Boiler Boys win Pacific Cup

The coveted Pacific Cup will stay local after yesterday’s Vaka Eiva 2010 final race – the open men Round Raro V6 relay.

After his race, International Boiler Boys stroker William Vogel said he knew his crew was in it for the win.

As predicted, the Boiler Boys – local Te Tupu O Te Manava paddlers, plus New Caledonian ring-ins Titouan Puyo, George Taero and Nicholas Mathies – took the race in 2:39:10.

They had to fight for the victory after some stiff nose-to-nose competition from Outrigger New Zealand, another crew that was slated to place in the round-the-island race.

Conditions right around the island were fair – from the starting line, the seas were relatively flat and the winds were light.

Around the south side, there was more chop and more wind, but for those who battled it out in Saturday’s single-man race, the conditions were manageable.

Not long after officials dropped the red flag, the Boiler Boys and Outrigger New Zealand pulled away together and it didn’t take long for both canoes to gain about 300 metres on Australian crew Crown Beach Kings, which was expected to be a contender for top spot.

The Boiler Boys kept time with master stroker Vogel able to keep their vaka on a constant glide, and by the time they had reached Arorangi, the Crown Beach Kings trailed some 500 metres behind.

Te Tupu held the lead for most of the race, but Outrigger New Zealand was never more than 40 metres behind. At The Rarotongan Resort, the local boys were just half a canoe length in front of their challengers.

The Kiwi crew pushed on, and when Te Tupu slowed for a changeover, they took advantage and gained about five canoe lengths on their local rivals.

But when it was Outrigger New Zealand’s turn to change paddlers, Te Tupu closed the gap and pulled ahead. Te Tupu had no room for error – stopping to bail or slowing to change out paddlers meant having to overcompensate afterwards, because the Kiwi crew was always gaining ground.

At KiiKii, New Zealand was trailing just 10 metres behind. Te Tupu lined up for a changeover just before Tamarind, at which point the Outrigger New Zealand boys surged ahead, the nose of their vaka lining up with the tail of Te Tupu’s – prompting frantic cheering from the support boats stationed up front. Te Tupu managed to get on a wave and ride it homeward.

Outrigger NZ followed on their heels, and crossed the finish line just 32 seconds later.

The Crown Beach Kings – a few of whom paddled around the island on Thursday – took third, pulling into the harbour nearly nine minutes later, in a time of 2:47:46.

Between Ngakau Toa Vaka and the Te Tupu master’s team ‘Engine Boys’, it was a close race – both canoes were mere feet apart, one inching ahead of the other and vice versa. NTV managed to pull ahead just before the harbour buoy and finished fourth overall in 2:51:45.

Local Aitutaki boys, including Tupuna Amo and Alistair Webb who raced around the island the day before, finished seventh in a time of 2:58:45.

Post-race, the Boiler Boys looked spent. Vogel said that while it was a good race, it was by no means an easy win – Outrigger NZ was constantly pushing, never letting up. The boys had a good rest, and it wasn’t long before they were ready to celebrate.