Surfing the Menu in NZ 
NZ chef Mark Gardner will co-present the fourth season of popular cooking show Surfing the Menu, with London-based Australian Ben O'Donoghue. Gardner, 29, replaces O'Donoghue's previous co-presenter, Australian Curtis Stone. The fourth season comprises an eight-part tour of NZ, showcasing the country's food and scenery in equal measures. "I have been watching a lot of the food channels lately and checking out the other shows. And I just think we've just got a lot more punch and excitement," said Gardner. The series will see O'Donoghue and Gardner cooking innovative meals in between heli-skiing, surfing and scuba-diving with sharks. Gardner will present his signature barbeque dish: freshwater trout with fejoa wrapped in flax. The series premieres on Discovery Travel & Living, May 8. 
(1 May 2007)

More gold for Kendall 
NZ sporting legend Barbara Kendall is back in the spotlight after winning the women's RS:X windsurfing event at the Princess Sofia Trophy regatta in Palma, Spain. The three-time Olympic medallist was also named the overall Princess Sofia Trophy winner. NZ sailors won four more medals at the meet, with Tom Ashley taking gold in the men's RS:X, Andrew Murdoch silver in the Laser Class, and Jo Aleh and Hamish Pepper bronze in the Laser Radial and Star classes. Contested by over 1000 sailors, the Princess Sofia Trophy is one of the best known Olympic regattas and is one of the six events in the International Sailing Federation's World Cup series. The 2007 event was used by NZ Olympic selectors as a trial for next year's Beijing Olympics. 
(6 April 2007)

Earthrace is on 
Kiwi Peter Bethune is now part way through a 30-city world tour aboard Earthrace, his unique biodiesel-fuelled powerboat. Since leaving NZ, Earthrace has visited Samoa, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Hawaii and San Francisco on its mission to promote renewable fuels. The tour will finish up with an around-the-world powerboat race set for March 2007. Bethune is an oil exploration engineer turned environmentalist, with a keen interest in powerboats. His 78-foot trimaran was designed by Craig Loomis Design Group and built by Calibre Boats. 
(19 August 2006)

Gold rush
NZ won a staggering four gold medals at the world rowing championships in Kaizu, Japan. The unbeatable Evers-Swindell twins (Georgina and Caroline) won the women’s double sculls, Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater the men’s pairs, Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh the women’s pairs, and Mahe Drysdale the men’s single sculls. The victories all took place within a 45 minute period, thus replacing Peter Snell and Murray Halberg’s gold medal efforts at the 1960 Olympics as NZ’s most successful hour of international sport. World renowned head coach, Dick Tonks, is under contract to the NZ rowing team until the conclusion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
(4 September 2005)
   

46 South
New Zealand surfing photographer Paul Kennedy plunges into the Deep South to an emerging big-wave scene. “In New Zealand, size comes at a price. The trade-off for being the only part of the country to receive genuine big waves is the biting cold and radical weather. Even on glassy, sunny days, the full rubber kit from head to toe is essential. Winter days are often plagued by squally gales of such force that they make going outside an unlikely option, even for the farmers. This is surfing in New Zealand at latitude 46 degrees South, in the heart of the Roaring Forties.” 
(May/June 2005)

Silver bullet
Kiwi Jo Aleh won silver at the ISAF World Youth Championships in Poland, finishing second in the Laser Radial class. "I'm stoked!" she said in Scoop. "It was a hard regatta with such different conditions, it's been tricky sailing all week. It was pretty cool to finish the regatta with silver."
(19 July 2004)
   

Double trouble
Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell continued their formidable lead-up to Athens with a double-sculls gold medal at the World Cup rowing regatta in Munich. The twins beat English pair Sarah Winckless and Elise Laverick by a massive 4.75 seconds, in a final they described as "fun." They then went on to win an equally convincing world double-sculls title at Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21.
(31 May - 21 June 2004)
   

