‘Tory tide’ tests Cook Strait kayakers

The kayakers paddling from North to South for a Marlborough charity have successfully made it across Cook Strait.

Grant Boyd and Zane Charman made the journey in three-anda-half hours after arriving in the Marlborough Sounds about 8.30am on Thursday.

Charman said the crossing got off to a difficult start as waves pounded the boat.

‘‘The first 15 minutes were just survival,’’ he said. ‘‘We were just fighting to keep the boat upright.

‘‘We didn’t expect to be cresting on top of 3 to 4-metre waves.’’

The 24.6-kilometre paddle measured from Cape Terawhiti, near Wellington, to the entrance of Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds.

The pair were transported from Picton to Wellington on their support boat at 2am on Thursday.

They launched their double kayak on arrival at 5am and began the long paddle back with their sights firmly on the Sounds.

Boyd said conditions cleared once the pair entered open water.

He said the pair had travelled two-thirds of the way in just 1 hour and 45 minutes.

‘‘That’s when the Tory tide started to push us back,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s a strong rip out there, and you’ve got to respect it.’’

The duo had expected the crossing to take more than 5 hours.

Plans for the attempt had been in motion since May and raised more than $30,000 for the Graeme Dingle Foundation Marlborough.

Charman said it was emotional to be welcomed back to shore by the Year 4/5 class at Picton School.

The class would directly benefit from the crossing as they received funding from the Graeme Dingle Foundation to run the Kiwi Can programme.

They welcomed the duo to shore by performing a haka and singing a traditional Maori song.

Graeme Dingle Foundation Marlborough regional manager Kelvin Watt, who was part of the support crew, said the men put in a fantastic effort to complete the crossing.

Cawthron awards

The 2017 Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards feature entries ranging from brown beetle control in vineyards to sewage treatment in the Marlborough Sounds. Twenty two entries have been received for the awards to celebrate and showcase businesses and community projects looking after the environment. Coordinator Bev Doole said winners will be announced at the awards dinner on March 31. Public field days will be held later for category winners.

Parkinson’s Awareness

Parkinson’s Awareness Week is next week, and the Marlborough Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Society is encouraging people to contribute to a fundraiser. The group will be selling raffle tickets at Marlborough supermarkets from Tuesday to help fund the Parkinson’s Community Educator Service, supporting families and carers. Group president Jane Heywood said funds raised would help people with Parkinson’s maintain their independence.

Helicopter rescue

A 27-year-old Christchurch man was winched to safety after falling from a bike on a Marlborough track. The man was cycling on the Queen Charlotte track in the Marlborough Sounds on Thursday afternoon when he fell. He suffered a suspected leg fracture as a result of the fall. A Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter spokesman said the man was with a group of riders when he took ‘‘a heavy fall’’. Other members of the group carried him to a nearby shelter on the ridge line, above Bay of Many Coves, and called for help. The helicopter found the man and an intensive care paramedic assessed the man and stabilised him before he was winched on to the helicopter. He was flown to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim for further treatment.