SURF LIFE SAVING
Longliners, surfcasters asked to be aware
West coast fisherfolk - both local and visiting of the surfcast and long line variety - were asked to be aware the annual 90 Mile Beach IRB Challenge was passing by this Saturday and thus to not cast any lines out to sea until the fleet passes through.
The challenge, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and regarded as the unofficial beginning of the summer season for surf lifeguard patrols, was expected to start from Scott's Point at high noon on Saturday and finish at Ahipara between two to four hours later depending on conditions.
A highlight of this year's event will be the inclusion of a trio of local guards - Tyler Harrison, Owen Peters and Anaru Williams - representing the hosting Far North Surf Rescue. They will feature in an expected field of 30 crews representing surf life-saving organisations from all over the North Island.
The challenge begins with a shotgun start where the estimated 90 lifeguards will sprint to the water's edge, jump in their IRBs and race south inside the surfline all the way to Ahipara.
On their odyssey, each crew needs to collect four ribbons while attempting to finish in the fastest possible time. The first ribbon is taken after circling Motupia Island - or shooting the iconic landmark's hole in the rock - then beaching to refuel. The second ribbon is won at the Bluff after the crews have beached on the north side and carried their IRBs across the sand to the south side and refuels. The next beach landing is made at Hukatere, where two of the members have to run up the hill to collect their ribbon and return to their boat again refuelled; with the fourth ribbon collected at Waipapakauri Ramp, only a straight forward beach and refuel there, before the final run to Ahipara.
The record for the event was 2 hours 24 minutes, held by the East End club from Taranaki, while last year's winners, Waimarama club (of Hawkes Bay) completed the challenge in 2 hours 28 minutes.
The event afterparty was renowned for being a rowdy affair with a Far North banquet dished up by the hosts while the participating crews celebrate a gruelling day by washing all the salt and sand ingested during the race away with a few refreshments and take part in a mandatory acapella song performance.
FNSR spokesperson Liz Arcus noted the pre race briefing was, "at this stage", being held at Scotts Point at 11am, followed by pre-race scrutinising at 11.30am before a 12pm race start. However, these times could be change at tomorrow's pre-race meeting being held from 6-8pm at the FNSR clubrooms (Ahipara Fire Station).
The long range forecast for Saturday wasn't the greatest, with northerlies and rain predicted as a relatively non-serious cold front passes through, although swell was expected be light to moderate over an 8.30am high tide. Maybe there won't be much fishing going on out west after all.