river-ninja

Kayak queen Lisa Carrington hints Paris 2024 in her sights

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 01:53:49 GMT

New Zealand's most successful Olympian is eyeing more gold.

Kayaker Lisa Carrington won three gold medals at this year’s Tokyo Olympics , adding to her two victories at London 2012 and Rio 2016, where she also took bronze.

Relatively quiet since returning home from her record medal haul in August, Carrington has signalled her future intentions with six words on social media.

Posting a picture of her paddling on the still waters of Cambridge, Carrington writes "the next adventure awaits… Paris 2024".

Speculation before, during and after the Games suggested the 32-year-old could retire after more than a decade of dominance

The Tauranga-native got engaged to long-term partner Michael Buck in March, and with a wedding pencilled in for 2022, it looked as though Carrington may hang up her paddle and settle into regular life.

But the lure of further accolades in France appears to have motivated the Kiwi champion to achieve unprecedented success.

Carrington became New Zealand's most decorated Olympian in Tokyo, overcoming a demanding schedule to take gold in the K1 200, K1 500 and K2 200 (with Caitlin Regal) to lift her career medal tally to six.

She also anchored the K4 500 crew that finished agonisingly close to bronze in the final.

World's first recyclable woollen kayak made and launched in New Zealand

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 23:53:36 GMT

Kiwi paddlers who care about the environment have a new opportunity to embrace both guardianship of Aotearoa and recycling thanks to a new New Zealand-made kayak.

The world-first, named after the Kakapo, is a collaboration between wool engineering company Shear Edge and outdoor adventure retailer Torpedo7.

It uses New Zealand grown wool to replace 2kg of plastic in the hull, the equivalent of 400 plastic bags.

Shear Edge Roto, the fibre used, is a highly engineered natural fibre composite comprising 35 percent strong wool fibres embedded in high-density polyethylene, the company said.

Simon West, Torpedo7 CEO, said the company were "excited" to provide kayakers with an option that is kinder to the environment.

"Whether it's a paddle in the Waitematā Harbour, down the Whanganui River, or in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand offers some of the best kayaking spots in the world all year round.

"Our team alongside Shear Edge have been working hard to innovate a kayak that has a reduced environmental impact and doesn't sacrifice on performance.

Comeback king Braden Currie turns late entry into runaway Coast to Coast victory

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 22:58:39 GMT

Braden Currie wins his fourth Coast to Coast Longest Day title as he crosses the finish line in New Brighton.

He only returned to the event at the last minute on a whim, and Braden Currie backed up the decision with his fourth Coast to Coast Longest Day race victory in New Brighton on Saturday.

Currie, who has emerged as New Zealand’s top iron man triathlete, dominated the 40th running of New Zealand’s iconic 243km multisport event that starts on Kumara Beach on the West Coast and finishes on the sands of New Brighton in Christchurch.

In his first start in the event since 2017, the 35-year-old from Wanaka blitzed the field with a commanding performance, finishing the race in 9 hours, 45 minutes, 23 seconds – over 20 minutes ahead of 2021 champion Dougal Allan.

Simone Maier celebrated her birthday by winning the women’s race for the third time in a time of 11:52:18. Elina Ussher was second in 12:00:04, with Fiona Dowling crossing the line third in 12:02:51.

Allan, who survived a fall over Goat Pass and a sore foot, came home second in the men’s race in 10:05:34, with Bobby Dean third in 10:13:17.

Currie only decided to return to the event on Thursday when it was confirmed Ironman New Zealand in March had been cancelled, with the race now due to be staged in December.

“Coast to Coast is the race that brought me into the sport, it’s what first drew my attention to endurance, and it’s a race that I have a huge love and respect for,” Currie said of his decision on Thursday to “re-visit my roots”.

After his all-the-way victory, he said: “It was a huge decision to actually make the start today. I've always wanted to come back and race Coast to Coast. To go back to where it all started and have an experience like this feels incredible. It means a lot to me.”

Currie, who won the event in 2013, 2014 and 2015, led the race, held on a rejigged course caused by rising river levels, after the 55km opening cycle, was out by around 4 minutes across Goat Pass and headed Dean by over 9 minutes at the end of the mountain run. He had comfortably the swiftest run time among the leading competitors.

He took charge on the 112km second bike leg where he extended his advantage out to 14 minutes on his nearest challengers and 20 minutes on Allan going into the short kayak. He was never in danger thereafter.

“Once you're in that race mode, you just do what you've trained to do in that environment,” added Currie of an environment he hadn’t trained in for years. “I had a great day – a good run, bike and paddle. I knew the river would be high, so as long as I stayed in the fast water and kept my boat up the right way, I hoped I wouldn't lose too much time. Luckily that happened.

“A race like this is incredibly hard to plan for, so it was about having some fun,” he added. “On the run, I actually remembered the exact root that tripped my brother (Glen Currie) a few years ago and caused some pretty solid damage to his knee. That kept me amused for a while.”

Officials on Friday had made the decision to slash the upper section of the kayak leg on the Waimakariri River, turning the second cycle leg from 17km to 112km, before a 30km kayak on the lower reaches of the river. The race then concluded with a 12km bike dash to the finish.

Increase your multisport kayak speed and safety

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 22:56:39 GMT

Steve Gurney shares technique tips on using your rudder and hull design for more race speed, while also improving your safety on the river.

It’s not what you do with your paddle.

It’s not how fit and strong you are.

It’s not whether you can roll either.

THE most important and fundamental skill for kayaking is to use the kayak hull as your tool.

The hull has different angles, curves and edges in its design, designed to interact with the various elements of the moving water surrounding your kayak.

A good paddler will “be at one” with their kayak or feel like the kayak is an extension of their body positioning the hull exactly where they want it to be, carving, slicing, lifting and railing.

A beginner multisporter in a river likely feels none of this warm, kindly, connection.

Understandably they’ll feel unfamiliar and disconnected, that their boat is a terrifying, unpredictable beast ready to toss them out to the taniwha, whirlpools, and bluffs.

Summary:

In this article, I’ll explain the how, why and when to use the hull shape to aid turning, positioning, safety and overall speed.

Beginners often assume that fitness, grunt and muscle power are the basis of a river kayaker’s prowess. But I stress that this is not the case, the basis of good river paddling is the art of kayaking, the skill rather than the grunt, how to use the hull efficiently. It may seem subtle, but this skill is what will give consistently fast river speed, it will make river paddling fun and satisfying, and is the difference between a beginner and a confident paddler.

these skills will help a kayaker harness the best speed from the river water that is already moving in their direction. Ie positioning their kayak in the fastest water.
having these skills enables the paddler to put 100% of their effort into going forward instead of nervously hesitating and support stroking.
having the foundation of good skills, is then a good platform to build fitness and grunt.