Champs on surf and turf
NZ finished second overall in the world lifesaving championships at Viareggio, Italy, behind Australia and ahead of South Africa. The Kiwis won 17 medals in total, including gold in the men’s beach flags event (Morgan Foster), gold in the women’s surf race (Rachael Anderson), silver in the 50m mannequin carry and 100m medley rescue (Georgina Toomey), silver in the 50-54 age group ski race (Ian Ferguson), and gold in the 55-59 year age group ski (Brett Leask).
(21 September 2004)
 

Flat-out Fouhy takes Kayak world champ gold
NZ’s Ben Fouhy won the individual 1,000m kayaking event at the flat-water world championships held in the US last month, qualifying him for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Trained by NZ Olympic legend Ian Ferguson, he raced to gold ahead of Canadian Adam Van Koeverden and Australian Nathan Baggaley, winning in a time only 1.5 sec off the world record.
(14 September 2003)
  

Double success for twins
At the World Rowing Championships in Milan the Evers-Swindell (Caroline and Georgina) sisters repeated their winning performance of 2002 in the double sculls and are firm favourites for gold at Athens in 2004. Caroline: "To go out there last year and win for the first time and set the world record was awesome, [but] to have Kathrin Boron back, who has been winning for the last 10 years, and to race her at these world championships and to beat her is just a wicked feeling. It was a really tough race, but really satisfying." Joining the Evers-Swindells in qualifying for next year's Olympics were single sculler Sonia Waddell, the men's pair and the men's coxless four.
(30 August 2003) 
         

King of Greece honours king of sailing
Sir Peter Blake has been posthumously awarded the prestigious Olympic Order for his services to sport. Honorary IOC member, the former King Constantine of Greece, presented the award to Blake's wife, Pippa, at the Emsworth Sailing Club. King Constantine: "Sir Peter was an incredibly impressive man […] He was a man who inspired people, sailors and non-sailors alike."
(26 October 2002)
     

Shared victory
Living up to expectations, Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell powered to gold at the 2002 World Rowing Championships in Seville, continuing a strong lineage of NZ international rowing achievement. Winning comfortably, the twins knocked more than three seconds off the previous world record for the women's doubles race.
(21 September 2002)
          

Riding on
Maz Quinn proves he's no grommet as New Zealand's first representative on surfing's elite World Championship Tour and sets the pace during the opening round on Australia's Gold Coast. "I'm stoked to get through, I'm flying the (New Zealand) flag very high, that's for sure (laughs). I'll just take the confidence into the next heat now." Maz's aim for the tour is to, "put New Zealand on the map for surfing."
(March 2002)

Golden moment
Edge machine Rob Waddell takes the Olympic gold in rowing's glamour event, the men's single sculls.
(23 September 2000)
 

Sailing Away with the Kenwood Cup
New Zealand was officially named champion of the 12th Biennial Kenwood Cup Hawaii International offshore series, with Big Apple 3, after stopping to help a distressed boat, still coming in ahead of Australia, the USA and Japan.
(10 August 2000) 
          

 

Catch up Columbus: world speed record a holiday in the sun for Grant 'pure speed' Dalton
Dalton, captaining the maxi-catamaran Club Med has smashed the trans-atlantic 24-hour sailing record. Retracing Columbus's historic East-West Atlantic Crossing, they broke the elusive 600 mile barrier for the first time, travelling at an incredible average speed of 26 knots.The crew were euphoric: Dalton: "It was magnificent - pure speed!
(11 June 2000)    
         

Kiwi King is queen of the waves in Singapore
Jane King may only be 8 years old and 1.45 metres tall, but she is already a wakeboarding champion: in an adult category. She recently out-jumped and out-tricked four adults to win the Seventh Slamdunk Wakeboarding Championships woman's novices' title and has the X-games in her future: "I just like learning new tricks, taking part in competitions and winning them."
(18 June 2000)
         

Boat Race to put coaching philosophy to the test 
"Harry Mahon, the New Zealand coach who has worked in England for eight years ... is the nearest thing that the sport has to a single font of wisdom ..."
(24 March 2000)

