Surf's up for IRB nationals

An IRB crew training in big surf at Mount Maunganui recently. PHOTO/JAMIE TROUGHTON/DSCRIBE MEDIA SERVICES

New Zealand's top IRB drivers are preparing for a big swell this weekend for the national competition in Whangamata.

The Coromandel holiday spot is hosting the BP Surf Rescue New Zealand IRB championships, starting on Friday and going through until Sunday.

Organisers are anticipating a true test for the 300 competitors from 28 clubs nationwide with a depression off the east coast of the country expected to kick up a groundswell of up to 3m.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand sport manager Mike Lord said they were monitoring the conditions and he thought there was a very decent swell building for the weekend.

"Competitor safety is our priority but at the same time, as Tana Umaga said so well, this isn't tiddlywinks and our IRB drivers and crew train in big waves all the time. One of the fundamental roles of an IRB in surf lifesaving is to get out to patients quickly in dangerous conditions, which might be too much for a swimmer with a tube, and having our national championships with a good wave running is the ideal scenario to test those skills."

The championships will bring to a close six months of training and racing, although voluntary patrols will continue at some beaches until Easter.

Papamoa won the North Island championships on their home beach in a dominant display and are sending a 28-strong team to Whangamata, including three crews in the premier division.

Racing begins at midday on Friday, with action in premier, senior, women's and under-21 divisions.

IRB facts:

Each year, hundreds of people on New Zealand beaches owe their lives to the inflatable crafts developed in Australia more than 40 years ago.

The first IRB was developed by Australian Warren Mitchell in 1969 in conjunction with the Dunlop Company, used a 20hp outboard motor and measured 4m in length.

Since then, the craft has proved invaluable, perfect for patrolling a beach where either the surf is too powerful or the beach too large to perform rescues effectively on a board or with a rescue tube.

Modern IRBs are made of four inflatable hyperlon tubes, with a rigid floor and transom and a 30hp outboard motor, which can provide a maximum speed of between 25-30 knots (50 kmph) on flat water.

Rescue events include the basic single rescue, the mass rescue, the tube rescue, a team relay rescue, and the assembly rescue.

IRB racing is, fast, exciting and highly skilled. It requires an intimate knowledge of the boat, precision driving procedures, high levels of physical strength and fitness, as well as some plain good luck on the day.