SURF LIFESAVING - Hang in there boys!

IT LOOKS suspiciously like a craft built to keep lifeguards on top of the water, but the latest piece of sporting equipment to land on the beach patrolled by members of the Whangarei Heads Surf Lifesaving club is proving tricky to master.
The damaged surf canoe was donated by the Ruakaka club early this year and repaired by students at NorthTec in Whangarei to be seaworthy enough for action this summer.
But getting the canoe seaworthy is one thing, finding four lifeguards with the skills to stay in the boat is proving another.
Whangarei Heads club spokesman, and occasional canoe crew member, Rob Howes said that, while the canoe was providing a lot of entertainment, he doubted if the arrival of the Whangarei Heads crew would be sending shockwaves through the surf lifesaving competition scene.
"So far canoe training has consisted of more swimming training than paddling," Howes said.
But the arrival of the surf canoe is also a sign that the Whangarei Heads club is still making big strides. Until now the club's entire focus has been on surf patrols. Now they are established enough to start developing "surf sports" in their ranks as well.
"We will probably try and put a crew in a couple of local carnivals, just to see how we go, but nothing more serious than that just yet. This is our first step into competition, so it is sort of our first bike with trainer wheels," Howes said.
"Until now we have sort of struggled for enough members, but now we are bursting at the seams and this is the next evolution of the club if you like. It will give our members another set of opportunities," he said.
But to date those opportunities have consisted of trying to find paddlers who can steer the canoe on to a wave, and once riding the swell back to the beach finding the secret of staying upright.
"We have been doing a lot of swimming. It is all a lot of laughs though," Howes said.