Sunday February 9 saw the Richmond Rowing Club descend on Lake Nagambie once more for the annual Nagambie Regatta!
For most, it was an early start with cars filled with sleepy rowers departing Melbourne at 5am to make it for the beginning of a long day of races along a 1000 metre course. But other keener rowers took full advantage of the culinary, specifically brewery related, delights that Nagambie have to offer and arrived a day early.
The trusty Richmond tent was stationed along the last 200 metres of the course, perfect positioning for boosting the morale of the weary rower who has fallen victim to the dreaded ‘fly and die’.
Dana and Susanna delivered a strong performance in the Female C Grade Double Scull heat but missed out on making the final of the event. However, they had subsequent opportunities to compete in the C Grade Coxed quad scull with Mel Perkins and Sarah Houghton joining in too, winning the second heat convincingly but just falling short by a few seconds in the final coming second against Melbourne.
Lily Innes-Irons and Mel Perkins came first in their D Grade Single Scull heats, coming an admiral second and third place in the final. Mel came second place by 0.45 seconds behind her opponent from Caulfield Grammar. A tremendous effort!
Rosie, Gypsie, Kirsty and Ally did us very proud coming second by an absolute whisker against Melbourne in the Female D Grade Coxed Four, reliably coxed by Derek, crossing the line only 1.92 seconds after the victors.
The hardworking dream team of Pavel, Lachie, Richie and Jack came second in the Male D Grade Coxed four defeating a newcomer crew comprised of Alex P, Nathan, Campbell and your’s truly, who had jumped in the boat together for the first time on the day of racing.
Rosie Dickson-Hoyle and Gypsy Shepherd have some more bling to add to their collection after their stunning victory in the Female D Grade Double Scull arriving at the finish line 2 seconds ahead of Rutherglen. Yet another tremendous effort and testament to both their hard work and the coaching brilliance of Dario Sportelli. Dario, who along with Jon Roberts, Allan Randall and Dennis Beck proved unstoppable in the C-Grade Men’s Four, boosting Richmond’s medal tally again.
After what Will Golding admits was an ‘interesting choice of steering’ over the first 100 metres of our race, the rag tag team of development and yellow squad rowers, claimed victory over Hawthorn in the final for the Men’s D-Grade eight. Once again, this was the first time this crew had rowed together. It was quite a surprise for the rest of the team including Campbell Mayne, Tim Evans, Nathan Brumley, Kim Begelhole, Alexander Reid, Matt Hardy, Alexander Pupko, myself and our fearless leader Will Golding all coming home with a gold medal.
Unperturbed by their second place in their previous race, Pavel, Lachie, Richie and Jack won gold in the Male D Grade Coxed Quad after a strong performance, finishing 11 seconds ahead of the other competitors. A brilliant result for one of the many hardworking Richmond crews that were out on Lake Nagambie.
Particular thanks should go towards all those who came to support us. Our spirits and energy levels were particularly bolstered by Lily Innes-Irons wonderful mother, Jill, who provided a metric tonne of honey joys for anxious rowers to nibble on ahead of their race. I put their sugary and buttery goodness down to our surprise victory.
I think most can agree that 2020’s Nagambie Regatta was one filled with highs and lows. While there may have been some personal disappointments following the regatta, all of our performances were testament to our hard work and determination and only spoke to our competitiveness for States and an exciting year of racing we can all look forward to.
Hamish Taylor
Head of Goulburn 2019
Following the great day we had at Bendigo last week, on Saturday Richmond Rowing Club was back on the racing scene for Head of the Goulburn, the best regatta of the year (in my completely biased opinion)! It starts from Nagambie Regatta Centre and follows down the beautiful Goulburn river for 7.2 km, meandering through gorgeous eucalypt forests populated with galahs and cockatoos, all the way to Tahbilk winery. As far as I know, it’s the only rowing race that finishes at a vineyard! Good incentive to get us there faster 🙂
Another nice thing about HOTG is that racing starts from 11am for everyone except school kids, a very gentlemanly schedule indeed, giving us plenty of time to drive up, load up on caffeine and get nervous. The forecast had announced a promising “14 degrees, 80% chance of showers, with possible hail storm and sustained 35km wind”, which turned out to be pretty much bang on, but it was the gusts that were particularly fierce. In fact while we were waiting around, an 8 and a 4 ended up going for a swim on the way to the start line.
