Canon kayaks the Cook Strait
A Paekakariki resident too young to legally vote or have a beer has paddled across the Cook Strait, and he’s not finished yet.
Canon Larsen, 17, completed his 32-kilometre voyage from Seaview to the Perano Whaling Station on Arapana Island last week. Larsen arrived at 1.30pm, with the paddle taking about 41⁄ hours.
He had hoped to complete a return crossing, but challenging swells and tides, strong winds and a need for more daylight hours meant he had to call it a day.
He is likely to attempt the double-crossing later in the year.
A student at Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School in Lower Hutt, Larsen completed the voyage for his class 12 project, ‘Kayak my Heart Out’.
The project is student-chosen and completed in their final year of school, outside of school hours.
Canon said there were several options on the table when he started thinking about his project.
‘‘The original list of options included mural painting, cooking, crafting, a dance piece and audio engineering. However, my passion for getting out on the water superseded any other ideas.
‘‘The notion of ‘kayaking my heart out’ became the only true path.’’
His journey really started after he received his practice kayak for Christmas.
Larsen asked for advice from Titahi Bay resident Conrad Edwards, who has completed more than 20 Cook Strait crossings.
‘‘When you meet him, he has that warm yet steely look in his eyes that says ‘I know what I am talking about,’ Larsen said.
Larsen and his family travelled in a catamaran beyond Sinclair Head, where he disembarked into his kayak.
His mother Tina said attempting the return crossing was tempting.
‘‘Tuesday happened to be one of those magic, calm days between lows, and importantly, the very first day of the neap tide.
‘‘[It] makes the crossing all that much more possible, as the difference between the high and low tides are less than at other times of the lunar cycle.’’
Larsen's feat
Canon Larsen completed his 32-kilometre kayaking voyage across the Cook Strait from Seaview to the Perano Whaling Station on Arapana Island in about 41⁄ hours,
2 arriving at 1.30pm.