With the arrival of the last people composing the staff, the preparations for the Hawaiki Nui Va’a race begin.
7am: Beach of Fare
The t-shirt sale is opened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the quay: The Ara Fenua boat and its crew composed of 12 people  is already there. This boat, representing the Action of the State on Sea (AEM in French Action de l’Etat en mer),is assisted by The Jasmin from the National Police (Gendarmerie Nationale).  Their role is to coordinate the race safety, to act properly is case of eventual accidents and to make sure all boats sail in unison. All boats are also reminded to respect the rules and VHF contacts.

Te Ara Fenua

 

 

 

8.30am:

After the prayer, the va'a check and weighing begin. A minimum of 150kg and a number well-visible are both mandatory.

3 to 5 minutes are necessary to obtain a good horizontality required to get a correct weighing.

The weighing may finish this afternoon at around 4.30 and it will be on again tomorrow morning for the late paddlers.

Va'a Weighing

 

After the weighing, crews go straight to the sticker stand where they get stickers from the 8 official sponsors of the race. Further sticker checks will be done in Raiatea and Tahaa which aim to replace any damaged stickers.

Stickers Distribution

 

 

Then paddlers proceed to the membership check where they will be given wrist bands which differentiate categories:

-         Masters :

• Purple : racing paddlers
• Green :  substitutes (or from loan)

-         Seniors :

• Blue : racing paddlers
• Yellow : loans

 

Wrist Band Distribution

 

 

11.30am :

53 va'a went through the weighing and no breach to the Rules has been recorded.

12.00pm :

Arrival of the Maupiti Express II with Bora Bora and Tahaa crews.

 

Anecdote of the day: A crew from the Old Continent has been subscribed for the first time into the Hawaiki Nui Va'a.

In fact, it is the first participation for the German crew coming from Bavière, the Fishermichel veteran category.

The va'a was imported in Germany by Ito Taruoura, the coach, native to Polynesia but German resident today. Germany has on its own 6 official crews and 300 official paddlers recorded. The Fischermichel team have trained themselves in a lake and, one week before the race, by crossing Tahiti-Moorea and then Moorea-Huahine by va'a. However, they have already participated to a couple of races in Europe(eg: in France, Toulon).

Fischermichel crew

03.15pm :

End of the Va'a weighing, at least for today. It will continue tomorrow morning again. Around 20 va'a to be weight left.

In the meanwhile, teams being there and having completed all formalities, put back on ama and iato, to then try their va'a and adjustments into the lagoon.

04pm :

On the other side of the quay, take place as well the end of the fishing competition which brings together 125 boats, or around 500 fishers, a crew having to be of 2 people at least. At first, jury only take a quick look on all fishes and only the biggest ones will be weight for the decision. The winner receives a trophy and a prize of 500 000 FCFP.

Fishers Come Back