Here are some more pictures of the last week, it has been sooo epic! The trophy I won for the Kaituna is incredible and as if that wasn't enough...Pau Hana SUP boards also came to the party and bought me a new SUP board that is perfect for the surf with 3 finns. Can't wait to get out there tomorrow after work. Today the entertainment was topped by a visit from my mate Jasper who did a first kayak trip and first descent of the Kaituna all in one day!!! He totally styled it and did an awesome job! Big congrats to him, as he has just defended his title as the U23 K1 Flatwater National Champion!I have included a little video of him that I took when we went over the Kaituna waterfall:) Pics include: New SUP!, Kenny Mutton and I-Kaituna Race Champions, Trophy, and some pics from the Wairoa Extreme Race. Photo credit- Shilo Gibson on Louise Urwins camera.
On the weekend we had our first set of Extreme Races for the NZ Extreme Race series. This series has been designed with 3 Extreme Races- The 1st on the Kaituna, 2nd on the Wairoa and the 3rd on the Citroen Rapid just out of Queenstown. The racer with the most consistent results will be crowned the NZ Extreme Race Series winner. So on Saturday the race for the title begun with 2 timed runs down the Kaituna river which were then added together to give people their overall place. Kenny Mutton took out the Mens field and I won the Womans- See reults above (Click to enlarge).. On the Sunday we had the Wairoa Extreme Race and this begun with a time trial from the put in to just above the waterfall by rollercoaster. Kenny Mutton once again won the Mens time trial and I look out the Womens with a solid 7second lead. We then raced head to head down the Rollercoaster Rapid. Unfortunately in my 2nd head to head I made a small error which sent me to the back and meant I was out of the running for the final. Laura and I faced off in the Semi-Final for 3rd and 4th and I took the honours in the end. Checkout these videos of me and Laura's semi and the mens final, which was won by Jamie Sutton with Kenny Mutton in 2nd, Tyler Fox in 3rd and Willz Martin in 4th. Because Jamie Sutton won he has now secured a spot for himself at the 2012 White Water Grand Prix that will be held in Chile at the end of the year, lucky!!! Toni George took the Womens title and Nikki Whitehead was a close 2nd. Big thanks to Louise Urwin, Brendan Bayley and the Sutton parents who did an amazing job organising the event and making it all run so smoothly. Also a big thanks to all of the sponsors of the events!!It was an awesome weekend and really fun. Stoked to have raced and been a part of such a sweet atmosphere. For another update on these races checkout Tylers post on www.bottomsupkayaking.blogspot.co.nz: Click Here
In September this year I went to the biggest Kayaking tradeshow in Europe, Kanumesse and SUP Expo. Kanumesse showcases the kayaking industries top gear and businesses that are on the market. This year SUP-Stand Up Paddle boards were also taking part in the expo. I was really interested in this as it looks like really good fun and awesome cross-training for kayaking! So I had a go, and it turned out it was really fun!!! 'Pau-Hana' are based in the USA and manufacture boards for surfing, racing and flatwater cruising. They were at the expo and let me try out their boards.
Since arriving back in NZL I have been doing a lot of kayaking and thanks to Pau-Hana I am now able to do some cross-training on my SUP!!!On the weekend I went to Raglan where my sister is based and I have been using it in our local beach- Maketu. I went out this morning for about 2hours on the lake and it is an awesome workout, I feel exhausted but totally stoked! Heres some pics from my little mission with my flatmate Shilo up to the Hamurana Springs:)
