3:00 PM - By ALISON SMITH
The world's most extreme kitesurfers turned powerful winds and solid swell into a show of huge air and incredible speed in the final contest at the Red Bull Skyride yesterday – the Hang Time.
After a night of partying to celebrate 5 days of top international kitesurfing action, the 24 select athletes who gathered for the Red Bull Skyride awoke to 20 knot winds and a 1.5 metre swell off the coast of Mangawhai, north of Auckland.
Despite the long-awaited Hang Time contest being re-named Hang-over Time by some of the athletes, it remained a show of speed and huge air led by Hawaiian and New Zealand competitors.
The aim of the Hang Time is to jump and spend as much time as possible in the air. Official records in the sport stand at 7 seconds but unofficially kitesurfers have been known to stay flying for 11 seconds.
Skyride competitors were pulled 10m upwards and clocked 2-6 seconds of air before landing to tear along waves at up to 35 km/h. The final saw top New Zealanders Kane Hartill and Tim Stockman of Christchurch, Dave Edwards (Bay of Plenty) and Auckland newcomer Kent McNish against reigning King of the Air Marcus "Flash" Austin and World No. 2 Max Bo – both of Maui, Hawaii.
Said McNish: "I was getting overpowered and barely hanging in there at one point. It was also super choppy and I thought "if I hook it then I'm going to land on the beach and cane myself. But it was great that these guys came out here and busted some big airs with us."
After 10 minutes of all-out action including a small collision between McNish and Bo – in which neither was hurt - the result was a tie of 5.6 seconds clocked by both of the Hawaiians. The pair was sent out for a 10 minute battle of the air for first place.
"We were joking with each other before we went out and Flash told me: 'We can stop and split the prizemoney, or I can go out there and kick your ...'," said Max, who was beaten by a split second margin. Max clocked 5.24 seconds of airtime to Austin's 5.57 seconds. Both were powered by kites 15 metres in length in 20 knot winds.
The visiting Hawaiians praised New Zealand and Australia's growing community of kitesurfers, and the contest organisers. "There were six of us in the final and four of them were New Zealanders," said Max. "They've only discovered the sport for about two years and they're doing very good. Next year is going to be hard."
Said "Flash" Austin: "The sense of sportsmanship was really impressive. I think I've had more fun at this contest than any, because the vibe has been really positive and fun. We were also blessed with great conditions."
The Skyride is Australasia's first international kitesurfing contest and began on December 5. The event featured a Freestyle Contest where competitors showed off their explosive style in the water, an 8 km endurance race along the coast and the Hang Time big air event.
Official results for the Freestyle Contest:
1. Marcus "Flash" Austin (Hawaii) NZ$5,000
2. Kane Hartill (Chch, NZ) NZ$3,000
3. Dave Edwards (BoP, NZ) NZ$1,000
4. Ben Merkenhoff (Australia) NZ$500
5. Tie: Greg Dexler (Hawaii) and Mike Holland (Queenstown NZ) NZ$200 each
Official results for the Hang Time:
1. Marcus 'Flash' Austin (Hawaii) NZ$5,000
2. Max Bo (Hawaii) NZ$3,000
3. Kane Hartill (NZ) NZ$1,000
4. Dave Edwards (NZ) NZ$500
5. Kent McNish (NZ) NZ$200
6. Tim Stockman (NZ) NZ$100
Kitesurfing: Skyriders hang in for max hang time
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.