This was it for the W1 Harbour Series 2011. Spring weather and good racing conditions had us race to Browns Bay, back to the bridge, again to Browns and back to Mana.

Plenty of spot prices made some happy paddlers, thanks again to Groundswell for the support this year.

See you again next year, and good luck this coming season.

W1

• Grant Barribal, Master Men, 55:35
• Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 55:36
• Paddy Rimene, Open Men, 56:34
• Neil O’Brien, Master Men,  57:26
• James Sadler, Master Men, 59:59
• Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 1:01:22
• Mariana Hodges, Open Women, 1:02:25
• Pa, 1:02:26
• Mereana Hodges, Master Women, 1:03:09
• Paki Rawhiri, Open Men,  1:06:21
• Oliver Smith, JNR Men, 1:07:38

W2

• Gary Paul and Morgan Waikari, 58:19

Surfski

• Jack Manners, 51:20
• Matt Archer, 51:34
• Liam McMaster, 53:13
• Trent Luka, 55:41
• Dave Ryde, 58:11
• Gracen Luka, 1:06:07

W6

• Turama Red, Junior M, 59:12
• Turama White, Junior M, 1:07:33

…for your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz.

Kia Orana tatou katoatoa ite aroa ranuinui o Te Atua

The Porirua Canoe Kayak Club would like to thank all the teams who took part in the Mana Island Challenge and contributed to making it a success.  The competition on the water was challenging as competitors had to battle weather conditions as well as the other crews.

For the second year running high winds and rough seas put a stop to any ambitions of racing around Mana Island but the open 20km plus was still a tough course for crews to paddle through.

Paddlers attended this year’s from as far afield as North Auckland, Gisborne, Hastings,  Motueka and Christchurch. There was also the addition of a junior division and a novice division which really opened up the event to paddlers who wanted to just get out there and give marathon racing a go.

Conditions in the harbour were mild to breezy but as all of the locals know this changes dramatically once you hit the harbour mouth when a fresh Northerly wind is prevailing. The race schedule commenced with the W6 novice, W6 junior divisions and W2 novice divisions racing a 10km course which ran from Onepoto out to Browns Bay and then back again.

The second race of the day was for the W6 women’s and W6 mixed divisions racing a 20km course which ran from Onepoto to Pa Point, out to Browns Bay and then back again. The first W1 races of the day also ran at the same time with the men’s and novice divisions racing a 10km and 5km course respectively. The W1 men and women raced out to Pa Point and back and faced tough open sea conditions once they were out of the harbour.

The W1 novice paddlers raced a triangular course inside the harbour safe from open ocean conditions. The final race of the day was for the W6 men’s division racing the same 20km course as the women and the W1 women. Conditions were again difficult in the open but the crews thrived on the challenge with the action on the water fast and competitive.

A number of the paddlers racing in the W6 men’s division had just completed the 10km W1 race,  so it was a case of hang tough and work with your crew to get home.

Click here for the results

Here some photos

Further info a www.poriruacanoekayakclub.co.nz

The Porirua Canoe Kayak Club Inc would like to acknowledge the following sponsors who have helped make the Mana Island Challenge 2011 a success:

Porirua City Council

The InterIslander

Coffee Supreme

Lawrence Hynes – Trophies and Paddle

Te Puni Kokiri

Maori Trustee

Titahi Bay Bakery

NZ Police

Whitby Sections

Alana Joe from Bodyworks for spot prizes

Naomi Brooking from Remax for her spot prize and team photos

Lawrence Edge Photographer

Branz

PCKC would also like the following for their help:

TBSLC -venue and support crew and cooks

Jeanette Grace and her team from Ora Toa

Hoe Tonga for race resources

Nga Kaihoe o Aotearoa – promoting our race

Support boats and drivers – Ray kearns, Paul Mcvicar, Byron and his team

Tuhiwai Hauiti-Parapara – Race Coordinator

Greg ….our DJ

Chris Parata

Faalogo from PCC for race promotion

Karmen and her team on registration

Local waka clubs who have been supportive of our race through the use of waka and trailers

All our volunteers

PCKC families for contributing to prizes, food and helping out with race preparations

Last but not least – all the paddlers who have travelled near and from afar to come and support our event, you have all helped make the race a huge success.

PORIRUA CANOE KAYAK CLUB INC.

Who would have thought, strong cold southerlies and rain, yet one of the best turn-outs for the series.

The distance was about 9km on an inlet course (Mana to Browns Bay to Mana Bridge to Browns Bay and back to Mana). There was some confusion regarding the names as people came in, let us know if you think there is a mistake.