Holding his breath 
Dispensing with weights, ropes and flippers, New Zealander William Trubridge descended to 82 metres and broke the world record for constant weight diving without fins. Now living and working in the Bahamas, Trubridge runs No Fins freediving courses. For Trubridge, diving without aid is a way of severing his attachment to the world above the surface. "In essence, this is about pushing the edge of human experience," he says. Trubridge will attempt another record at the AIDA Team World Championships at world-renowned diving destination Sharm-El-Sheik in the Red Sea, later this year. 
(2 February 2008)

High seas drama 
A book detailing the tumultuous Earthrace mission to date has been published in time for Christmas. First Time Around by Scott Fratcher follows the state-of-the-art boat on its mission to promote biodiesel fuel by breaking the round the world speedboat record. Earthrace set off from its NZ base in March 2007. "85 days later the Earthrace attempt was abandoned in Spain with multiple 2-meter cracks in her main hull," reads the book's blurb. "In her wake were three major storms, an engine rebuild, 6 propeller changes, bankruptcy, and ultimately death on the high seas." First Time Around is available as an e-book or hard copy from lulu.com.
(December 2007)

Rowing champs bode well for Beijing 
NZ athletes continue to dominate world rowing, with another impressive medal haul at this year's world championships in Munich, Germany. Single sculler Mahe Drysdale, lightweight sculler Duncan Grant and the men's four of Carl Meyer, James Dallinger, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond all won gold. Silver medals were won by women's double scullers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell and the men's pair of Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater. In all, NZ qualified seven boats for next year's Beijing Olympics. 
(3 September 2007)

Precious metal 
NZ athletes won four gold, two silver and a bronze medal at last week's rowing world championships in Lucerne, Switzerland. Gold medals were won by Mahe Drysdale (single scull), Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell (doubles sculls), Duncan Grant (lightweight single scull) and Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles (women's pair). Storm Uru (lightweight single scull) and Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater (men's pair) won silver medals, while Hamish Bond, Eric Murray, James Dallinger and Carl Meyer picked up bronze in the men's four. "There's definitely a general improvement on Amsterdam [world champs]," Rowing New Zealand's high performance manager Andrew Matheson told NZPA. "There's still some sharpening up to do and we've got five weeks to get that under our belt before Munich [world championships from August 16]." 
(15 July 2007)

Surf secrets revealed 
Artificial Surf Reefs (ASR) co-founder Kerry Black has been profiled by CNN. Black, a former Waikato University professor, has spent the last few years perfecting the world's first fully adjustable computer-controlled reef. He expects the technology to revolutionise indoor surfing and to potentially turn it into an Olympic spectator sport. "I think the sport is going to change radically," says Black, who cites environmental issues and overcrowding as already having an impact on its traditional practice. "There are a lot of surfers now. The quality of the surfers has gotten better so we need to have better surf breaks ... I think the planet has a really limited number of resources and surf breaks is one of the things that are limited." ASR's first indoor reef will be launched at the Ron Jon Surf Centre in Orlando, Florida. 
(1 April 2007)

 


Living legend
Guardian film writer Diana Dobson visits Whangara, home of the Ngati Konohi people and inspiration behind Witi Ihimaera’s Whale Rider. Rather than touring the location made famous by Niki Caro’s film adaptation, Dobson focuses on the local surfers and their families – “the modern-day wave riders who keep these Maori myths alive.” “The [Whale Rider story] has been part of our history for years and years,” says former NZ surfing representative James Fowell. “Growing up, we always knew the rocks, just out here to be the remains of Paikea and that [… island] to be his whale. I never feel threatened by the sea here. Whatever I am doing, I'm safe. We are such seafaring people and our drive and pull towards the ocean is something we can't control.” Ihimaera believes the myth could potentially become an international classic: “Like a Maori Heidi or National Velvet. It is a story for all ages, all peoples.”
(26 July 2004)   

“Crazy Kiwi” charges hard
Christchurch surfer Doug Young won the ‘Deep Throat’ award at the 2004 Red Bull Big Wave event in South Africa. The ‘Deep Throat’ prize goes to the “hardest charger” - the surfer who braves the biggest, messiest waves without hesitation. Young is the first NZer ever to compete at the event.
(27 June 2004)
   

