WAKA AMA - Auckland woman cruises to victory

It took paddlers about two-and-a-half hours to complete the 28-kilometre Bo Herbert Memorial waka ama open sea race off the Tutukaka Coast on Saturday.
Around 60 paddlers completed the course, starting at Matapouri, north to Whananaki and south to Wellington's Bay and then back to the finish line in Kowharewa Bay.
Aucklander Bernie Murch was the first solo paddler to complete the women's event, finishing ahead of Cook Islands paddler Tamsin Dearlove.
The woman paddlers got a 20-minute head start on their male counterparts, the first across the line - in this case Murch - holding off the men to be awarded the Bo Herbert Memorial title for the year.
Herbert's son Conan, one of the event organisers, won the solo men's race ahead of Michael Scott, with Guy Phillips in third place. A 1.5-metre swell and a 15-knot breeze made reasonable conditions for the race. Meanwhile, Paul Woolford won a surf-ski division, with Rob Nichol second and Tim Grammar third.