The next event is on Sunday, 21 August.

W1 Men

• Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 56:12 (Pegasus), 1pt
• Neil O’Brien, Master Men, 59:58, 1pt (Hurricane), 1pt
• Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 1:00:45 (Tomahawk), 1pt
• James Sadler, Master Men, 1:01:03 (Pegasus), 1pt

W1 Women

• Mariana Hodges, Open Women, 1:02:52 (Hiko), 1pt
• Mereana Hodges, Master Women, 1:04:01 (Surfrigger), 1pt
• Anita Taggart, SNR Master Women, 1:04:59 (Hurricane), 1pt

Surfski

• Marty McDowell, 52:13, 2pts
• Matt Archer, 52:21, 1pt
• Trent Luka, 54:35, 1pt
• Nikki Cox, 55:13, 2pts
• Brad Lawson, 55:38, 1pt
• Katrina Madill, 57:39, 1pt
• Alice Ashford, 1:06:39, 1pt
• Adelaide Cox, 1:09:45, 1pt
• Karly Maxwell, 1:09:46, 1pt

W6

• Aniuwaru, 53:42, Open, 1pt each
• Turama White, Junior M, 1:01:52, 1 pt each
• Turama Red, Junior M, 1:03:02, 1pt each
• Mena’s Angels, Junior Women, 1:03:26, 1 pt each

…for your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz.

Well, it’s winter but hey, there is a core of paddlers that won’t let that get in the way of things. Today’s conditions included a light southerly and some cloud, but otherwise fine.

The distance was 9.7km (Mana to Pa Point and back). The times are slower than usual as we timed it perfectly and had the tide against us going out and coming in.

The next event is on Sunday, 24 July.

W1

• Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 57:24 (Pegasus), 1pt
• Jack Wormald, Open Men, 58:09 (Tahitian V1), 1pt
• Neil O’Brien, Master Men, 1:00:18, 1pt (Hurricane), 2pts
• James Sadler, Master Men, 1:01:59 (Pegasus), 1pt
• Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 1:02:32 (Tomahawk), 1pt
• Terry Gardner, Master Men, 1:13:06 (Hurricane), 1pt

Surfski

• Marty McDowell, 53:00, 1pt
• Mike Tate, 53:00, 1pt
• Danny McDowell, 1:01:59, 1pt
• Patrick Taylor, 1:06:00, 1pt

…for your Groundswell paddle, go to www.fergskayaks.co.nz.

Matariki Marathon 2011: Waka on the waterfront …

Thanks so much to all the paddlers, volunteers and race committee who participated in our 4th Matariki Marathon held in Wellington. A fantastic day was had by all 139 competitors. Race results are now available on the following link: Results 2011 Matariki Marathon Photos are now available at this link  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoetonga/show/

A huge thanks to all our sponsors and congratulations to:
Alaena Dixon and Gary Paul recipents of $150 starter package at Altitude Inc, Matt Archer who now has a gym membership at BPM Fitness Centre, Massey University, Hikoikoi Ladies who have won a Team Personal Training session and Sefo Misky an Individual Personal Training Session with Alana Joe from Inform Fitness.

To help us evaluate and plan our next regional event please take a few minutes to respond to this survey –
Just click on this link to respond: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VP27C2G

Thanks to our major sponsor for this event: Wellington City Council

For information about how to improve your performance through altitude training, go to www.altitudeinc.co.nz

 For more information contact Alana Joe, Sales and Marketing Director .. read more here www.informfitness.co.nz

Some sun and light winds made for great race conditions, with a little bit of a bump and some groundswell coming back from Pa Point. The distance was 9.7km (Mana to Pa Point and back). Again an excellent turn-out and it’s good to see two junior crews battling it out, a close finish.

Note that the third race of the series will be on Saturday 2 July instead of the Sunday 3 July as originally posted. See you at the next event, rain or shine.

W1

• Jörn Scherzer, Open Men, 54:23 (Pegasus), 2pts as at least three in division
• Paul Jackson, Open Men, 54:44 (Surfrigger), 1pt
• Turi Hodges, Master Men, 56:06 (Wainui), 2pts as at least three in lower/higher division
• Neil, Master Men, 56:42, 1pt (Hurricane), 1pt
• James Sadler, Master Men, 57:05 (Pegasus), 1pt
• Rob Taggart, Master Men, 58:34 (Surfrigger), 1pt
• Piki Emery, SNR Master Men, 59:05 (Tomahawk), 2pts as at least three in lower/higher division
• Mereana Hodges, Master Woman, 59:56, 2pts as at least three in lower/higher division
• Fahina Tulepu, Open Men, 1:01:32 (Surfrigger), 1pt
• Bob Thomas, Master Men, 1:03:53 (Fusion), 1pt
• Chris Fox, Master Woman, DNF (Hurricane), 1pt

