All Stories
Race 1 saw a great lineup of 42 waka. The sun was out in force and Pilot Bay was lined with supporters and public cheering on the competitors.
RACE 1
The battle of race 1 goes to Mauao Menace and OCC Encore. From the start both teams fought intensely for lead position and after 3km and some valuable race experience OCC Encore pulled away to take the lead.
Mauao Menace took a couple of minutes to figure out where they went wrong and by that time found themselves 300m behind in second place. With local pride at stake Menace put their heads down and over the next 4km closed the gap to sit on OCC's tail.
Next plan was to go head to head for the finish line but adrenalin and excitement saw Menace diving for kina's and once they got their quota were back in the race for a well deserved 2nd place.
RACE 2
Race 2 was graced with Whaingaroa's 4 mixed crews and 2 womens crews, Te Pou Herenga and Team Maketu. Te Pou Herenga charged out to pip Maketu to the lead and the race was on for who was going to outdo the other.
Team Maketu's Vonnie 'The ironman" Souter looked like she was a warrior back in the day of old charging to war, leading her crew in a hunt for lead position. Te Pou Herenga, feeling the deep breathing against their backs did the Usain Bolt and pinned their ears back to hold onto lead position.
Nine mens crews painted the battle scene for race three with a charge for survival to the first turn at Tangaroa Statue. It was all on here and each crew pulled out all the goods to hold themselves in contention for the top 3 placings.
At the 3km mark, Goodyear's two crews were being hunted by Team Toru who are becoming quite the talk with their constant progress as a crew to be reckoned with. Goodyears two steerers, Paul and Lance Roozendaal showed no brotherly love as they continually fought for lead position, making the most of every bump and breath of wind.
After 17km you look forward to the last 1km where you can see the finish line and start relaxing and breathing, but that was not the case here. As crews approached Tangaroa statue for the last 1km home they were punished with a ripping outgoing tide forcing crews to be hearty as and mongrel their way back to the finish line. Save the hardest km for last, ha.
All our appreciation to everyone who supported our event and we look forward to seeing you in November for the next race.
Best Regards
Hoe Aroha Whanau O Mauao