Interislanders cruise to victory
Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald of Team Holiday Shoppe won the epic Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race from the Canary Islands to Barbados in record time, despite their boat being capsized 40 hours into the event. The pair's victory makes them the second consecutive NZ team to claim victory in the ultimately demanding annual 3,965km endurance test.
(2003)

How to remember Sir Peter Blake? 
The government has committed $2.5 million to the construction of a memorial museum in the late Sir Peter Blake's honour on the Auckland waterfront. Sports Minister Trevor Mallard: "The [Blue Water Black Magic] exhibition will ensure a lasting tribute to a New Zealand hero and icon who was recognized the world over." Gordon McLauchlan muses over the need for a Blake Mausoleum and the qualities of NZ heroism in general in the NZ Herald. 
(16 May 2003)
   

Land of the great big trout
Australian fly-fishing convert Margie Blok declares NZ an angler's paradise. Blok describes her chopper ride into the inaccessible headwaters south-east of Lake Taupo as yielding "the ultimate fly-fishing experience": "…the hypnotic noise of the river and the beauty and solitude of that remote wilderness […] had me hooked."
(7 September 2002)
      

Mahon's final stroke
"Laconic, grizzled New Zealander" Harry Mahon, legendary international rowing coach dedicated to creating the perfect stroke, died of cancer aged 59. Mahon took team after team to the top, including the British gold medallist eight at Sydney and the New Zealand World Champion eights in the early eighties. Tributes in The Guardian, The Times and The Independent.
(19 May 2001)

Brooke on board
Former AB Zinzan Brooke shucks his rugby jersey and climbs aboard the Team Veritas yacht for a leg of the BT Global Challenge.
(30 January 2001)
           

Edge of safety
Entrants in "the Race" must pass through Cook Strait - the Southern-most point of safety in the opinion of race organisers.
(01 December 2000)

Edge Jet
"Created in New Zealand, Jet Sprint Racing places over-powered engines into undersized boats and blasts racers through swampy, shallow and tight cornered courses."
(21 November 2000)
          

From gold to gold 
The sponsor of this year's Boston Head of the Charles Regatta put up $30 000 prize money for the men's and women's sprints. Rob and Sonia Waddell scooped the pool, coming in first and collecting the reward.
(24 October 2000) 
            

Kiwi water winner
The gold medal in women's 470 sailing class at Sydney went to Australia - with a Kiwi  doing the work. New Zealander Jenny Armstrong teamed up with Barbara Stowell, originally from Zimbabwe, to win Australia's 50th medal.
(1 October 2000)
           

Fast cat Dalton borne on the scud of the sea
The New York Times scuds along at 31 knots on board the world's quickest ocean-going sailboat. For Club Med, skippered by Kiwi Grant Dalton pushing the boundaries of speed is plain-sailing: "You never get sick of going over 30," he shouted. "I haven't yet anyway." 
(11 July 2000)
  

The Race no holiday for Club Med
New Zealander Grant Dalton, a winner of the Whitbread Round the World Race, is to skipper 110ft catamaran Club Med in 'The Race', a non-stop dash around the world starting from Barcelona on the last day of the year. Dalton describes it as "The toughest event I have ever tackled".
(9 May 2000)
          

Budding swim star 
Te Haumi Maxwell, 13, has been hailed as the "best male swimming prospect since Ian Thorpe" in the Australian press. Maxwell was born in NZ but raised in Australia, and is due to become an Australian citizen later this month. Maxwell won five gold medals and a bronze at the New South Wales state age championships in Sydney last week, with times that make him the fastest swimmer in the world for his age. "Thorpe is my idol but I want to swim like (US superstar) Michael Phelps," he said in the Melbourne Age. 
(20 January 2008)

