Ocean paddlers from across New Zealand and Australia hit the water over the weekend in Queenstown, for the inaugural Deep South Downwind race.

The event saw competitors swapping the open water for the Lake Whakatipu, in the new addition to the national Darcy Price Ocean SurfSki Series.

Kat Bulk, from the Southern Lakes Multisport Club, says they weren’t sure how successful a lake-based event would go, but had plenty of support.

Standing out: Paddlers taking part in the Deepsouth Downwind races on Lake Wakatipu gather for race briefing.

Planning started in August after the club was approached by Canoe Racing New Zealand last year to host the new race.

Being on the organising side of things had been “a humbling experience” for Bulk, but she says there’s been a lot of support from everyone involved in the club.

Points were awarded to competitors, which count toward the overall national series leaderboard.

They also contribute to the selection criteria for the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships.

Liam Lace beat runner-up Tobias Brooke by a mere 3 seconds, topping both the open male division and overall leaderboard with a time of 1hr 52min 10sec.

Tara Smith was the first solo female across the line and ninth overall, just 11min 13sec behind Lace.

  • Otago Daily Times
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