Jan – Jericho
The final day of racing was all Sprints and all fun. This was a change in the order of events from previous years, which wrapped up with the change race. In past years, there were too many paddlers tired, bruised and beaten up from the change race to really enjoy the closing party. Not this year!
Held at beautiful Muri Lagoon, the day started with a parade of paddlers, led by local traditional drummers, warriors and canoes. Then, the somewhat serious sprints began. Crews raced by club and age category and were honest – for most part. Lots of teams filled up crews with whoever they could get. The race course was a straight 500m. from the ocean side of the lagoon towards the beach. It was quickly obvious that there were a lot of steers that did not know how to race sprints – as crews crossed one or more lanes to get to the finish line – all the more fun for spectators. The more serious crews advanced to the final heats. For the rest of us – the party had an early start. [click to continue…]
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