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Derek Flynn
Andrew Martin, a world championship kayaker, died after a car accident in Nelson on Sunday.
World championship rower and kayak craftsman Andrew Martin has been named after the man who died in the car accident on State Highway 6 near Rai Valley.
Police confirmed Tuesday that Martin, 58, of Nelson, died after Sunday’s crash in which two other people, including Martin’s daughter, Lucy, were seriously injured.
Martin’s multisport athlete and former business partner Richard Ussher said Martin was an “exceptional talent” in the kayak community and an “incredible craftsman.”
“I am still accepting the fact that he is no longer with us.
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“Above all, he was just a good guy. He was always willing to help and loved watching people go out and have fun, and he put a lot into the rowing community. “
Ussher said he had known Martin since he built his racing boats and rowing boats, but the couple really got to know each other when Ussher moved to Nelson in 2005.
Martin de Ruyter / Things
Andrew Martin photographed in 2010 with one of the kayaks built at his Nelson factory.
“Once I got to the end of my racing career, or close to it, we started a new company and designed a lot of new boats and paddles together and obviously I got to know him extremely well during that time.”
The couple founded Flow Kayaks in 2011 and created racing kayaks, surf skis, and paddles together. They had since sold the business.
Ussher said that Martin was a “humble and unassuming kind of person” who was very generous with his time.
“He was never someone to play his own trumpet, but he was tremendously competitive.
“If you got into a kayak with him or participated in a race, most people just saw his rear end disappear into the distance.”
He said Martin was a craftsman with a reputation for producing incredible equipment.
“That’s why a lot of people knew him, because of the boats and the oars he produced.”
supplied
Phil Dooney, left Aaron Cox and Andrew Martin compete in the 1995 Wild Water World Championship K1 team event.
“It is a very sad moment for all who knew him and my thoughts are with his family and all who knew him and are feeling the loss.”
The Flow Kayaks website described that Martin had paddled his entire life, competing in almost every competitive kayak discipline and representing New Zealand in slalom, whitewater racing, and marathon kayaking.
He has been a national champion in wild water lifeguard events, marathon and surfing and was a triallist for the New Zealand Olympic calm water team in 1984 and 1988.
Martin De Ruyter / Things
Andrew Martin photographed with prototypes of two new kayaks in 2009.
Martin’s best international performances saw him finish in the top 10 at Wildwater World Champions twice and, along with Phil Dooney and Aaron Cox, they won Wildwater’s team event at World Champions in 1995.
Martin began manufacturing kayaks and paddles while competing in whitewater events, culminating in the installation of Andrew Martin Kayaks in New Zealand.
On Monday, police called on everyone who witnessed the fatal accident to submit information.
Tasmania District Road Safety Manager Sergeant Major Grant Andrews said there were four vehicles involved in the crash and that there was a “significant investigation underway” involving the major accident unit, the Criminal Investigation Branch ( CIB) and the road surveillance team.
Anyone who saw the accident or passed through the scene of the accident is requested before emergency services contact Nelson Police.
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