1. Dario and Stef sheltering before the race
2. A Wentworth crew getting swamped by brutal wind and waves on the way to the start line
3. Bit too heavy to row now 🙁
Finally the wait was over and it was time to go. First up were Susanna, Christine, Diana, Anthea, Charlie, Phil, Guy and Leigh in the mixed 8 event, coxed by Dianne. They powered down the course in a great time of 35:05.
4. The XM8+ crew coming in after the race
Next was the D grade male 8 with Rob, John Hellerstedt, Steven, Pavel, Nathan, Lachlan, Alex, and Garret, coxed by returning member Sarah Houghton who had only just returned from the USA the night before. Thanks Sarah for jumping in despite the jetlag! The lads had a great row and were so close to winning the event, only just a few seconds behind the Argonauts crew, bringing them in second place
5. The boys ready to rock!
6. MD8+ at the finish, tired but happy
After the eights came the quads, and our first was the men’s B grade quad with Jon Roberts, Allan Randall, Mike Gehling and Dennis Beck, steered by superstar cox Derek Begg. They were looking very clean and powerful throughout, and despite the gusts managed to get a brilliant time of 31:20. This brought the first win for Richmond, well done boys!
7. The MB4X+ looking strong on the finish line
8. Winners are grinners! Medals all around
We then had two mixed quads competing: The first in the Masters category consisting of Shern, Tim, Mike Calvert and Sarah Hardy, coxed by Kathy, who came third of their event with a very respectable time of 36.05.
The second mixed quad was up next with Dario, Kirsty, Keith and Ally, expertly coxed by Lilian for her first time at HOTG, well done! Despite a few windy wobbles, the row was strong and got us a win for the event. Celebrations and wine were in order!
9. Lilian getting the cox treatment 🙂
10. X4X+ between rowing and wine tasting
The final Richmond crew to head off was the Women’s D grade 4 with Amy, Imogen, Lily and Stef, coxed by the lovely Laurent Demay. They had an excellent row, but the competition was too fierce and they came in second.
After all the exertion, it was time to join the rest of the Richmond gang at the cellar door, to refuel and hydrate among all the goodies Tahbilk had on offer. We could also admire the lovely old buildings, huge wine barrels and vineyard equipment that gives this old winery all its charm and character. Even the medals reflect this heritage, featuring the famous Chinaman’s bridge and the iconic 3-tiered farm building. They’re really pretty.
11. Tahbilk winery looking sharp
12. Pretty medals
13. Time for some food, hot sauce dribbling into blisters
Well done everyone for another brilliant regatta! All in all it was great craic despite the weather, and Richmond took full advantage of it all. In fact we were the last to leave, as usual 🙂
14. Obligatory shot in the vines before leaving
Big thanks to Steve Sheppard for his duties as BRO Level 2 during the regatta.
Thank you also to Chris and Leigh for towing the trailer, and Barry for bringing the trailer from the Regatta Centre to Tahbilk.
And Finally, massive thanks to all the coxswains who made the trip up to Nagambie and allowed a crew to race: Dianne, Sarah H, Derek, Kathy, Lilian, and Laurent. You guys are legends!
Ally
RRC Head Season Training Camp 2019
Thoughts of a ‘never camper’
This was my first rowing camp. This was my first brush with a camping experience of any kind, period. I rocked up with a mind full of newbie questions: what’s it going to be like? ‘how remote is Nagambie if I forget something’? As a result, I packed like I was preparing for an apocalypse – gear for every weather condition and snacks for every hunger level. Also, someone please explain ‘box biting’?
