Race Reports, News and Photos
"Vaka Eiva" Cook Islands, November 2007
Cook Island Report, by Gary T
November 07 and we have finally arrived on Rarotonga. Harley, Sbrizz, Russ, Rynney, Nixxy, Gary and families have landed for 9 days of paddling and good times. Collectively our entourage had over 70 yrs of paddling experience so we thought it time to venture into the great open waters of the South Pacific. Along with many other Southern Zone paddlers and also a fair contingent of other Brisso members and EX members we were here to take part in Vaka Eiva 07. The week long event involved racing over distances similar to Hamo but spread out over the week and with plenty of free time in between to either hone our skills in the Tahitian style boats or to just cruise on island time and hang. Believe me it was very easy to forget about all the hard training and just CRUISE.
The island of Rarotonga is a fantastic place as it is surrounded by an outer reef which forms the most superb lagoon surrounding the island. Post card perfect in fact.
To get here involved around 100 emails back and forth to Victoria Dearlove, (one of the organisers), as you have to be picked and be invited for the big 9 man race. Prior to us leaving we had been told we could only do the 6 person races (12km and sprint) and we were 1st reserve for a spot in the big race. They only have 20 canoes on the island and as we found out very few support craft. The racing started with one man races on the first Saturday which we decided not to do as expensive to nominate, plus the weather was pretty ugly.
Our first race was a 12km run from the harbour down around the reef to a marker boy on the northeast side of the island. The weather and ocean was great and perfect for us to get used to the canoe. We managed to get the newest canoe on the island, so new we saw it getting unloaded the day before. The only problem was that it was BLACK and as some of you know, Brissy and black boats don’t have a good history. Well, we were running a good 4th behind a great Hawaiian team out in front until whammo over the black went, my 3rd flip in the last ten years and yes, all in black boats. We managed to get in and get going to fight back to our position but not without smashing ourselves. It is amazing what you can physically do under extreme P’d off behaviour.
From our result in the 12km race we worked out that we should be in for a real chance in the big race if we got the call up as the Hawaiians and the boys from Whitsunday with Marty were going open. One problem was that we only had 6 and the deal of finding 3 extra paddlers ultimately was our downfall. On our return after the race we were welcomed with the news that we had made it to the BIG race as one crew had pulled out, YAHOOOO!!!!.
The sprint day was a shocker as the trade winds literally kicked in just as the day started. The races were short and only four lanes were set so that meant 1st over the line went to a final. It was pelting down or should I say side ways rain, blowing at about 30 knots, terrible. We managed a photo finish 2nd but 2nd was not good so no final hence the family was happy as we tripped of and went sightseeing in our 11 seater touring bus (the kids loved it). The only good thing about the sprint day was the ‘Muri Mingler Beach Party’ at the yacht club that night. Rynney punished us with his 007 impression of filling us full of Martini.
The big race is called the Round Raro race but on race day the trade winds were still with us and the swell on the reef breaks looked like something out of an extreme surfing DVD. Plus even though we were thanking the gods that we actually got called up to paddle the big race and we were taking it pretty casual, finding 3 paddlers was an absolute nightmare. Being a gumby crew from Brisbane and being Cook Island virgins did not help as we had people everywhere on hold and than not on etc etc. However we did find three guys and thankyou to those boys as we raced and had a BLOODY hoot of a time. Would have been nicer to find them a little earlier than at 12.15pm and race start was 12.30pm ???
Our race was action packed full of all things that go with racing. We had collisions with support boats, running repairs “6 men in a leaky boat”, huge swell, great tussles with other Brisso’s (buggers, but great work Mario and co), unbelievable strength wind and waves in our face, and most of all what we set out to do when we started this campaign was that of comradeship and bonding with our family and guys that I love and admire as paddlers and good friends in the great South Pacific Ocean.
A must for all avid paddlers, get to a remote part of the world and live the culture and it’s people, and best of all PADDLE.
