Alan Daly and Karl Schroder are rookies on the national waka ama scene.
Former Coast to Coast competitor Daly has been paddling for two years and multiple national power pulling champion Karl Schroder for 18 months. But this did not inhibit the pair joining world championship medallist Lesley Lenden as Hawke's Bay's three gold medallists at last weekend's national long distance championships in Whangarei.
Schroder, 53, and Daly, 50, won the W2 senior masters (50-plus) title and in the process beat open men's teams in the 90-crew race over 18km. The fact the pair had to overcome mechanical issues on the way to recording a time of 1h 31m added to the feat.
"We had a good lead from the start but a third of the way our steering jammed. We had to stop and check our rudder after becoming tangled with another waka. Once we sorted out our steering we put the hammer down and put those mechanical issues behind us," Daly recalled.
"That was the first time we raced as a two-man crew. After that level of success we'll look for more regattas where we can compete together," Schroder said.