Getting to Nagambie
The drive to Nagambie the one of the most beautiful experiences. I carpooled with the Hardys (Sarah and Matt) who knew the roads we were travelling so well. The conversation was lively, lolly supply generous and the drive itself was a super unwinding experience with views of endless canola fields and at one point, alpacas!
The first thing that strikes you on reaching the cabins is the spectacular view of lake.
I spent a good half hour on my cabin deck just taking it all in. The weather was surprisingly sunny and bright for most of the weekend, and a glimpse of the summer to come. That evening, we got ready for our first row, which for me was a quad. This row helped me get a feel of the lake with its many buoys and weeds.
We ended the day with a drink at the pub followed by a box-biting demonstration from the reigning champion himself, Keith, back in the cabins.
Rowing Hard
Saturday started super early with a view of a gorgeous sunrise from the cabin deck.
The first session of the day was a quad again but this time, we went up the Goulbourn river with Kathy coxing us (thanks a ton!). We had a shaky start to begin with, mostly because our crew hadn’t rowed together and we all brought our unique styles. But we kept at it with our cox and Michael coaching us from the ‘tinny’ through the second and third sessions that day. All the hard work was made worth it by the carrot cake at lunch (I still get dreams of it). The last row of the day was a highlight because it was my first time in a single skull. Though, the looks of trepidation on Barry and Michael’s faces while I almost tipped the boat getting in were priceless. I had a constant mental record of “hands together”, “oars feathered”, “DON’T FALL IN”!
Saturday night BBQ left me in a food coma. I unapologetically went for a second round, it was that good. Then came box biting. I would still like to know the origins of the tradition; if you know, stop and share. We had 2 rounds of everyone trying until it came down to the final round. Of course Keith won, but I think we also spotted an emerging talent in Pippa who gave him some tough competition. The general strategy seems to be picking the highest edge of the box. Until next camp, my strategy is going to be practicing Yoga to maintain develop the balance and flexibility!
All the coaching and practice from Saturday came to head on our Sunday rows. By now, a few of us from DS had been working as a consistent crew. If Saturday was shaky, Sunday was strong and sturdy. I count them as one of the best rows I’ve had. We had a moment going up the river when we held the boat still to just take in sounds of the birds and look at the giant pelicans. A far cry from the urban sounds and sights of Melbourne.
Can’t thank everyone who organised, coached and coxed for the weekend enough.
All in all, here are my somewhat helpful ‘pro tips’ for first-time campers:
- Bring snacks, lots of them
- Don’t skip the cake
- Bring Beer (or your poison of choice), you’ll need it after a hard day’s row
- Nearest good coffee is at a café called Foxhole, but be prepared for a 20-minute wait (resulting in a missed session on water!)
- About 50% of people at boat loading/unloading are as clueless as you but acting super purposeful. You’re not alone!
Its been a few weeks since Camp now, and I can feel the change in my technique. Looking forward to next year.
Saloni Dikshit
Save the date – RRC training camp – 13-15 September 2019
RRC’s Spring Training camp date has been locked in over the weekend of 13-15 September 2019 at Nagambie.
Consistent with last year we have booked accommodation at the Nagambie Leisure Park on the nights of 13 and 14 September. For those attending we will have on water sessions on 14 and 15 September on both the regatta course and river. If you can get the day off work on 13 September, there will be the opportunity for some additional casual sessions also.
Full details to follow soon. Lock the date in your diary – it’s a great reason to start your Winter training now !!!
Victorian State Championships 2019
After a long season of training, the Victorian State Championships were held on 3 and 4 March 2019. Richmond were well represented across the day. With temperatures pushing 37 in the afternoon, the new tent was greatly appreciated and looked the envy of all clubs. However the heat was accompanied with strong winds in the morning making conditions tricky, especially for the smaller boats.