Round two record attempt
NZ speedboat Earthrace will begin its second attempt to break the world circumnavigation record in March 2008. Earthrace is using the record attempt to raise awareness for environmentally friendly biofuel. "The record is just a small part of the package," says skipper Peter Bethune, a former oil industry worker. "We need to make people aware that biofuels need to be part of our transport energy mix and people should support them should they become available." Earthrace will set sail from Valencia in March and aims to return around 65 days later, beating the current circumnavigation record of 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes. Its first record attempt was abandoned in May 2007 after a series of misfortunes. 
(19 December 2007)

Fifth Olympics for Kendall

Surf up-and-comer
Oakura teen Paige Hareb has been ranked fourth in the world in women's under-18 surfing since the junior world championships in May. The 17-year-old was also the first New Zealander ever to compete at the X-Games, held in Mexico in July. She attended the event at the invitation of Australian 7-times world champion, Layne Beachley. Despite being exposed to some of the world's greatest breaks, Hareb is content with training in Taranaki. "There are heaps of point breaks, so it's easy to practice your moves," she said in an interview with the Taranaki Daily News. "And then in the winter, when you're wearing big thick wetsuits, it gives me an advantage when I go to places like Bali." Hareb currently surfs for Billabong's international women's team. 
(14 August 2007)

Mason wins at Raglan 
NZ surfer Airini Mason has scored her second Billabong Pro Junior Series title for 2007 by winning the girls' division of the $13,000 Raglan leg. The 18-year-old beat pre-event ratings leader Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) in the semi-final before defeating Ashleigh Smith (Cabarita, NSW) by 16.75 to 12.40 in the final. "I just had so much fun in that final," said Mason. "I was lucky that those two bomb waves came my way and I'm really happy to win here in NZ. It's so good to get a first place, it is the best place in the world." Mason moved from Gisborne to Australia's Gold Coast two years ago. In 2006 she became the first NZ female to win the Australasian Junior Series, at just 16 years of age. She is now top of the Pro Junior girls' leader-board, with just four events remaining in the series. 
(1 April 2007)

Wave watching 
The Surfer's Path features top New Zealand surf spots in its 50th edition. In a gallery of images titled "Aotearoa Light Play", one of surf photography's greats Aaron Chang and rapidly rising star Brian Nevins captured a series of million-dollar wave shots. The pair took an extended road-trip round New Zealand slowed by constant stops to take in the scenery and the desire to "sit with the silent air and watch the way the swell makes love to a sandbar."
(September 2005)

Airini surfs up rankings
Gisborne’s Airini Mason scored the highest ever placing by a New Zealand female surfer at an international event, finishing third at the Billabong Girls’ Easter Surf Fest in Queensland, Australia. Mason is now ranked 69th on the Women’s WQS ratings.
(29 March 2005)
   

Coutts’ cup runneth over
Russell Coutts beat American Ed Baird and Australian Peter Gilmour to win the US$30,000 King Edward VII Gold Cup. He now heads the leaderboard of the 2004-5 Swedish Match Tour championship after three of eight races. The Gold Cup victory was Coutts’ seventh in thirteen years, making him the all-time greatest winner of the trophy.
(25 October 2004)
    

One to watch
Kiwi boardsailor David Robertson (18) won gold at the Mistral Youth World Championships in Nessebar, Bulgaria. Team-mate Anna Eason finished fifth in the women’s event. Robertson placed first at last year’s National Youth Champs, sixth in the ISAF World Youth Championships in Madeira, and narrowly missed out on Olympic selection this year.
(9 August 2004)
   

Back on track for 2007
Team NZ has finally announced its challenge for the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain, thanks to a multimillion dollar sponsorship deal from Dubai-based Emirates Airlines. The syndicate has missed two previous confirmation dates due to lack of sufficient monetary support.
(14 June 2004)
  

Twin engined sculls
Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell received the International Rowing Federation’s Female Rower or Crew of the Year Award at the annual FISA Coaches Conference in Athens this month. The twins won their second consecutive world championships title in August, and are now regarded as favourites to win gold in the double scull at next year’s Olympic Games. Says Rowing NZ chief executive, Craig Ross; “The award epitomises the twins’ absolute commitment to excellence. Caroline and Georgina’s performance reflects their physical and mental toughness on the international stage.”
(29 October 2003)
   

