Northland Twilight Paddle Series at Kowharewa Bay

Stay Classy Whangarei
Whoops, we mean 'Glassy', which is a really corny way of hinting that the sea conditions for the latest race of the Northland Twilight Series staged a few 1000kms south east of Cyclone Yasi were flat as a pancake that had just been thrown under a bus.
But a huge turnout at Kowharewa Bay, the new Twilight series venue, hinted that the majority of paddlers quite liked the idea of cruising along the Tutukaka Coast, a piece of water we hasten to add for, oh I dunno, the 154th time, is rated as one of the top 10 coastal destinations on the planet.
They were all there; the golden gals who turned up, looked at the race map, and duly went off in the opposite direction; the waka crew who were keeping most of their paddling powder dry for the Bhutty Moore Memorial Marathon in Tauranga this weekend; the multisport boys who fronted with an adventure double and their fast down river racing craft; and the Ski Appreciation Society who lined up as the back markers for the 8km handicap race.
More than 30 paddlers turned up for the race in total. A handful opted out of racing and went for a cruisy paddle instead.
The race started and finished in the picturesque Kowharewa Bay, headed out the Tutukaka Harbour then south to Motutara and return.Tracey Gilmore took line honours in her OC1 waka with an impressive 51m 33s after leaving with the Novice paddlers with a 15 min handicap with Kristin Edge and Anne Wetere, thanks to a navigating a small short cut, cruised in second over the line.
Bruce Murphy was the first of the scratch paddlers home in 45m 30s, chased hard all the way by Tim Eves who crossed the line just over a minute behind.Gavin Buckingham was the best of the kayakers in 53m 54s while the most impressive paddle of the night went to Rod Lovatt, who had just returned from Perth.
Lovatt managed to crack to hour barrier on his Think Evo ski (56m 40s).Racing was followed by a BBQ at Kowharewa Bay.Most of the waka fleet are lining up for a tough few weeks.  
Many are paddling the Bhutty Moore Memorial (35km, singles only) in Tauranga, then heading back to Tutukaka for the Sugar Loaf Marathon (35km, OC6) on Feb 12 before tackling the Takapuna Cup (42km, OC6) and beginning the countdown to the Bo Herbert Memorial Race at Tutukaka (35km, singles) on March 5.In the meantime the Northland Twilight Series continues, with racing set for Ngunguru next week.
Results._8km Kowharewa/Motutara Coastal Drag RaceLine Honours:  Tracy Gilmore (OC1) 1, Kristin Edge/Anne Wetere (OC2) 2, Bruce Murphy (ski) 3, Tim Eves (ski) 4, Gavin Buckingham (Kayak) 5, Alan Moscrip (kayak) 6, Sally Roberts/Dave Howard (double kayak) 7, Clayton Wikaira (OC1) 8, Greg Jones (spec ski) 9, Birgit Meister (Oc1) 10, Steve Bowker (ski) 11, Simon Koller (ski) 12, Anne McKay (OC1) 13, Darren Collins (OC1) 14, Ed Firth (ski) 15, Andrew Venmore (OC1) 16, Tony Carne (OC1) 17, Dan Gots (OC1) 18, Marsh Williams (OC1) 19, Rod Lovatt (ski) 20, Nigel Draper (OC1) 21, Ngaire Pehi (OC1) DNF, Anna M (Oc1) DNF, Sherry Carne (OC1) DNF.
Handicap (Novice 10 mins, Kayak and Waka 5 mins, Ski scratch): Murphy 45m 30s, Eves 46m 33s, Edge/Wetere 49m 33s*, Jones 49m 48s, Gilmore 51m 33s, Bowker 51m 48s, Koller 51m 50s, Buckingham 53m 54s, Moscrip 55m 56s, Roberts/Howard 55m 56s, Wikaira 55m 59s, Lovatt 56m 40s, Collins 57m 27s, Firth 57m 28s, Venmore 58m 37s, Carne 59m 17s,  Meister 1h 1m 8s, Draper 1h 2m 20s, McKay 1h 6m 10s, Gots 1h 8m 18s.*dodgy course!!