Surfski

• Matt Archer, 48:31 (time adjusted due to wrong turn), 2pts
• Mike Tate, 48:30 (time adjusted due to wrong turn), 1pt
• Sandy Winterton, 53:44, 1pt
• Dave Ryde, 54:00, 1pt
• John Taylor, 58:56, 1pt

W6

• Aniuwaru (Open Mixed), 44:46, 1pt each
• Turama White (Junior), 51:14, 1pt each
• Turama Red (Junior), 51:30, 1pt each

An aweseome turnout and lots of sun and a light Nor-easterly at the first race of the W1 Harbour Series in 2011. The race started at Mana, around the reef and back to the channel, around the buoy and then to do it all again. The total distance was 9.5km. Well done everyone.

Below some race photos, if you go into the actual photo stream on flickr, you can download the photos in their original size.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

For those wanting some training sessions under the week, Team MAKAIRA is training every Thursday nights ánd Sunday mornings in the W6, please contact Joern, or just come along with your team for some competition. On other days, come along to Mana in the single, the more the merrier. Yes, its dark and cold but we go out every day unless conditions are very rough and unsafe. We normally do between 10 and 14km around the inletw and meet at just before 6pm at Mana every Mon, Tue, Wed, and at around 4.30pm on Fridays.

W1

• Jörn Scherzer, Open, 54:32, Pegasus – 2 pts as at least three in same/lower division
• Grant Barribal, Master, 56:20, Hurricane – 2 pts as at least three in same/lower division
• Paddy Rimene, Open, 58:20, Reva – 1pt
• George Faalogo, Master, 59:48, Hurricane – 1pt
• Rob Taggart, Master, 1:00:19, Hurricane – 1pt
• Piki Emery, SNR Master, 1:00:50, Tomahawk – 2 pts as at least three in same/lower division
• James Sadler, Master, 1:00:51, Pegasus – 1pt
• Ricky Kopa, Open, 1:08:32, XTSea – 1pt
• Sarah Snow, SNR Master W, 1:10:27 – 1pt

• Marty McDowall, 51:46, 2 pts as at least three in same/lower division
• Matt Archer, 51:49. 1pt
• Mike, 51:51, 1pt
• Andrew, 53:04, 1pt
• Sandy Winterton, 54:30, 1pt
• John, 1:01:07, 1pt
• Patrick, 1:06:19, 1pt

W2 (Hawaikinui), 1:12:55, 1pt

W6 (Aniwaru), 59:31, 1pt each

Sunny conditions and relatively calm conditions made for some good race conditions. Times were relatively slow but this was again likely due to the relatively low tidal conditions and some head wind.

24 junior teams and 12 senior teams battled it out on Sunday.  This was fewer than expected, but this is likely due to the postponement caused by poor weather conditions on Saturday.

A big thank you to all volunteers and officials that made the race a success.

Due to double back up timing, a rechecking of the race course in the morning, and tight handling of the aligning at the start, the results as recorded are reliable and accurate.

Please click here to download the race results. (Note that where races were cancelled due to withdrawals of teams, the respective races appear empty in the results.)

The organising committee would also like to get your feedback on this event (and the W1 Sprints last week). You can follow the link below to a short survey (takes 5 min), your feedback will contribute to improving future events.

Click here to take the survey

Sunny conditions and relatively calm conditions (in light of the usual Wellington weather) made for some good race conditions. Times were relatively slow but this is likely due to the relatively low tidal conditions and some head wind.

A big thank you to all volunteers and officials that made the race a success.

Unfortunately we had some technical problems in the morning. However, we largely made up for lost time later in the day.

Due to double back up timing, a rechecking of the race course in the morning, and tighter handling of the aligning at the start, the results as recorded are reliable and accurate.

Please click here to download the race results.

With regard to qualification for Nationals 2011, please see Hoe Tonga’s policy in the W1 Sprints race information package. The committee is currently compiling the quota places and W1 entries to Nationals 2011 should shortly be available on www.wakaama.co.nz.

Hoe Tonga Quota Nationals 2011

Note that if you, or any of your W1 paddlers that qualified, do not intend to race at Nationals, please advise Marinna at marinna@paradise.net.nz immediately. This is so that other paddlers on the waitlist can be moved up to fill the quota.

Thank you.