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Vaka Eiva - Goodyear's precision kept Te Tupu at bay
A strong win by New Zealand's Team Goodyear in the Vaka Eiva premier men's team race on Friday still wasn't good enough to rob Rarotonga's Boiler Boys of the race record.
Source: www.cookislandnews.com
The Rotorua-based winners-whose primary training grounds are the Rotorua lakes-revelled in the relatively unruffled waters that prevailed for this year's 36km Pacific Cup, and finished in a time of 2:38:28, two minutes and 28 seconds outside the record set in 2004.
In the early stages of the race it looked like the Boiler Boys of Te Tupu o te Manava were going to take control again.
They had the advantage of an inside position in the race start line-up whereas Team Goodyear started almost farthest out to sea, forcing them to take a diagonal line and longer distance toward the reef at Nikao.
As the field went round the seawall by the weather station there were no surprises in who had come to the fore-Te Tupu followed closely by Goodyear, Herberts on Tour (NZ), Ngakau Toa, Tahiti and Fiji's Kai Wai.
By the 46th minute Ngakau Toa had reeled in HOT to gain third place, which they maintained right to the finish.
Goodyear, however, looking leaner and precisely drilled with quick and masterly changeovers, kept closing in on Te Tupu.
On the western side of the island big swells pounded the reef, and it was here that any advantage from local knowledge of the breaks would have shown, but it was not to be.
At the halfway mark, outside the QR's residence at Titikaveka, Goodyear had closed the gap to just two boat lengths from Te Tupu, and then powered to the lead as Te Tupu slowed for a changeover.
Some adept steering by Goodyear saw them brave a line as close to the reef as either of the two local teams, and it became a heart-breaker for Te Tupu as the kiwis kept surging ahead through the roughest waters in south-easterly winds.
All the way past Muri, Ngatangiia and Matavera, Goodyear inched ahead to open up a gap of 700-800m (about 2 minutes) by the time they headed into the finish line at Avarua. Ngakau Toa, similarly, were in close pursuit of Te Tupu and in the end were about three minutes apart.
- John Woods
Results:
1 Team Good year NZ 02:38:28
2 Te Tupu o te Manava RAR 02:40:19
3 Ngakau Toa RAR 02:43:46
4 Herbets On Tour NZ 02:45:26
5 Kai Wai FIJI 02:45:58
6 Team Xylo AUST 02:47:33
7 Tahiti 02:49:39
8 Manukau NZ 02:53:22
9 Kai Ngaru NZ 02:53:22
10 Dukes 02:58:37
11 Kai Puna AUST 03:06:17
12 Kia Kaha NZ 03:08:10
13 Anuenue HAWAII 03:15:37
14 Wind and Sea Italia ITALY 03:19:54
15 Poly Vaka AUST 03:21:10
The Rotorua-based winners-whose primary training grounds are the Rotorua lakes-revelled in the relatively unruffled waters that prevailed for this year's 36km Pacific Cup, and finished in a time of 2:38:28, two minutes and 28 seconds outside the record set in 2004.
In the early stages of the race it looked like the Boiler Boys of Te Tupu o te Manava were going to take control again.
They had the advantage of an inside position in the race start line-up whereas Team Goodyear started almost farthest out to sea, forcing them to take a diagonal line and longer distance toward the reef at Nikao.
As the field went round the seawall by the weather station there were no surprises in who had come to the fore-Te Tupu followed closely by Goodyear, Herberts on Tour (NZ), Ngakau Toa, Tahiti and Fiji's Kai Wai.
By the 46th minute Ngakau Toa had reeled in HOT to gain third place, which they maintained right to the finish.
Goodyear, however, looking leaner and precisely drilled with quick and masterly changeovers, kept closing in on Te Tupu.
On the western side of the island big swells pounded the reef, and it was here that any advantage from local knowledge of the breaks would have shown, but it was not to be.
At the halfway mark, outside the QR's residence at Titikaveka, Goodyear had closed the gap to just two boat lengths from Te Tupu, and then powered to the lead as Te Tupu slowed for a changeover.
Some adept steering by Goodyear saw them brave a line as close to the reef as either of the two local teams, and it became a heart-breaker for Te Tupu as the kiwis kept surging ahead through the roughest waters in south-easterly winds.
All the way past Muri, Ngatangiia and Matavera, Goodyear inched ahead to open up a gap of 700-800m (about 2 minutes) by the time they headed into the finish line at Avarua. Ngakau Toa, similarly, were in close pursuit of Te Tupu and in the end were about three minutes apart.
- John Woods
Results:
1 Team Good year NZ 02:38:28
2 Te Tupu o te Manava RAR 02:40:19
3 Ngakau Toa RAR 02:43:46
4 Herbets On Tour NZ 02:45:26
5 Kai Wai FIJI 02:45:58
6 Team Xylo AUST 02:47:33
7 Tahiti 02:49:39
8 Manukau NZ 02:53:22
9 Kai Ngaru NZ 02:53:22
10 Dukes 02:58:37
11 Kai Puna AUST 03:06:17
12 Kia Kaha NZ 03:08:10
13 Anuenue HAWAII 03:15:37
14 Wind and Sea Italia ITALY 03:19:54
15 Poly Vaka AUST 03:21:10