Ps Take the family, ‘happy wife happy life’.
Gary T
Cook Island Report, by Pam Prescott
Question: What does an ageing paddler do to celebrate a birthday – 5th September 2007 – My 60th.?
Answer: Round up a group of five paddling friends, form a team and head to the Cook Islands for some fun, frivolity, paddling and black pearl shopping.
That is exactly what I did to celebrate my 60th birthday. A holiday in the Cook Islands with a group of party girls, youngest being 50 years, from various outrigger clubs in SQ Zone, ready to ‘cut lose.’ And it just so happened that there was a paddling event in the Cook Islands ‘Vaka Eiva’ (paddling week) week, which as a paddler, I had heard so much about.
‘Kia Orana’ and Welcome ‘Team Golden Girls’ to the Cook Islands.
After a long day’s traveling/flying we arrived at Rarotonga around 1pm, after a roller coaster landing somewhere in the Pacific Ocean a 10 minute taxi ride and $75.00 later, we were ‘dumped’ in the dark somewhere, in a place which we were to call ‘home for the next 12 days.
After team night caps of duty free drinks, We, my ‘roomie’ Jill and I, arose to the most beautiful scene one can imagine. Our hut, right on a coconut fringed lagoon of crystal clear water, Muri Lagoon, with islands in the middle. One named ‘Wedding Island’ and the other ‘Divorce Island’. No explanation needed here.
Rarotonga is the Capital of the Cook Islands and is 36.5 klms around. One road ventures all the way round, with the town centre based around ‘Trader Jacks, the local watering hole at Avarua Wharf. Base camp of ‘Vaka Eiva’ week, which I have since heard has been damaged in a hurricane that hit a week after we left.
Excitement prevailed with ‘the Golden Girls’. Some headed off to collect our rental car, Jill and I hired push bikes for the week and then it was time to acquaint ourselves with the surrounds.- ‘Lets go shopping!’ was the cry.
We arrived in Rarotonga early so we had a few days to sight-see. No.1 on our list was a visit to Aitutaki Lagoon as featured on ‘Getaway’ and home to ‘Survivor’. Yes! saw all and the trip was well worth the $400.00 just to see the guide take his shirt off and dance ‘Raro’ style. No wonder the Team from Rarotonga is always a hit at the cultural nights at the World sprints.
Now down to business.
Saturday 17th November
Masters OC1 race first up. Only two categories: Open – 35 yrs. and Masters -35 yrs + (where is the Golden Masters age group I am now 60 yrs?) Registration, collect team shirts, ‘Patagonias’ (grey not really my colour) provided and compulsory to race in.
I am happy scored a ‘Stingray’ OC1 for the race. Not my colour though.
The OC1 race was held early in rough conditions, 20klms winds over the longest 12 klms????? I have ever paddled but I made it home, against the ‘kids’. (I have children as old as the ‘kids’ I raced against) with the craft in one piece Much to my relief as user pays for damage. Ask some of the boys, who broke craft in half in the rough conditions. (The Stingray I had hired came in – broken arkos, looking like a dead pelican in the rubber duckie with its male owner.)
I was not last by any means but I believe I looked like ’shit” at the end but a few Steinlager Pure beers soon fixed that!
Monday 19th November 2007:
Team is pumped for the 12 klm iron marathon. This is why we came, to race the iron marathon as a bunch of older friends – still out there doin’ it! We have been given the honour of paddling the new yet to hit the water ‘Trader Jack’s’ black ROC canoe No.1, just blessed the evening before by tribal elders of the Cook Islands
Adrenalin flowed just with the thought of this beautiful new canoe.
