By Cloe Willetts
If mothering three children under six and working part-time in a senior management role wasn’t enough to keep Jordan McDowell on her toes, the Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards member added another task to her plate.
Early this year, after months of vigorous training, the ocean enthusiast competed in the longest and most challenging surfboat marathon in the world.
Jordan, a senior service development manager at Te Whatu Ora, trained six days a week for the international George Bass Surfboat Marathon, in New South Wales, Australia.
From December 29, 2024, to January 4, Jordan and eight others represented Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards for the first time as an all-female crew.
They rowed seven legs, across seven days, completing a total of 190km and finishing third in the open women’s division.
Although the women originally planned to enter the Bass in 2021, it was canceled due to COVID. Afterward, the friends welcomed babies, and didn’t pick up training again until March 2024.
“The George Bass is a bucket-list event for many surfboat rowers and it was challenging!” says Jordan, 33, whose longest leg at the event was 36km on day five. “It truly took a village to help me with preparation for the marathon, especially when my husband Danny was at work because he’s an electrical engineer on ferries, so he does week on, week off.”
During the weeks Danny, 34, was away, their parents took turns watching the children so Jordan could train.
The determined mum’s preparation included three surfboat sessions a week, ranging from 10 to 25 kilometer rows, as well as rowing machine workouts and gym strength training.
Danny and the children flew to Australia to support Jordan in the marathon, which ran for its 50th year.
Watching their mum in action on the water wasn’t new for Serena, six, Sydney, four, and Roman, two, who are raised on the beach as members of Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards.
Jordan was 15 when a friend invited her to join the club.
Although she lived in Tawa, she often visited Paekākāriki to see her grandparents.
“I’ve swam my whole life but I wasn’t the most amazing swimmer. I wasn’t a national champion,” laughs Jordan, who met Danny at a swimming club as a teenager. “If you want to become a super competitive swimmer, you have to be practicing like 10 times a week and only really doing swimming. But I was also into netball, water polo, running and athletics, and didn’t want to commit to swimming alone. Surf lifesaving quickly became another sport I could do in the water and I became hooked on all the different areas. I loved patrolling.”
At 17, Jordan started training younger lifeguards through the Paekākāriki club – a not for profit formed in 1913 after a drowning several hundred meters off Paekākāriki Beach.
When she completed the necessary 20 hours of volunteer patrolling, Jordan began entering national competitions, continuing even after she moved to Otago for university.
“I flew out for national surf lifesaving competitions with Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards, but as I got older, naturally, I started training less,” recalls Jordan, who has a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Human Nutrition, and a Masters of Public Health. “Then, I got into surfboats, which is quite a natural progression from patrolling.”
In her time patrolling Kāpiti beaches, Jordan fortunately never experienced a drowning on her watch.
“While most of our work is around preventing people getting into trouble in the first place, our lifeguards have assisted in body recoveries, which mostly occur in rivers or around rocks, rather than outside the surf club. The rescues often involve kayaks or other inflatables,” she explains. “Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards has a call-out squad consisting of our most senior members, who undergo extensive training to assist in search and rescue operations in the water, alongside police and fire services.”
Following Cyclone Gabriel’s devastation in Hawkes Bay in February 2023, the Paekākāriki club dispatched many members from its call-out squad to assist with search and recovery efforts.
“The work we do extends beyond our local community; we often respond to requests from Titahi Bay when a drowning occurs, since there are a lot of divers around that area,” Jordan shares. “Our general patrolling surf club members help, too.”
Such experiences inspired Jordan and a fellow surf lifesaving friend to establish Little Nippers two years ago.
For members six and below, Little Nippers introduces basics like duck diving under a wave and body surfing. Kids are also being taught what a lifeguard does.
“Children learn they can only go in the water with an adult and to put up their hand if they’re in trouble in the water. It’s important to get children out in the water young,” Jordan says. “When my friends and I are competing, our kids are often at the beach and also very keen to get in the ocean. We wanted to make sure they understand and respect the ocean and waves.”
Once Little Nippers members turn seven, they can move into the popular Nippers programme and compete in competitions.
By 14, they’re able to become lifeguards by completing a course and by 15, they can start rowing surfboats, just as Jordan did.
She’s one of hundreds of Kāpiti locals passionate about the club, which celebrated its centennial in 2013 and has welcomed families across three and four generations.
“The club currently has up to 30 Little Nippers and over 100 Nippers. There are up to 25 senior athletes who compete and 20 or so lifeguards who chose to focus on the lifesaving side. Plus, we have around 40 boaties,” Jordan enthuses. “Then there are the former lifeguards who no longer patrol due to age and family commitment, but will remain life members.”
Together, the tight knit community and “family club” are backing a state-of-the-art building project underway for a new club room.
The carefully designed venue will support the work of Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards, while acting as a hub for Kāpiti. Upgraded facilities will include improved changing rooms, training spaces, and community gathering areas.
So far, $4.5million has been raised for the project and a further $500k is needed to complete the build. Kāpiti Coast District Council was the first to fund the club, allocating $1m to start the project. Surf Life Saving NZ sponsored an initial $1.4m in funding, followed by an additional $500,000.
Other major supporters include Pelorus Trust, Lion Foundation, NZCT and Pub Charity, and Sargood Foundation.
As well as donations from Coastlands of $30,000 in 2022 and $30,000 in 2024, the project has received major support from Cuttris Consultants Ltd, HWA Architects, and Quality Demolition.
Of course, Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguard members have pitched in considerable time and work to help bring the much-anticipated build to life.
Like other club members, Jordan understands the long-term benefits a safe and welcoming club will have for future surf lifesavers – both in and out the water.
“When I started with Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards as a teenager, having somewhere to hang out on patrol, or before and after training, was so important for building friendships,” she concludes. “Surf lifesaving is more than just a sport. You find a community of likeminded people to grow with and I really want that for my kids, too.”
For more on the Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards see: www.paekakarikisurflifeguards.org.nz/
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