Ben Fouhy World Champion K1 1000m Kayaking New Zealand

One of the best things about living in Auckland is being close to the water – lots of it! This morning I paddled out to Rangitoto with Coast to Coast champion Gordon Walker and past World Duathlon Champion Dr Mat Brick.

What a fantastic start to the day. We paddled the 4 or 5k out to the island then ran around one side of the base of this old volcano before running to the summit and the down the other side and back to our kayaks.

Gordon with the Rangitoto light house in the back ground

The summit of Rangitito in the background

This week the NZ Kayak team left for Europe. This will be the first time since 2001 that I wouldn’t have been overseas for competition. I wondered how I would feel about that when the World Cups came around… The first one has now come and gone and I am happy to say there were no pangs of envy or withdrawal. I am very much embracing the year out from competition and enjoying the recreational approach to paddling.

Thanks to the team at Nelo I am now enjoying the latest in kayaking – the new Vanquish 3 has lived up to my high expectations as a boat that has the Nelo appeal and a performance characteristic more suited to my style of paddling – that is a boat that has a straighter hull and tends to run.

Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to join the current NZ kayak team in camp prior to their departure for Europe. It was very enjoyable to be out on the water with New Zealands best paddlers without being too concerned about form. I was amazed to paddle a 7.39 for the 2k TT that kicked off the camp as I have been doing very little in the way of any training. I was also happy to come fourth in the 500 in which I was 2.7 seconds behind the winner paddling a 1.48 into the headwind – quite surprising and definitely a nice way to christen the new boat.

Inside the cockpit they have laid down a nice timber veneer which in the flesh adds a nice element of luxury.