Top five Kiwi waterskiers set to take on world's best

Auckland's Ben Mayne is taking his own boat and team to the world championships. Photo / Supplied

Auckland's Ben Mayne is taking his own boat and team to the world championships.

Hopes are high for the five-member New Zealand team competing in the World Water Ski Racing Championships in Queensland's Moreton Bay.

The championships, which start on September 10, are held every two years. Skiers travel at 75 knots (140km/h), often in rough conditions, for as long as an hour at a time.

The five are Adelaide Cox (women F1); Jordan Bradley (women F2); Ben Mayne (men's F2); Columbia Cox (junior girls) and Mitchell Horan (junior boys).

Adelaide Cox, 18, from Wellington, is expected to perform well. The talented skier was unlucky to break her foot in the last championships in Belgium two years ago, when she competed as a junior. This time she will be racing behind the Australian boat White Noiz, a large Belgium-built Bernico hull powered by a 1075hp supercharged inboard.

Another who is expected to do well is 25-year-old Ben Mayne from Auckland. Unlike Cox, he is taking his own team and boat, the Yamaha 250 SHO-powered VMaximize.

Mayne and his team have lots of experience in the F2 class, where 5.8m to 6.4m boats can carry outboards up to 300hp.

Although New Zealand has far fewer competitive ski racers than some countries, Kiwis have enjoyed world championship success in the past. In 2007, when the world championships were staged in New Zealand, Jaaron Fritz won the junior boys' competition.

The world championships begin in Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, next Saturday. There are three further rounds, with the last race on September 17.