|
 "Well
pleased! Very well pleased!" - Dawid Mocke's
feelings on being crowned King of the Harbour for the third time.
Dawid took a
70 sec lead into Day 2 after his outstanding performance in the relay race the
day before, but he knew that Mike Walker, current King of the Harbour Champion,
would be going all out make up the deficit. And with local knowledge of the tricky
currents, Mike just might be able to pull it off.
"I didn't
want to just sit and protect my lead," said Dawid, "because I knew there would
be runs for second half of the race - and anything can happen downwind."
Race Course
The race course
was simple: send the paddlers out from Takapuna
Beach into the wind., anti-clockwise around
Rangitoto Island and back to the beach.
 King of the Harbour day 2 - Oscar's GPS Track
But Rangitoto
itself is deceptive - the channel between the two islands is shallow giving
paddlers a hard grind for about 500m and, while the race start was timed to
coincide with high tide, there was potential for local knowledge to give an
advantage in the currents around the north end of the island.
A 10-15kt onshore
breeze ensured that the last 8-9km would be downwind with runs.
Tactics
Dawid was
therefore faced with two threats - Oscar Chalupsky's legendary downwind prowess
over the second half of the course and Mike Walker's strength on the flat and
local knowledge of the conditions.
"Mike
started super-hard," said Dawid. "He broke up the group early and went about
100m into the lead."
 Race start (Photo: Oscar Chalupsky)
Dawid and
Oscar chased him down, but Dawid was struggling - his foot plate had shifted
about two notches forward as he set off ("I must have dislodged it when I was
putting my juice in," he said) and he could barely reach his rudder pedals.
 Mike Walker leads Dawid Mocke and Oscar Chalupsky (Photo: www.sportzhub.com)
"I don't
think Mike knew just how close I was to dropping off," Dawid added.
By the time
the three reached the island, they were in a tight bunch, Mike Walker leading;
Dawid second and Oscar close behind.
 Mike Walker and Dawid (Photo: www.sportzhub.com)
"My tactic
was to break away in the wind shadow between the islands," Dawid said, "and that's
what happened. The runs cleaned up a
bit, giving me my favourite conditions."
Dawid
opened up a 50m lead which he maintained through the channel between Rangitoto
and Motutapu Islands. As he turned the corner to head back to the
beach, he put his head down to try and increase his lead.
 Dawid breaks away at Rangitoto (Photo: www.sportzhub.com)
"As I hit
the runs, I cranked hard to increase my lead over the other two - and I got
out to about 600-700m ahead," he said.
Wary of
Mike Walker's intimate knowledge of the currents and coastline, Dawid kept an
eye on his rival. "Wherever Mike went, I
covered him," Dawid said.
Coming back
in the runs, Dawid maintained his lead to the end, winning the race by some two
minutes overall.
 Dawid victorious (Photo: www.sportzhub.com)
Dawid announced that he will be traveling to Hawaii to take part in the Molokai Challenge in May. Watch this space!
For more information see:
www.sportzhub.com
www.surfski.co.nz
Day 2
Results:
1. Dawid Mocke (SA)
2. Mike Walker (NZ)
3. Oscar Chalupsky
(SA)
4. Bevan Manson (SA)
5. Darryl Bartho (SA)
6. Ben Fouhy (NZ)
7. Paul Wilford (NZ)
8. Simon McLarin
(NZ)
9. Oskar Stielau (NZ)
10. Grant Heim (NZ)
First woman: Katie Pocock (NZ)
Overall Results:
1. Dawid Mocke (SA)
2. Mike Walker (NZ)
3. Oscar Chalupsky
(SA)
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Traut!!