The heats of the women’s D grade singles were Richmond’s first events of the day. Competition was strong with 28 entries across 4 heats. Kate Riley, Rosie Dickson-Hoyle and Gypsy Shepherd were all competitive in their races with Rosie progressing from her heat to the final. As a recently joined member it was great to see Kate also backing this up later in the day in the C grade single.
As the morning progressed Dana Hill, Sarah Houghton, Geraldine Goss, Zoe Maxwell and cox Charlotte North-Coombes, took out Richmond’s first win of the day in the D grade women’s 4. A great effort in tough conditions with them leading throughout.
The men’s crews were up next with Alan Randall and Jon Roberts stepping up to compete in the men’s C grade pair. Competitive throughout they finished 4th in a strong field.
The men’s D grade 4 were up next, after a restart Andrew Yuile, Dennis Beck, Michael Calvert and John Carey, coxed by Derek Begg, finished strongly but just outside the medals in 4th place.
Michelle Joy and Kate Dyball finished Richmond’s involvement in the morning session in the A grade women’s double. Leading throughout in the 2km event Michelle and Kate brought home gold with a outstanding performance in this high quality event.
After a well-earned lunch break we were back in action with the events coming thick and fast. Sarah Houghton, Geraldine Goss, Zoe Maxwell, Kate Dyball and cox Michelle Joy represented the club in the heat of the highly competitive C Grade quad.
This was quickly followed by the D grade double with 2 crews of Gypsy and Rosie and Dana Hill and Louise Roberts-Bailey representing Richmond. Gypsy and Rosie won their heat, finishing just outside the medals with a 4th place finish in the final.
Allan Randall, John Carey, Dennis Beck, Andrew Yuile, and cox Charlotte North-Coombes were up next in the C Grade Four. Another strong field saw the crew finish just outside the medals again in 4th place.
The D grade women’s quad was up next Louise Roberts-Bailey, Dana Hill, Rosie Dickson-Hoyle, Gypsy Shepherd and cox: Charlotte North-Coombes made it through their heat into the final. In what felt like a theme for the day, the crew rowed well, but finished just outside the medals in fourth place.
Andrew Yuile and John Carey faced off against a Power House crew in the D Grade pair, taking out the gold medal by just under a second in a close race.
Dennis Beck was back in action in a single, competing in the C grade single late in the day.
The final medal for the day went to Sarah Houghton, Geraldine Goss, Kate Dyball, Michelle Joy and cox Derek Begg, in the B grade quad. Progressing well through their heat, they finished third in the final to pick up the bronze.
Overall a great performance by all involved, with huge thanks to our supporters and coaches that turned up on the day.
Head of the Goulburn 2018
For some, the morning of Head of the Goulburn started early with the drive to Nagambie. For others, we simply rolled out of our expertly assembled tents for a leisurely breakfast. The nerves started to kick in just as the wind started to pick up.
All the crews started to assemble at Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park as the push off point before a leisurely paddle down towards the start line. Once through Chinaman’s bridge it was a solid 7.2km race down to the finish line at Tahbilk Winery. The thrill of the chase spurring us on, even when we might not have believed our Cox’s calls about how close we were to the next boat.
The day turned into a stunner once we were out at the winery and able to swap carrying the boat for a glass of sparkling. The cheers for Richmond at the winners announcement were definitely some of the loudest and for good reason.
The men’s 4 of Jon, Allan, Michael C and Michael G cleaned up their category with Laurent coxing. My own marvellous quad managed to hunt down Bendigo thanks to Rosie’s direction, with Ally, Lucia and Shern’s efforts. What a way for Lucia to say goodbye to Australia by winning a medal. Special mentions to Michelle’s open single scull efforts, and John’s medal for his D grade single.
The party kept going back at the caravan park, with some going for a dip in their zooties in the lake. Another round of Articulate thanks to Ally before off to bed to seek out more wineries in the morning.
Thanks to all for a fabulous weekend, particularly Tim for organising, Barry for boat towing and our mystery boat unloaders. I can’t wait to hear how Richmond goes at Melbourne Head and HOTY!
