Event split into two

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne waka ama paddlers Vesna Radonich and Bec Hoani were first and third in the master women’s division of the James “Bhutty” Moore-morial race in Tauranga last weekend.

Strong winds and rough seas persuaded organisers to change the course. Even then, it was a daunting challenge and many paddlers pulled out either before or during the event.

Normally the race is a 32-kilometre downwind run from Mt Maunganui to Maketu. This year the event was transferred to Tauranga Harbour, and placings were decided on a combination of results from two 12-kilometre downwind runs from Omokoroa to Pilot Bay.

Three competitors in the 61-strong field came from Gisborne — outrigger canoeists Radonich and Hoani, and paddleboard foil paddler Thomas Keogh. This was the first time foil craft had their own division in the race, but they found the high winds especially hard to handle, and Keogh was among those who did not finish the event.

Entrants had to complete both races in the amended format to be eligible for placings.

“The first race was run with an incoming tide and westerly winds gusting up to 20 kilometres an hour,” Radonich said.

“The second coincided with an outgoing tide and winds of up to 35kmh. The swells were the biggest I’ve experienced in downwind paddling, and they provided the best downwind racing I’ve had. You could make one stroke of the paddle and sit on a wave for a minute.

“This was also the first time the organisers had split the event into two races.”

Radonich recorded times of 1 hour 20 minutes 21 seconds and 1:02:55 to be first-placed paddler in the 40-to-49 age group, with a combined time of 2:23:16, and the fourth placegetter in the group labelled “overall women”.

Hoani was third in the 40-49 women’s division with times of 1:23:52 and 1:06:44, for a combined time of 2:30:36.

Second-placed female paddler in the 40-49 age group, Raanj Rapana (1:20:29, 1:02:57, 2:23:26) paddled with Radonich and Hoani for the Whakatāne Waka Ama Club in the Waka Ama New Zealand sprint nationals at Karāpiro last month.

They qualified for the world sprint championships being held in August in Hawaii, with third placings in the premier women’s W6 500m and master women’s W6 1000m, and a fourth placing in the master women’s W6 500m. Radonich placed third in the master women’s W1 500m.

Gisborne paddlers Kodi Campbell and Kasey Brown also qualified for the world champs as Whakatāne club team members.

Radonich and Hoani completed the James “Bhutty” Moore-morial last year as well, Radonich finishing third in the open women’s division and Hoani third of the master women.

The normal race distance — 32 kilometres — made it the longest and most challenging downwind race of the year, Radonich said.

“You need to paddle about 100 kilometres a week to build the stamina for the distance, and you need to spend time downwind paddling to learn how to ride waves effectively,” she said.

Safety was an important consideration when paddling on the ocean over such distances.

“You need to check weather reports and know how to read water, and it’s best to paddle with others,” Radonich said.

Her next big event is the Takapuna Beach Cup outrigger paddle festival in Auckland next weekend. She is targeting the 42km changeover race, where team members swim between the waka and an accompanying motorboat to get a recovery period from paddling.