Local teen wins NZ paddleboard title

from 5 May 2023 Devonport Flagstaff

make History for Company Theatre

Takapuna Grammar School student Rosara Davis was among North Shore paddleboarders who claimed national titles on their home waters at Takapuna this month.

Fourteen-year-old Rosara became the youngest boarder to win the national senior women’s stand-up paddleboard (SUP) title.

Devonport paddlers Jonno Leonard (over-50s) and Bruce Curson (over-40s) both won their age divisions, while Rosara’s younger sister, Iris, one of the youngest competitors, claimed the under-12 title.

Year 10 student Rosara, who lives in Hauraki, said she was a little bit surprised to win. For her, the appeal of the sport was “just getting out on the water and having fun”.

She has other sporting interests: After the SUP championships she headed to kayaking nationals on Lake Karapiro, before returning to take part in the TGS cycling programme.

But paddleboarding is her main sporting focus. She hopes to attend world events later this year.

A trip to Puerto Rico in 2022 gave Rosara a taste of international competition. But if she gets to the world championships in Thailand this year, her national title means she will compete for the first time in the official black singlet.

Takapuna-based paddler, Ollie Houghton, won his fourth national men’s title, days before flying out to compete on the sport’s European tour.

Twenty-three-year-old Houghton will race in Spain, Portugal, France and Germany in the coming weeks, with expectations of being in the top 10 competitors.

The former Rosmini College student won his first national title, aged 16, in 2016, but put paddleboarding on the backburner while at university. He collected his other titles in 2019 and 2021.

Around 80 athletes from New Zealand and Australia competed over three days in the nationals. The venue was to have been Takapuna Beach, but after a blustery opening day of sprints on 14 April, with winds reaching 30 knots, the technical and long-distance events had to be moved to Lake Pupuke.

Finalists followed a 14-buoy course over 2.5km, ahead of a 12km distance race.

Many of the Takapuna-based paddlers, including Houghton and Rosara, got their start in the sport through the local Beach Series. “We’ve got a really awesome racing scene,” Rosara said.

Takapuna resident Marlene Bergh won the masters (over 50) division, before finishing second overall to Rosara, with Maddie McAsey from Northcote in third. Other winners of note included former yachting star Chris Dickson, who won the over-60 section.

By Rob Drent

The idea of dedicated ferries to carry Auckland cyclists across the harbour from the Devonport Peninsula is worth serious consideration.

George Bourke of commercial boating operator Hauraki Express presented the option of bike ferries to Auckland Council’s transport and infrastructure committee April meeting.

The proposed service would use existing boat ramps and jetties at Bayswater, Birkenhead, Stanley Point, Westhaven and Okahu Bay to connect commuting cyclists to cycleways.

Hauraki Express plans to use aluminium boats purpose-built in New Zealand and powered by electric outboard motors.

The ferries would have capacity for 24 cyclists and could go further afield to Waiheke Island.

Separate boat transport for bikes (and motorbikes and scooters) is nothing new and commonplace in many places overseas. I’ve personally seen them operate successfully in Europe and Asia.

The current Fullers ferries are incapable of meeting the demand for cross-harbour bike users, with cyclists often left stranded on the Devonport side when capacity is reached.

Whether the demand – ever-increasing with the rise in electric-bike ownership – will be met with Auckland Transport’s new electric ferries (the first scheduled for introduction in 2024) remains to be seen.

The use of jetties at Stanley Bay (no longer serviced by ferries) and Bayswater (an underutilised facility) would remove any potential conflict with passenger ferries to and from Devonport Wharf.

The issue is money, of course. The Hauraki Express option would require some form of subsidy from the public coffers.

But if the well-intended, heavily subsidised but ultimately flawed AT Local ride-share service merited a prolonged trial, surely bike ferries during commuter hours are worth a go.

KFC is coming to Devonport. And Devonport singer Prema Smith is about to release a new single.

Both these things are true. But the news relates to Devonport,Tasmania.

Due to the quirks of online communications, the Flagstaff was sent press releases on both events.

Were robots at work? Automated writ- ing-and-editing software might well have picked up the releases and run them as fact.

I’m generally supportive of the lower speed limits around Devonport. But when I did a couple of laps around the township on Sunday, checking for any flood damage, I found keeping to the limits surprisingly difficult. Along the King Edward Pde waterfront (a 30km/h area) I found myself drifting up to 40km/h without feeling I was speeding particularly.

I’m not a great fan though of Auckland Transport’s implementation of changes, typically with a myriad of signs – and in the latest iteration, swathes of blot-on-thelandscape red road paint at several intersections. I wonder if at some stage speed cameras will be brought in to help enforce the limits. That would be a very unpopular revenue gatherer.

The Flagstaff asked the women behind four

Devonport local Toni Sills is looking forward to spending some “work free” time with her mother next Sunday, rather than adhering to any specific Mother’s Day tradition.

Caroline founded the family business, Sills & Co, nearly 40 years ago. Toni and sister Christina both work in it.

“We are lucky to have a close relationship which works particularly well with each of us having our own areas of responsibilities,” says Toni. She handles sales, marketing and wholesaling, with Christina being the merchandising manager responsible for six stores around New Zealand. Caroline now takes on a mentoring role, overseeing the business which operates from Clarence St, Devonport.

“We respect each other’s taste and opinions – most of the time! – which means there is good balance of ideas brought to the table, which are always bounced around.”

Outside of work, the mother and daughters like to park talking business and instead enjoy the pleasures of getting out and about on the peninsula.

“Brunch at Lily or Calliope Road Café is always a fave and walking the dogs up

Mount Vic and along Cheltenham Beach is a great way to burn off breakfast.”

Asked for a Mother’s Day gift recommendation to buy locally, Toni says a voucher for dinner at Signal Hill is always a great present, or an hour-and-a-half session at Wonder Thai Massage in The Arcade.

From the Sills’ own business, picks for a great present, depending on budget, include cashmere socks or a Collette Dinnigan candle. A potted orchid with a gorgeous garden book also makes a lovely surprise. “Otherwise a cashmere sweater is pure luxury,” says mother-of-two Toni.

But the day’s main purpose for them is as a “time to appreciate what we have and feel gratitude.”