Amy Catlin
Spring training camp 2018
After checking the percentage chance of rain every hour (possibly every five minutes) during the week before, the panic was over when we arrived in glorious sunshine. I got into a single and started to hesitantly row out from the safety near the shed onto the lake. I firstly thought I’d just head to the middle before getting a call from Tim on the bank to not go so far away (I assume due to the high likeliness of my falling in!), so I made my way to the very impressive 2km course. After bumping into a few buoys on my way in, I calmly splashed my way down to the finish trying to keep up with the other girls. Definitely the most professional course I’ve ever seen – I truly felt the Olympics were only a stroke away!
Had a lovely outing in a double which was more successful than my single (mostly because I wasn’t steering), before heading off to dinner at Nagambie Rowing Club. Had a great catch up with some new rowing buddies till they turned off all the lights which I think was our cue to leave. You know that you’re enjoying it when you don’t realise that everyone else in the pub has left! Back for an early night before an early start (which apparently was a lie in compared to last year!).
Tim helping me rig a single
Had a lovely outing in a double which was more successful than my single (mostly because I wasn’t steering), before heading off to dinner at Nagambie Rowing Club. Had a great catch up with some new rowing buddies till they turned off all the lights which I think was our cue to leave. You know that you’re enjoying it when you don’t realise that everyone else in the pub has left! Back for an early night before an early start (which apparently was a lie in compared to last year!).
Tim helping me rig a single
An impressive eight getting coachingSo 7am Saturday we got up, put some eights together, and got on the water to row up the beautiful Goulburn river. Mixing the crews up I got into another eight going up and down the course, and thanks to Kathy had my first experience lying down in a rowing boat! After munching down on a lovely lunch (thanks Zoay) and probably too much cake, we headed off in a four to take the course with Dave coxing.
Onto Saturday night’s AMAZING bbq and the infamous box biting championships (which I had being getting demonstrations of and tips for, including the importance of footwear choices and not wearing tight trousers, throughout camp). The aim of the game is to pick up a beer box with your teeth, having hopped at least three steps into the middle of a circle, while still standing on one leg. The box would then get slowly smaller being expertly cut by Michael. I was very proud that I made it through the first round but not even Charlotte and Kat could beat the human pretzel, aka Keith. Congratulations! So after a wild game of Exploding Kittens (thanks Amy), it was off for a not so early night but still early in the general scheme of things. Rowing is seriously affecting my body clock!

View of sunrise from our cabin
Huddling round the fire at the bbq
Keith’s winning moves at box biting
Congratulations Keith!
Playing exploding kittens in cabin 42Two outings later we were taking all the boats apart again and packing them all onto the trailers to head back to town. After washing the boats and putting them all away it was off home for the earliest night of the weekend! Overall I am definitely a lot better at rowing, made lots of new friends and got to show off my very blistered hands to my colleagues on Monday (I’m still not sure why I did that – I’m not sure they appreciated it!)
Thank you to everyone who helped organise camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lucia Denniss
Victorian Masters State Championships 2018
written by Stefanie Dudczig
SATURDAY
It was a sunny 12.3 degree celsius Saturday morning (it felt more like 6.2) when we arrived at Lake Nagambie for this years Rowing Victoria State Masters Championships. The weather was actually very kind to us with lots of sunshine and warmer temperatures later on in the day.
The racing started off with the Mixed Masters A-B coxed Four consisting of Morgan, Lindsey, Allan and John C., coxed by Derek. They crossed the finish line ahead of Powerhouse by 4 seconds, winning the first (and unfortunately only) Gold Medal for Richmond.
A mentionable race, but no medal involved, was the Male Masters C Eight against Cardinals. A club I’ve never heard of before but according to Kim they had crew members that rowed at the 1980, 1989 and 1991 National Championships in the Men’s Youth Four and Youth Eight.
