Shiver me timbers, a ghost!

Sarah Louise Smith in her ghost pirate get-up  paddling on Otago Harbour this week. Photo: Gerard...
Sarah Louise Smith in her ghost pirate get-up paddling on Otago Harbour this week. Photo: Gerard O'Brien
You won’t miss Sarah Louise Smith at the Masters Games.

You will hear her, too.

Smith (41), who hails from Liverpool in England, will line up in the paddleboarding event  in one of her fancy costumes. 

Well, she is aiming to wear the gear but the  urge to get to the finish line first may see her ditch the attire so dear to her heart.

"It really depends on what the weather is like and who is up for the race," she said.

Paddleboarding was to be held today but has been postponed until Tuesday after flooding contamination and a  forecast for rough conditions.

Smith is a paddleboarder who  made her hobby her job. She came to Dunedin this time last year to visit friends and met  other paddleboarders.

While here she heard about the Masters Games and wondered whether she could take part.She went home to continue working as a paddleboard coach and competitor.

"But it sort of tied in with each other. I was offered a job to come back and teach paddleboarding here, I wanted to see my friends and then the Masters Games was on. So it all came together."

She has been a professional paddleboarding coach for four years and says it’s  a "great" sport.

Her wearing of costumes, including a ghost pirate outfit,  stems from events  she organised to raise funds for charity.

Paddleboarding is one of more than 50 sports at  the Masters Games in Dunedin, which start today and  end on  February 11.

In their 29th year, the games have been held 14 times in Dunedin, and in Whanganui in other years. 

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