 20 overall.
Northland paddling legend Conan Herbert showed his class over the weekend. Photo / John Stone
Sean Herbert finished second, Aucklander Mark Malaki Williams third and Chase Herbert fourth.
Porter was virtually unchallenged at the front of the race though and displayed solid technique and fitness to power away from pre-race favourite Andrew Mowlem, who is New Zealand's top ranked oceanski athlete.
Porter put 600 metres on Mowlem in the final push to the finish line.
"That was the best downwind race conditions I have ever experienced. I tried to pace myself at the start but the runners soon started jumping up and it was just great paddling from then on," Porter said.
"I might have lost a little bit of time looking for the right route in the last kilometre too, so maybe I could have pushed that race record."
Last year's champion Andrew Mowlem cuts a path through the water. Photo / John Stone
Porter and Mowlem would be sure to clash again at an event called "The Doctor" in Perth in November, a 27km race renowned for providing prime downwind conditions.
This year's race, with a record field of 85 paddlers, started inside Tutukaka harbour and sent the competitors on a 28km journey out to a finish line on the eastern side of the Poor Knights Islands.
Race leaders were recorded doing speeds up to 28km/h and averaged 15km/h for the entire race.
A two-man crew, Kereama Payne from Nelson, back, and Chris Farmer from Christchurch, power their way towards the Poor Knights Islands. Photo / John Stone
The event was not without drama, with several paddlers extracted from the ocean by the safety fleet following the race and one disoriented paddler plucked from the ocean after losing his oceanski.
Top 10 results:
Oceanski:
James Porter: 1h 38m 10s Andrew Mowlem: 1h 40m 5s Andrew Newton: 1h 42m 11s Garth Spencer: 1h 44m 25s Sam Newlands: 1h 45m 33s Jeremy Kuggeleijn: 1h 45m 36s Tim McLaren: 1h 48m 09s Kees Ursem: 1h 50m 23s Reid Forrest: 1h 50m 36s Tom Ashley: 1h 51m 52s