Green flag raised and ‘the Golden Girls’ leapt outta the start just as we had trained. We led and led and led and led. We were all nervous.’ What are we doing out here so far in front?’ Many teams were made up of loaded paddlers from South Queensland/North Queensland Zone out to win a medal – Us! Out to have a good time and win a hangover. Still we led to nearly the half way turn around. The team was ‘in the Zone’ and powering together. I was so proud of my friends giving me all, as a steerer. The canoe just flowed with vibrancy. The’huks’ then began to get closer and the team knew our time as the lead canoe was coming to an end. I allowed two teams to pass us, simply for the fact that they risked the reef and I, in the new No1 canoe, didn’t want to take risks. Canoes are costly to replace ask Surfers Paradise OCC. I was so proud of my team and yes! Tears flowed. What a 60th birthday present from a group of mates.
6th place overall ,racing against 35yrs+.
I will never forget that race and the bond we established due to ‘Trader Jack.’
McGuigan’s Red Merlot wine was in short order that day as I think we nearly drank the bar dry, and I know our team wasn’t the only one that ‘won’ a hangover for performance after that girls marathon.
Wednesday 21st November 2007:
Sprints Muri Lagoon.
Well really anything went!! Freezing cold, loaded canoes not impressed but a great party and Team Golden Girls’ ‘wobbled’ home as we did!
Friday 23rd November 2007:
Round the Island Race: which turned into Half the Island Race due to conditions.
This race is usually the highlight of the paddling week, racing around the island as a changeover race but due to the torrid conditions, we could only race halfway and then turn back, but still adding up to 36klms
‘Team Golden Girls’ were not entered into this changeover race but acted as a great support team for many of the crews. I steered the ‘Mini Wahines’ as they were known alias ‘Pacific Dragons OCC’ out of Sydney.
3-5 metre seas and 20 knots winds that ended up gusting to 40 knots greeted us for the race. Out through the channel, cut into the reef, and huge seas were there to greet us. ‘Yeehaa here we go, shades of Moloka’i I thought. This race would never have been held with these conditions prevailing in Australia.
My ‘mini wahines’ paddled strongly in such tough conditions. At one stage I turned the canoe a total 360 degrees just to bring the nose back into the wind and the waves, to get momentum and steerage again. The crew couldn’t bring it ‘about’ in such conditions. I wasn’t the only steerer to have this problem but I solved it a lot easier than some others. I haven’t steered those conditions since Hawaii. 4 1/2 hours iron later, to the sound of the Cook Island drums and the welcome of the blowing of the Triton shell, I brought my team back through the gap in the reef into Avanua Wharf. The recovery food of coconut milk from the nut and cold watermelon was a big relief and I was very proud of my young team’s effort. Many female paddlers on the island had never experienced seas of such magnitude and many spirits fractured!
Pays to be old sometimes eh! Nappy and Anona (reference to my mate Nappy Napolean and his wife Anona, Hawaiian legends of the sea that I am very proud to call my mates.)
Yes! The ‘Golden Girls’ were all there to greet this ole sea dog back from the ocean and Yes! They were relieved I made it back ( at my age!!!) but to me, as I say: ‘ I was washed up as an old piece of seaweed onto Rainbow Bay beach Qld many years ago and the ocean is my home.
‘Team Tahiti’ won the event. Gosh those kids weren’t even over 19 years of age but ‘shit’ they can paddle!
The Cook Islands is a wonderful place. Land of Christianity, monuments, singing, beautiful food, canoe carving, motor scooters, birth place of ‘the seven canoes’ and the black pearl.
I have been sight-seeing, four-wheel driving, eaten out of the umu, gourged at the food festival, seen the amazing Cook Island Dancers, snorkeled, wined and dined, watched the brilliance of stars at night and the power of the ocean by day, and renewed friendships that cannot be broken.
I will not be returning to the Cook Islands as I could never replace the memories that I have of my 60th birthday 2007.
‘Kia Orana’ and Goodbye
Pam Prescott ‘Team Golden Girls’
Co Reynolds
Jill Duffield
Vicki Clarkson
Sue Gale
Jenny Johnson
Thank you to Harvie Allison for providing one of the photos below.
Click on the above thumbnail images to enlarge.
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