Dickson at the helm
NZ sailing veteran, Chris Dickson, led Oracle BMW Racing to a 7-5 victory against the America’s Cup winning Alinghi in September’s Moet Cup. The event was the first in a series of high-profile regattas leading up to the 2007 America’s Cup.
(16 September 2003)
  

Surf's up in Cornwall
Waikato University's resident surf expert - Dr Kerry Black - is helping create waves in Cornwall, where a £6 million proposal for constructing an artificial reef is currently under negotiation. Black and his team of marine consultants - ASR - rate Tolcarne Beach as an ideal site for embedding the giant, sand-filled bags needed to create "a world class surfing break." Local tourist boards, businesses, and environmental agencies all support the proposal, as does Britain's growing army of surfers. 
(3 November 2002)
    

Surfing on the web 
Sailor Graham Dalton (older bro of Grant) has set up an educational website where children can watch his yacht "Hexagon" circumnavigate the globe as part of the Around Alone race yacht race beginning 15th September. Hexagon was built in NZ and the launch was accompanied by a performance from London's Ngati Ranana Maori Club.
(1 July 2002)
         

Love Trolley champ
Competing on an indoor erg (affectionately known as the 'love trolley) Georgina Evers-Swindell wins the Crash-B World Indoor Rowing Championship with a time 0.6 sec off her world record. The win caps off a huge year - Georgina, along with twin sister Caroline, recently won NZ's top sporting award, the Halberg Award, as well as Sportswoman of the Year and Sports' team of the Year on the back of their double Silver Medal win at last year's world champs. Below: Georgina is in front.
(February 2002)

Crackers rowers
Former New Zealand representative sailor Dominic Mee and his best buddy Tim Welford are half way across the Pacific in a rowboat named Crackers.
(30 June 2001)
          

Dalton speaks
"Home, however briefly, is beckoning. We should be through the Cook Strait, which separates the North and South Islands of my home country, New Zealand, in four days and that means we will, as far as I am concerned, be half-way through this race round the world."
(30 January 2001)
          

Splitting the difference
Grant Dalton's playing canny in the Race, "splitting the difference between east and west," lying comfortably in second place.
(7 January 2001)
             

Sketchy ketch
"I don't want to see another iceberg for a while, except in our drinks," New Zealander Chris Riley says after a perilous trip through Canada's Northwest Passage in Evohe, a 25m Dunedin-based ketch.
(31 October 2000)

Danyon Loader: the retiring type?
New Zealand double Olympic swimming gold medalist Danyon Loader has announced his retirement, "I've been swimming competitively since 1987 ...and the desire and incentive to race has diminished," said Loader, 25, who won gold medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle at the Atlanta Olympics, as well as a silver medal in the 400m butterfly at Barcelona.
(27 June 2000) 
          

Taranaki's silver surfer
Taranaki teenager Paige Hareb has stunned the international surfing world by reaching the final of the Billabong World Pro Junior in Sydney. Hareb, 17, finished in second place behind Australian favourite Sally Fitzgibbons, after knocking the South American, South African and US junior champions out of the competition. Hareb only gained entry to the prestigious event via a sponsor's wildcard. "I think I sneaked up on a few people but I have been working hard behind the scenes," she said in a post-event interview. "It's great to see my name up there, and the words 'New Zealand' after it."
(7 January 2008)

Protest heard around the world 
NZ-born pro surfer Dave "Rasta" Rastovich led an international protest over Japan's commercial slaughter of dolphins in November, gaining significant media coverage for his cause. Rastovich, a free surfer for Billabong, is a co-founder of the charity group Surfers for Cetaceans. He led a traditional surfing paddle-out ceremony at Japan's notorious "killing cove" in Taiji, to honour the memory of the thousands of dolphins killed there each year. "In surfing culture, it is customary to hold this type of ceremony to show respect to a surfer who has lost his or her life," he says. "These dolphins, truly the original surfers, are our ocean brothers and sisters and deserve to be remembered and honoured in the same way." Rastovich was joined by actresses Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Isabel Lucas (Home and Away), pro surfers Karlie Mackie, James Pribram, Karina Petroni and Jaymes Triglone, and a group of Japanese surfers from Save Japan Dolphins. The protest earned massive media exposure after arrest warrants were issued in Japan for Panettiere and Lucas, as well as for others in the group. 
(29 October 2007)

