Wind change in world record attempt

Tauranga kayaker Tim Taylor is starting his 24-hour paddling record attempt from Mount Maunganui's Pilot Bay tomorrow morning instead of Omaha Beach in Auckland.

The change of start line for the solo kayak record attempt is because of a spate of variable weather, with south-westerly and westerly winds replacing his preferred north-easterlies.


Tim is setting out from Pilot Bay tomorrow. Photo: Suppplied.

'During my NZ circumnavigation I learned that you can never control the weather and simply have to take what you can get,” says Tim, who will set off at 8am on Thursday.

'For a challenge like this you need the best possible conditions, so you need to be prepared for whatever eventuates.”

Tim's revised plan is to paddle as far as Opito Bay on the Coromandel, then turn round and paddle back to the Mount.

By heading north, he hopes to take advantage the south-west winds that are forecast, paddling through the night and hopefully returning to Tauranga 24-hours later.

'The actual route that I take for this challenge is of no consequence as it's a pure distance record,” explains Tim. 'As long as I surpass the current record of 194.1 kilometres, I'll be able to claim a new one.”

Throughout the attempt Tim will be followed by support boat the ‘Klingon' - a 13.2 metre charter boat based in Tauranga that will shepherd Tim for the entire journey to ensure he is well fed and kept safe during the night.

There will be eight supporters and witnesses on board, and their job is to accurately record Tim's progress and share it on Facebook, via: www.facebook.com/24hrkayak

Tim's progress can be followed during the attempt via the SPOT tracker on his kayak. It links to a Google map and sends a signal roughly every 20 minutes.

The current world record is 194.1 km set by Randy Fine of the USA in 1986. The distance Tim hopes to achieve is 220km.

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1 comment

So.....

Posted on 16-04-2015 05:41 | By Jimmy Ehu

if this as stated, is a pure distance record, why does he not go back and forward in a swimming pool?, no wind issues and no support vessel cost required.


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