Hutia te rito o te harakeke

 Kei whea te komako e ko

Kī mai, kī ahau

He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao

Māku e kī atu

He tangata

He tangata

He tangata

What an awesome day of racing out here on the Manukau Harbour! Massive thank you to all our waka whānau who came to support our kaupapa and Rangatira; George Pomana.

This was the second year running our event. We were truly overwhelmed with the great response of participants who entered - more so having 82 rangatahi register and be eligible for our Fai Va’a V1 spot prize! Many thanks to our Tamaki clubs for your support, and of course to Nga Hoe Horo who travelled more than 6hrs from Pawarenga to Southside to get amongst the action - Ka nui āku mihi kia koutou katoa!!!

This year has brought many challenges; Covid-19, lockdown restrictions, events cancelled left and right…the list goes on! However, we appreciated the whanaungatanga, positive energy and hearty racing that was on display. A true testament to what we as people are capable of. The weather was perfect to lounge around on land, however in turn made conditions flatter than usual out in the harbour; so racing came down to who could navigate the water the best…no bumps to help you along way! After putting in the mahi on the water, it was good to finish up the day with a well-deserved kai celebrating our winners. Thank you to everyone for all the positive kōrero, and feedback given. We appreciate it and look forward to hosting you all again soon.

We wish to extend a special “THANK YOU” to all our volunteers who gave up their time on Sunday to ensure our event ran smoothly. Our Safety Boat crew; Tui Daniels, Naio Taia, Jason Goldring, Dan Toloa and support crew, keeping all our racers safe out on the harbour. On land; our safety checkers, photographer, admin team, loading bay and parking superstars. Last but not least, our amazing ringawera - Mr Coffee Smith, Toops Ice-cream and our junior girls fundraising. Not to forget our Hangi chefs. Best thing after a full day of racing - YUM!!!

Lastly, a huge thank you to our spot prize supports; MTF Finance Manukau and Moana Fisheries - Ngā mihi nui kia koutou hoki! But our biggest MIHI of all belongs to Matua Joe Bunton and his team at Fai Va’a. Who for the second year has supplied our Va’a spot prize and paddle. We appreciate the support and cherish the relationship we have built, and are forever grateful - He iti noa ana nā te aroha. No reira, ka mutu tāku kōrero mō tēnei wā. Kei runga I tēnā, tēna koutou, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou katoa.

Official race results are attached. Check out all of the photos from the event here: https://www.facebook.com/wakaama/posts/4069703233045780

We look forward to 2021. See you all again next year!!

Te Pou Herenga Waka Ama Club Inc.

         Fai Va'a spot prize paddler winner - Chelsea Reti                                                                       Fai Va'a V1 waka winner - Atiria Hotere-Thompson

2020 recipients of the George Pomana Memorial taonga - Nga Hoe Horo