The boys of our Eight (Dennis, Jon R., Allan, John C., Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob, coxed by me) did well and gave everything, but were unfortunately no match for them. Later we found out that the Cardinal Crew were only training for 14 months!!!!! prior to this event. We had 14 minutes to the start line and a borrowed boat with more spiders than people in it.
Another medal for Richmond came from the crew of Denis, Phil, Guy and Leigh, coxed by Christine in the Male Masters E coxed Four. They secured themselves a Bronze medal beating Bairnsdale and Melbourne Argonauts Composite crews.
More strong performances of Richmond crews included:
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Christine, Morgan, Guy, Leigh coxed by Denis in the Mixed C Four
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the Female Masters Club Eight with Yash, Jodie, Dana, Sarah, Christine, Morgan, Lindsey, Cat (Note: she just came to Nagambie for this race! Thumbs up!) and Derek (cox) trying to make up a 19 second handicap.
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Male Masters Club Fours: Richmond-1 with Allan, Jon, Dennis, John, me (cox) and Richmond-2 with Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob and coxed by Shern (who also just came up for this race…. and the Tahbilk winery).
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Karen and Michelle making it to the Final in the Female Masters A-B double scull
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Female Masters A-B coxed Four with Sarah, Dana, Jodie, Yash and Derek (cox)
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Female Masters Club Quad Scull: Richmond-1 with Michelle, Karen, Kate, Lindsey and Richmond-2 with Sarah, Dana, Jodie, Yash, coxed by Christine.
After a successful race day, Rowing Victoria invited everyone for free drinks to the finish line. They definitely didn’t spare on beers, wine and bubblies. Whilst most drove back to Melbourne for the night, some stayed at the Big4 caravan park in Seymour taking advantage of the walking distance to the Pub and the inflated jumping pillow after 6pm.
SUNDAY
More racing followed on Sunday. It wasn’t cold, it was freezing!!! I finally gave up on squeezing my zootie over 10 layers and decided, that a black jumper with Richmond on the back was more appropriate than a bright orange jacked one of the other coxes were wearing. The sun was shining again, but this time with a bad cross wind. This made attaching the stern to the boatholders at the startline and staying in a straight line for the start quite difficult. Thanks to all the bow and 2 seat people for their endless tapping and backing.
The day started well with the girls of the Female Masters A-B Quad Scull (Michelle, Karen, Kate and Sarah winning) picking up silver, missing out on gold to the Victorian Nationals team.
The Male Masters A-B coxed Four (Allan, Jon R., Dennis, John C., coxed by me) got Bronze by beating the second boat of the Argonauts, leaving Gold to Power House and Silver to the Argonauts first boat.
Bronze also for the Female Masters Club Four (Michelle, Karen, Kate, Sarah, coxed by Denis H). Their race had one boat on GO (Latrobe University G crew) and 7 crews with a 25 – 30s handicap. Our girls came solid third with only 1 second behind Melbourne University in second and 5 seconds behind Power House in first leaving two Melbourne crews, 2 Latrobe crews and Yarra Yarra behind.
The probably most exciting and nerve-wracking race was the Mixed Masters A-B Eight. Michelle in stoke seat lead Karen, Kate, Sarah, Allan, Jon R., Dennis, John C and myself (cox) to a silver medal. Whilst sitting just slightly behind Melbourne for the first 600m of the race Michelle found the turbo button that made us zoom past them in the last 300m finishing in second place 4 seconds ahead of them. You should have seen their faces… shocked to see the Richmond crew overtaking them. Well done everyone!
A last bling for the day came from the composite crew with Latrobe University. The Mixed Masters F Eight with Leigh, Guy, Phil and Denis won silver beating a Argonauts composite crew by 5 second.