Two-time world record holder 
Wellington freediver Dave Mullins has set a new world record by swimming 244m underwater in a single breath. The 26-year-old broke his own record of two days prior by 18m during an international competition held at Wellington's Naenae pool. The swim took 4:02 minutes to complete and covered nearly five lengths of the 50m pool. Mullins also holds a world record in spearfishing, for shooting the largest ever striped marlin in 2004. 
(24 September 2007)

Diving's best kept secret 
Jacques Cousteau named the Poor Knights Islands one of the world's top ten dive sites and Australian travel writer Nigel Marsh agrees. Located 24km off the coastline of Tutukaka, 200km north of Auckland, the Poor Knights Islands are home to more than 60 recognised dive sites. Rather than simply taking a day trip, Marsh recommends experiencing Poor Knights from the live-aboard boat Mazurka, owned and operated by Glenn and Tiana Edney. "Glenn has been diving the Poor Knights Islands for almost 20 years and is one of New Zealand's most famous underwater photographers," he writes. "When not diving or eating the wonderful food cooked by Tiana and Glenn, we would just marvel at the islands towering above us, watching sea birds glide along the cliff face." 
(2 May 2007)

Sailing event a "Kiwi blackwash"
This year's 420 World Championships have been described as a "Kiwi blackwash" after NZ sailors took out all podium positions in both the Open and Women's events. Carl Evans and Peter Burling, Simon Cooke and Scott Illingworth, and Rowan Swanson and Bruce Kennedy came first, second and third respectively in the Open competition, while Jo Aleh and Olivia Powrie, Shelley Hesson and Bianca Barbarich-Bacher, and Sarah Bilkey and Rosie Sargisson won gold, silver and bronze in the Women's. Top sailors from 17 different countries competed in the event, which was held in NZ for the first time at Auckland's Takapuna Boating Club. 
(8 January 2007)

Holland ahoy 
New Zealander Ron Holland is one of the world's top naval architects. Based in the small Irish sailing port of Kinsale, his latest project is designing and building a 190-foot, $50 million superyacht Ethereal for Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. The brief: to be the most efficient, eco-friendly boat afloat. Holland's design of the hull and rigging will allow her to slip through the water at speeds most motorized superyachts could not match - and without consuming a drop of fuel. Largely self-taught - he began his career 40 years ago as an apprentice in a New Zealand boat yard - Holland has been drawing winners since 1973, when he skippered his own design, the 24-foot Eygthene, to victory in the world Quarter Ton Cup. He has been called "the pioneer of modern superyachts. He was the guy who early on understood how to make these huge ships handle like real sailboats. If they didn't, there would be no super-sailing-yacht business today." Adds Holland: "It's something in the soul. Sailors can imagine themselves following in the wake of the great seafarers like Magellan, Vasco da Gama, and Cook." 
(August 25 2006)

World to come to Waikato? 
NZ has officially placed its bid to host the 2010 world rowing championships at Lake Karapiro in Waikato. "It's our turn," says RNZ chief executive Craig Ross. "NZ rowing has never been in a stronger position." The other hosting bids have come from Slovenia and Australia. 
(26 January 2006)

Money makes the Cup go around
Alinghi syndicate head Ernesto Bertarelli has provided Team NZ a multimillion dollar “no-strings” loan to ensure their presence at the 2007 America’s Cup. “In [Bertarelli’s] view, the regatta would lose some of its appeal without us,” said Team NZ general manager, Grant Dalton. “It would be like holding the [soccer] World Cup without Brazil.” In other Cup news, Russell Coutts is embroiled in a legal battle with Alinghi over his controversial dismissal from the team. According to Swiss weekly L’Illustre, Coutts is now planning to launch a new and improved sailing competition, offering a more level playing-field. “I think especially that a system to control costs should be set up to allow the syndicates that are less well-off to be really competitive,” he stated in the interview.
(1 August 2004)
   

