The first Nelson PaddleFest was held this Labour weekend in Nelson. A MASSIVE shout out to the people who made the Paddlefest 2019 a possibility! We had paddlers from as far away as Dunedin who travelled up especially for the event.
SUPs, waka & surfskis
The event involved Stand Up Paddleboards (SUPs), surfskis and waka (OC1, V1 & OC2s.) The organisers are looking to spread the word and get more competitors next year.
10km & 5km Races
Saturday morning dawned clear and fine with little wind much to the relief of the organisers as we have had ferocious winds all week. The organisation was great. There was a 10km and a 5 km race off Tahnuanui Beach. The starts were staggered with the fastest raft (surfskis) starting first, then the waka and then the SUPs. The 5km was just one lap of the course, the 10km, 2 laps.
Lined up ready to go 
Moving waka to the start line 
Waka starting the 10km 
Linda Heath finishing the 5km (V1) 
Sean racing to the finish
SUP relay
A SUP relay was held in the afternoon in somewhat blustery conditions. It turned into more of a strategic run than a paddle. It was a lot of fun.
“Thanks to all involved with organising Paddlefest this morning! A beautiful first morning with lots of manaakitanga displayed.“
Kilmeny Stephens
Sprints on the Maitai River
Sunday saw an impressive array of craft on the Maitai, sprinting between the footbridge and the main road bridge, a distance of around 240m.
Impressive Spot Prizes
A huge ‘thank you’ to all the sponsors for the impressive range of spot prizes ranging from Richmond Aquatic free entry passes, Proper Crisps, $500 Vaikobi prize pack from Kayak HQ, 2 inflatable PFD from Port Nelson, and a SUP donated by Moana Paddle Boards to name just a few.
Spot Prize from Moana
Jan Blythe took home the big spot prize from Paddlefest Nelson 2019.
Toby Wild presents Jan with her Moana Paddle Nelson inflatable Ora paddle board at Tahunanui Beach on Monday morning.
A huge thank you to Toby and Bridget at Moana for their support of our event and their incredible generosity with the prizes that they donated.
“A great day for water sports collaboration . Thanks to the organisers and the gods of weather. Just beautiful out there.”
Greg Buck
Its never too early or too late to start paddling waka ama
We always welcome new members to the Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club.
We have social and racing waka ama crews catering for a wide variety of ages and abilities.