Doing it with your eyes closed

WARWICK BLACKLER/The Marlborough Express

GREAT SIGHT: Blenheim's Ken Ham, front, has never let being blind hold him back, tomorrow he will paddle the kayak leg in the AMP multisport race with Harold Gratton.

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Tomorrow's AMP Multisport race will provide a unique challenge for many competitors as they tackle the 51km course through the Marlborough Sounds and Picton, but if anyone thinks the challenge is too great they should try doing it with their eyes closed.

That is the challenge Blenheim's Ken Ham will face when he climbs into the kayak to row the final 8km leg for his mixed team.

Legally blind since birth Ham lost all vision by the age of 25. However, this hasn't stopped the 58 year old father of three stepping up to the task of piloting a kayak from Waikawa Bay to Picton's foreshore.

"The only kayak I've ever been in is a recreational one with the kids. I've never done anything like this before," Ham said. "I was one of the sponsors for the event and Peter (race director Peter Yarrell) decided that it would be nice to have me more involved. Despite my original protestations I'm here now," Ham said.

Ham said his family and the staff at his shop, Ken Ham's Music Works, were right behind him the whole way.

He will complete the kayak leg in a double kayak along with Harold Gratton, an instructor on the Spirit of Adventure and an experienced paddler. Gratton will provide the eyes for the duo and handle all the steering. Though, when learning he will be seated in the front cockpit the ever jovial Ham quipped, "It'll be like the blind leading the blind."

With a life long passion for boats, water and the Sounds Ham said the opportunity to take part in the race would be an amazing experience.

"I think it has the potential to be about as liberating as getting my first guide dog. Some things are denied me by sheer logic but it is great that this isn't one of them. I think the whole event will be really great for Marlborough and it should be a great way to kick off the summer fun season. It's great Peter could move it here to the Marlborough Sounds which is such a widely undiscovered asset," Ham said.

Ham's other team members are Jess Percasky and Graeme Litt.

The AMP multisport race was originally known as Le Race in Christchurch. After 14 years in the Garden City Yarrell decided to move the race due to increasing compliance costs and danger to competitors from heavy traffic.

Now in it's first year in the Marlborough Sounds the race will start with a 7.40am briefing on the Picton foreshore tomorrow. The near 250 competitors will be shipped by the Beachcomber ferry from Picton to the start of the run leg at Mistletoe Bay. The runners will tackle a 13km haul along the picturesque Queen Charlotte Track to Anakiwa where they will transfer to bikes and cycle along Queen Charlotte Drive, through Picton and on to Waikawa Bay. From Waikawa they will face a kayak around the Snout and into Picton Harbour with the race finishing with a short sprint along the foreshore. The first competitors are expected into Picton at 11am.

A top quality field is again on hand looking for open men's and women's honours and the $1,000 cheque that goes with the title.

The men's field will include top Coast to Coast racer Richard Brunton, New Zealand cross country skiing rep Nat Anglem and recent winner of the Christchurch multisport race Nathan Peterson.

The women boast one of their deepest fields in recent years with Sia Svendsen, a winner in the women's teams section of the Coast to Coast, Elina Ussher, wife of two time Coast to Coast winner Richard Ussher, top Christchurch runner Tania Causer and Blenheim's own Andrea Koorey the top hopes.

While the big guns will aim for the winners purse there are plenty of spot prizes to be distributed among the other finishers including a $250 travel pack from Air New Zealand

Yarrell said that while race numbers were down on the Christchurch fields he was pleased with the turnout of local competitors in most categories. His only disappointment was the corporate section where only four teams were entered, down on 35 last year.

For those not competing there will be plenty of entertainment at the Picton foreshore. A jazz band will play in Le Cafe and more music will be played over loud speakers throughout the day. A race commentary will keep well wishers informed while each competitor will be announced as they cross the finish line.

A charity auction will take place at 3pm to raise money for the Marlborough Hospice and prize giving will be at 3.30pm.

- The Marlborough Express