"The race had just finished and Rene gave his phone to Aimee to ring home. She is only 20 and the rest of the crew are 25 and 26 ... they are all making her feel so welcome," Darryl explained.
Aimee's telephone conversation was short but jubilant.
"Hi Mum. Everything is going well. I've got to go off and get another medal now ... bye."
Those two medals were among five won by Kiwis at the regatta. World and Olympic champion Lisa Carrington won gold in her K1 200m and 500m finals and Marty McDowell won bronze in his K1 500m final.
"The goal was to put a race plan together and see how we went," an elated Lovett said.
"We went pretty well in the heat and stuck to that plan and the final was just about enjoying it, embracing it and putting a good race together, which we managed to do."
Although some of the top European crews were missing from the first World Cup of the season, New Zealand's medal tally was memorable, particularly with the emergence of the new crews.
Lovett said the surprise K2 500m silver medal won by Ryan and Fisher, who were racing in just their third race together, on the second day had given the team a huge boost.
"We thought they might get through to the final but they learned so much from their heat and just nailed their final.
"It was awesome to watch and so exciting."
Fisher's long-time Hawke's Bay Kayaking Club coach Ben Bennett watched television coverage of both of her heats and finals.
"All of the girls went well. They have been working hard and you can see their improvement.
"Rene has done a fantastic job and their strength at the end of both finals was the key."
Fisher will know after the August world championships in Italy if she will be competing at next year's Rio Olympics.
"At this stage it's looking promising," Bennett said.
Hawke's Bay's K1 200m sprinter Scott Bicknell overcame the disappointment of missing the A final by winning the B final.
He cracked the 35s barrier for the first time with a 34.976 which would have been good enough for eighth in the A final.
Canoe Racing New Zealand chief executive Mark Weatherall knows next weekend's World Cup in Germany will provide a much tougher test for his paddlers but believes things are building nicely, heading into an Olympic year.
"We're still a long way out from Rio and there is still a huge amount of hard work to do but this is an emphatic statement that we're on the right track," Weatherall said.