The world breaks left to Raglan
The final of the 2003 Oxbo World Longboard Championships was held near Raglan, November 6-16. The prestigious US$50,000 event saw top competitors from the US, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Hawaii surf Manu Bay's famed left-hand point break, in the concluding round of a series of heats held in Spain, Portugal, France and Brazil. Australia's Beau Young took first place, followed by Joel Tudor of the USA.
(17 November 2003)
   

Ocean masters
Team NZ/Hawaii won the 52nd annual Hawaii Modular Space Molokai Hoe on October 12 by almost 5 minutes. The 41 mile race is considered the world championship of long-distance outrigger canoeing. Team NZ/Hawaii comprises four Kiwis (Rob Kaiwai, Maui Kjeldsen, Eugene Marsh and Andrew Penny) and 5 Hawaiian paddlers (Raven Aipa, Thibert Lussiaa, Kea Paiaina, Karel Tresnak and Bill Pratt). Says Pratt, “I think one of the greatest things we've found by sticking together through the years is: Don't try to force seriousness; remember that we do want to win, do want to compete, but we're also here to have fun and enjoy each other.”
(13 October 2003)

Samurais & surfers: the world comes to Taranaki
The inaugural Foster's World Masters Surf Titles were held in Taranaki over Easter weekend, attracting over 450 local and international competitors. The International Surfing Association-sanctioned event was open to any rider over 35. Says organiser Wayne Arthur; "What's fantastic for local surfers is that this is the first time they can win a world title in a New Zealand contest."
(15 - 20 April 2003)
   

Success on the surf
Team NZ/Hawaii had an impressive surf canoe win in the Steinlager Henry Ayau Men's International Race, Maunalua, Hawaii. TNZH broke the course record by 10 minutes under conditions described as "perfect."
(16 September 2002)
           

Sculling sisters
NZ twins Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell continue to impress on the international rowing circuit. The pair won gold at July's World Cup in Munich and are tipped to do the same at next month's World Championships in Seville. 
(5 August 2002)
       

Commanding performance
Grant Dalton and his crew hold second place in the Volvo Ocean Race, as the event "reaches its spiritual home", Auckland. "The World's premier yachting capital". according to the Volvo Ocean race website.
(8 January 2002)
      

NZ dominates transatlantic race
New Zealand continues its domination of long distance rowing with two outstanding results from the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge. Matt Goodman and Steve Westlake arrive in Barbados after 42 days at sea. They were greeted by Rob Hamill, the previous race-winner who had to pull out of this year's event after breaking his hand. Just over a week later, the first woman's team arrives: the New Zealanders Jude Ellis with Steph Brown. They are an impressive fourth overall.
(November 2001)
                 

The Win
New Zealand racing legend Grant Dalton brought giant Club Med in to Marseilles 62 days after leaving Barcelona - winning The Race by over 900 miles and clocking the fastest circumnavigation ever. 
(3 March 2001)
 

Fast sail
Grant Dalton's big cat Club Med stripped 33 hours off the trans-Indian Ocean record, sighting Australia seven days, fourteen hours after passing the Cape of Good Hope.
(29 January 2001)
         

They're off
The Race, featuring New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton, kicked off in Barcelona on December 31. The giant catamarans are expected to circumnavigate the globe in around 65 days.
(31 December 2000)

Sea dog
Sailing legend Grant Dalton's a professional: 'Treat Dalton like a wizened old sea dog and your hand will disappear into gritted teeth. "Romance of the sea? Doesn't mean a shit to me," he says. "You get out of there as fast as possible."'
(17 December 2000)
       

Record breaking Brit uses Kiwi know-how
Brit Ellen Macarthur, 22, the youngest winner of the Europe 1 New Man Star transatlantic yacht race, is attempting the Vendée Globe around the world solo yacht race, its youngest competitor ever. As well as training in New Zealand, the vessel that has borne her on her record breaking way is the Kiwi designed and made Kingfisher.
(2000)