Paddlers in Gisborne still struggling to get back on the water

Poverty Bay Kayak Club under water
Photo: Poverty Bay Kayak Club

It could be some time before young paddlers in the Gisborne area can get back in their boats following Cyclone Gabrielle.

The Poverty Bay Kayak Club is hoping to return to the Waimata River in the next few weeks, but it’ll be some time before they’re back to a pre-cyclone situation.

Last month’s tropical storm left part of the clubrooms under water and almost half of their boats were either destroyed or damaged.

The club didn’t have insurance, but fortunately their club rooms were too badly affected.

Any money from a Givealittle campaign and other funraisers will be used to repair and replace boats.

Damaged boats at Poverty Bay Kayak Club
Photo: POVERTY BAY KAYAK CLUB

The club has been in existence since 1978 and produced its fair share of top paddlers from 1984 Olympic champions Grant Bramwell and Alan Thompson through to current national representatives Quaide Thompson and Alicia Hoskins.

Out of their 50 boats, nine were completely written off by the flooding, while a similar number are having to be repaired.

Club members were able to salvage a lot of their gear even before the waters receded, but club coach Kim Thompson says for many they’re still unable to train.

The Gisborne Districts Council is still encouraging the public to stay clear of the rivers because of possible bacteria from sewage in the silt and mud.

The clubrooms are right on the banks of the Waimata River, but the club’s top paddlers are now training on a small lake on private land 20 minutes out of town.

Thompson says because of limitations with the lake they’re only allowing those fully focused on the upcoming nationals to train there, which means development, novice and beginners have no where to go.

“Some people who I thought we might have had ready for nationals at Lake Karapiro in late April, now won’t be going.”

Thompson was also scheduled to have a schools programme start the day before the cyclone hit.

“There is the AIMS Games for Intermediate kids in September and we’d just recently got funding for boats to prepare for that, so I really want to get that going before the water gets really cold.”

The schools programme was meant to start last month, but she’s now hoping to get in going at the start of term two.

Thompson says “it’s still very much wait and see.”