More great performances came from the following crews:
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Male Masters E quad scull with Leigh, Guy, Denis and Phil
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Male Masters A-B Eight (Dennis, Jon R., Allan, John C., Tim, Kim, Ray, Rob, coxed by me)
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Male Masters Club Quad Scull (Kim, Alex, Ray, Rob coxed by Christine)
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Female Masters A-B pair (Lindsey and Morgan)
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Male Masters C coxed Four (Allan, Jon R., Tim and Dennis coxed by myself). This boy’s did a fabulous job staying next to Power House of the start. It looked promising until the steam started to run out after 250m…..
Check out all results, crews, handicaps and times here: https://vic.rowingmanager.com/
GENERAL COMMENTS and THANK YOUs
Kim our Richmond cameraman on site, was full in action taking footage of the mens Eight and Men’s four whilst racing. I’m pretty sure that we will see some of the actions shots at our soon upcoming presentation night.
Denis Henry is the man with the most medals won at this Regatta (silver and bronze for coxing, silver and bronze for rowing).
Allan and John C. managed to collect the complete set (one of each: gold, silver and bronze).
Big “Thank you” goes to:
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Phil, Kim and Christine for volunteering as Boat holders at the start line. Kim unfortunately missed out on this unique job as there were more than enough people in his session.
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Leigh for pulling the trailer to Nagambie and back
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Tim and Barry for organizing boats, crews, people and for being there for us.
Ahhh… and I nearly forgot one of the highlights of the whole Regatta: the BBQ food van. OMG! This brisket and pulled pork burgers were AMAZING! Ask John C. for the full tasting experience as he managed to sample everything. And I think we all agreed that the pulled pork loaded potato was the winner of the whole menu. We are looking forward to see them again at future regattas.
Ballarat and Nagambie Sprint Regattas
After a great weekend at training camp on the Yarra on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January, rowers, coaches and coxes were ready to test their skills at sprint races.
On alternating weekends from the camp weekend the RRC trailer has been making hauls up highways to get boat to regattas.
The first sprint regatta was endured at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat on Sunday 5th February. Now Ballarat is a regional centre with lots of attractions to bring visitors. The very picturesque lake is bang in the middle of town. So any reasonable person could be enticed into wandering around its perimeter to take in the sights and sounds of a lake. But rowers have a much stronger sense of foreboding when entering the environs of the lake for a regatta. And so we encountered another day of violent winds tearing hats from heads, tipping tents over and generally threatening un-tethered boats with some airborne adventures.
Once crews got on the water and up to the starting line, they quickly realised they weren’t in rowing races, but in surf boat races! A hearty cheer to the coxes, who handled the inclement weather, and got their crew on the start line, and then over the finish line.
The wind was not all that was to be endured. A persistent rain storm descended and made the last few races a visual mystery as the mist of rain completely obliterated any view of boats after they left the floating pontoons.
Despite all that Ballarat threw at us, some crews took home some medals.
Wins for RRC crews
The next regatta was at Nagambie, a lake created by a very determined politician (with a strong involvement in rowing!) to ensure ongoing business for a small country town. So the lake is very serviceable for rowers, but even successful politicians can’t guarantee the weather conditions to suit rowing.
On our visit on Sunday 19th February the weather was not best suited to our needs. But rowers are trained to tackle the situation they find themselves in. The start line umpires had good technique in getting all crews in a race up to the line together for quick starts.
Once again the skies opened in the latter part of the day and delivered a good amount of water. But just as quickly it all moved away and the sun shone down on us again.
A great day of racing was run with RRC having many crews in many races ranging from D to B grade. Some improvement in times for crews not getting over the line first and great times for other crews showing a real pick up in performance. A few medals made their way back down the Hume in RRC bags.
Wins for RRC crews
Nagambie Men’s D Grade Coxed Four, coxed by Stef, Stroked by Allan, followed by Jon, Dave and Laurent.
The RRC rowers are very grateful to the people who organise their attendance at regattas from entering the crews in Rowing Manager, creating the boatloading plan, ensuring all crews are allocated the best boat available and have the right equipment. Not forgetting our BROs (boat race officials – Barry at Ballarat and Allan at Nagambie) volunteers that are required at all regattas we attend as a club. To the rowers, their attendance at boat loading and unloading, are pivotal activities to ensure the continuation of regatta attendance.
