The 27-year-old McDowell hasn't pulled on a New Zealand representative singlet since 2008 but the six-year absence has whetted his appetite as he held off a strong finish from Olympian Darryl Fitzgerald.
"I tried to go out hard off the start and hold the same pace, trying not to die at the end," McDowell said. "The body pretty much blew with 200m to go so I was just hanging on. Having the Aussie guys here definitely picked up the pace - Kenny's ranked third in the world - so they're the benchmark of where we need to be."
McDowell is enjoying his paddling renaissance and would love another crack on the international stage.
"They say kayakers peak at 30, although it was a 37-year-old who won at the last Olympics. I think it's just experience, learning how to train and race better. Racing is probably the main one for me - I've been pretty hit and miss in the past so I've really been working on my consistency and figuring that out."
He capped a memorable afternoon by helping a combined K4 - with Poverty Bay's Darryl and Jarrod Fitzgerald and Arawa's Zac Quickenden - win the final race of the day, the K4 1000m.
Carrington will have K1 500m heats and finals today, with her trademark K1 200m tomorrow.
