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Results - Trans Taupo 2010
There were a mixture of feelings I had standing at the finish of the 3rd Trans Taupo yesterday, but mainly Concern, Jealousy and Respect.
A small amount of Concern because the wind was climbing up to 20 knots plus which was creating 1.5 metre waves and blowing some paddlers slightly off course, Jealousy because I wished I could have paddled the lake, got the blisters, stumbled out of my kayak and ran to the finish, (not driven the lake shore in my van doing radio reports) and respect for all the people who took on the race and extra respect for those who made it to the finish line over a long 44km course in rough conditions.
The 3rd annual Trans Taupo was held in 15-20 knot westerly winds on Saturday 20 March. There were a total of 110 paddlers who took on the 44km across Lake Taupo from Tokaanu to Taupo. Conditions were close to the limit of running the planned course which meant wind, waves, surfing and concentration. Lucky the lake was 19 degrees because there were a few people who went for an unplanned swim!!! The Mighty River Power Coast guard boat was kept busy all day making sure all paddlers were in their craft, on course and OK.
Top Olympic paddler Mike Walker triumphed over defending champion Simon Mclaren by a couple of minutes with Tim Grammar in 3rd. (All 3 on surf skis). With a time of 3:30:41, Walker narrowly missed out on the course record by just 97 seconds. That honour still belongs to McLaren with his blistering performance in 2009 of 3:29:04. With waves up to 1.5 metres there would have been lots of surfing opportunities for the surf skis, but the final 15km was challenging in the strong Westerly cross wind that swept across the main Taupo Bay.
The Waka ama 6 man crew called team GOODYEAR followed up the trio of surf ski paddlers in 4th place and was just 14 minutes behind the overall winner. A fantastic effort from 6 guys in a big waka!
In 5th overall, competing in the double sea kayak mixed class, were Glen Muirhead and Marianne Archer in 3:50:13. Double sea kayaks were one of the most popular craft this year and we think the social factor might have something to do with that.
Placing first female and a great top 10 overall Dene Simpson piloted her surf ski home in 4:07:57, not far off the Sub 4 hour mark.
2010 was the year the big Waka became a part of the Trans Taupo. In total 4 Waka entered including a Waka 12 (Two 6 man Waka lashed together).
The 2 Whanganui Waka ama crews discovered just how important a skirt is when one of their Waka filled with water just 500 metres from home. Their Waka then became a submarine, but they still managed to claw their way slowly to the shore and cheers of fellow competitors.
The W12 entered by the local Taupo nui-a-tia College paddled well on leg one (18km), but decided to pull out at that stage. 18km is still a respectable distance and the crew is determined to complete the full 44km in 2011.
Jim Noble put in a fantastic effort in the 0ver 50’s category rowing a special wooden skiff. Jim’s race was made even harder when his rudder stopped functioning just before Hatepe meaning he had no steering for the final 19km with blustering cross winds. Jim first attempted the Trans Taupo crossing in 2008 in a wooden row boat, but had to pull out, so now it is mission accomplished.
One of the most interesting features of the Trans Taupo is the variety of craft and people involved. Craft include surf ski, Waka ama, ocean rower and sea kayak. There are sit ins, sit ons, plastic, composite, wood, fiberglass, sit forward, sit back, 1 man, 2 man, 3 man, 6 man and 12 man. This makes a really colourful event mix and good conversations at the start and finish line.
For the results please go to the Trans Taupo page at www.epicevents.co.nz . Included are overall, class, 6km, club championship and the updated Sub 4 hour club. Please niter that the times have been adjusted since they were first posted due to a timing error.
The Trans Taupo has established itself as a classic open water paddling race. Most competitors across the finish line mentioned the ‘toughness’ of the race, but the looks of satisfaction on their faces showed that the reward of the crossing was worth the effort.
Photos are available at http://ipaddle.ning..com/photo/albums/trans-taupo-paddle-1
If you would like hi res images, please e mail [email protected]
Nick Reader
Epic Events Ltd
The 3rd annual Trans Taupo was held in 15-20 knot westerly winds on Saturday 20 March. There were a total of 110 paddlers who took on the 44km across Lake Taupo from Tokaanu to Taupo. Conditions were close to the limit of running the planned course which meant wind, waves, surfing and concentration. Lucky the lake was 19 degrees because there were a few people who went for an unplanned swim!!! The Mighty River Power Coast guard boat was kept busy all day making sure all paddlers were in their craft, on course and OK.
Top Olympic paddler Mike Walker triumphed over defending champion Simon Mclaren by a couple of minutes with Tim Grammar in 3rd. (All 3 on surf skis). With a time of 3:30:41, Walker narrowly missed out on the course record by just 97 seconds. That honour still belongs to McLaren with his blistering performance in 2009 of 3:29:04. With waves up to 1.5 metres there would have been lots of surfing opportunities for the surf skis, but the final 15km was challenging in the strong Westerly cross wind that swept across the main Taupo Bay.
The Waka ama 6 man crew called team GOODYEAR followed up the trio of surf ski paddlers in 4th place and was just 14 minutes behind the overall winner. A fantastic effort from 6 guys in a big waka!
In 5th overall, competing in the double sea kayak mixed class, were Glen Muirhead and Marianne Archer in 3:50:13. Double sea kayaks were one of the most popular craft this year and we think the social factor might have something to do with that.
Placing first female and a great top 10 overall Dene Simpson piloted her surf ski home in 4:07:57, not far off the Sub 4 hour mark.
2010 was the year the big Waka became a part of the Trans Taupo. In total 4 Waka entered including a Waka 12 (Two 6 man Waka lashed together).
The 2 Whanganui Waka ama crews discovered just how important a skirt is when one of their Waka filled with water just 500 metres from home. Their Waka then became a submarine, but they still managed to claw their way slowly to the shore and cheers of fellow competitors.
The W12 entered by the local Taupo nui-a-tia College paddled well on leg one (18km), but decided to pull out at that stage. 18km is still a respectable distance and the crew is determined to complete the full 44km in 2011.
Jim Noble put in a fantastic effort in the 0ver 50’s category rowing a special wooden skiff. Jim’s race was made even harder when his rudder stopped functioning just before Hatepe meaning he had no steering for the final 19km with blustering cross winds. Jim first attempted the Trans Taupo crossing in 2008 in a wooden row boat, but had to pull out, so now it is mission accomplished.
One of the most interesting features of the Trans Taupo is the variety of craft and people involved. Craft include surf ski, Waka ama, ocean rower and sea kayak. There are sit ins, sit ons, plastic, composite, wood, fiberglass, sit forward, sit back, 1 man, 2 man, 3 man, 6 man and 12 man. This makes a really colourful event mix and good conversations at the start and finish line.
For the results please go to the Trans Taupo page at www.epicevents.co.nz . Included are overall, class, 6km, club championship and the updated Sub 4 hour club. Please niter that the times have been adjusted since they were first posted due to a timing error.
The Trans Taupo has established itself as a classic open water paddling race. Most competitors across the finish line mentioned the ‘toughness’ of the race, but the looks of satisfaction on their faces showed that the reward of the crossing was worth the effort.
Photos are available at http://ipaddle.ning..com/photo/albums/trans-taupo-paddle-1
If you would like hi res images, please e mail [email protected]
Nick Reader
Epic Events Ltd