Well done everyone!!
By Anthea and Piyada
Camp 2016
Thursday night: The trip didn’t seem like it was getting off on the right foot when we left Melbourne on a cold, rainy night for the 2 hour dark drive up to Nagambie. After an exhausting week at work we arrived at the campsite and already we had encountered our first challenge, a boom gate. Thanks to organisation queen Kathy’s email “most” of us got through without a hitch – others needed to wake up the locals only to be reminded that the code had already been sent out. A couple of U-turns later we found our cabins and settled in for the night.
Day 1: Early morning wake-up call. It seemed each cabin had a morning person and ours was Edwina. Leaping out of her bed at 5:30 AM and annoying those who wanted an extra 10 minutes (or 2 hours!) snooze. Yash wasn’t quite coping but a coffee delivered to bed fixed her up soon enough.
Again the weather didn’t seem to be ideal, cold, rainy, and muddy we set out for the day. Down to the lake at 6:15 to rig the boats, a quick meet & greet and then straight on to the water. Given that 2 hours is about the most any of us beginners have rowed in a day we were in for some hurt. We had a massive 6 hours ahead of us and despite the enthusiasm, it wasn’t easy! (How do the regular members keep up their energy?!) One of the most enjoyable parts of the day was the barbeque, which we were all excited about! Over some delicious BBQ the DS heard some great stories and advice form rowing veterans, mainly Rob.
The BBQ crew
Fed and somewhat rested it was then time for the box biting challenge to begin. For those who couldn’t stay out to watch, Dave was live on facebook, moving around the cabins to make sure nobody missed out (rumour has it that he was locked out of his own cabin!!). It came down to a battle to the death between Alan & Edwina but it was a win for the girls and the DS!
Day 2: Another early start, another coffee for Yash, two morning rows and some new experiences for us all. Yash had her first go at being a coxswain for RRC. Following a “slight” disastrous coxing experience in another club, she considered it a win by not sinking the boat. Well done
Edwina had her first go in a double with Jen. She thought she was killing it until she realised Jen had been balancing the boat the entire time. It’s okay Edwina, we think you killed it. Then we went to the pub for the AFL grand finale. Most patrons supported the Dogs, but for Yash and Edwina even watching the game was a new experience. The most heartbreaking moment of the day was watching Kathy’s face of disappointment at the Swan’s defeat, her fault for following a team from Sydney I guess (just kidding). After a long afternoon of eating & drinking, most of us were ready for an early night.
Day 3: This was probably the most difficult morning start. Packing up the cabins before the first row wasn’t what we had in mind after 2 days of rowing. But all good things must come to an end. The killer sunrise made us hopeful but the wind made it difficult, the water was choppy and there were a few grumpy seats in boats.
Day 3: Killer sunrise!!
The fatigue and empty headedness showed as we all let go of our oars when Rebecca told us to throw up our arms for a photo, we didn’t realise she was joking…..For the last session the other crews raced each other but DS were struggling to keep the balance of the boat amongst all the waves. By the end of it we weren’t sure which had more water in it, the lake or our boat.
Put your hand in the air like you don’t care!! Not a good idea.
With all the fun over it was time to pay our dues, as if our muscles hadn’t suffered enough over the last few days. De-rigging, boat loading, car-packing and back to Melbourne for re-rigging, boat unloading and car unpacking as well as washing the boats & oars. At least the sun was shining?
We don’t know about everyone else, but I was asleep by 8 that night and looking forward to sleep past 5:30 AM. What a weekend! Thanks for everyone who organised the weekend – especially Kathy, Tim, Barry & the coaches but also to all the other members for including and supporting us. We not only had a great time but bonded well as a team despite a lack of sleep and a bunch of blisters. We are sure all of the DS feel the same way, sore, glad, grateful and keen to go again – we had such a great weekend!
-Edwina & Yash