April 7th marked the start of the 2018 Masters season. The rowing Gods put on an amazing show of glorious weather.
The racing for Richmond started off with Rob in the single scull. Next up was the Men’s Coxed four competition with two Richmond teams head to head. In the end it was Jon, Dennis, Tim and Allan Coxed by Stef who managed to beat Phil, Denis, Guy and Leigh Coxed by Christine by less than 1 second.
The first medal for the club came when Zoe, Karen, Michelle and Kate Coxed by Derek beat their competition during the Coxed four. Follow up medals for all continued during the doubles races of Zoe and Karen, and Michelle with Kate. The superstar team also claimed gold for their performance in their quad race, overcoming a handicap of 9 seconds to still win by a margin of 14 seconds.
Another valiant effort from Yash, Jodie, Sarah and Dana Coxed by Derek in their quad scull event. However, the quad event on everyone’s agenda to watch was Dana, Shern, myself and Yash Coxed by Stef. After a textbook smooth entry into the boat we were off, managing to secure 2nd position out of a 2 boat race.
Rounding out the competition was our mixed eight boat achieving 3rd containing Rob, Phil, Christine, Sarah, Jodie, Anthea, Guy and Leigh, Coxed by Denis.
Well done to all that competed and thanks to our wonderful coxes, boat towers and riggers.
The next regatta for the season was to be Ballarat the following Saturday the 14th. However, it was all over before we’d loaded 2 boats, the club choosing to withdraw due to the wild weather on Friday night. A fantastic decision seeing as the event was officially cancelled early Saturday morning.
Now on to States at Nagambie!
Amy Catlin (first regatta at Geelong!!!)
Victorian State Championships 2018
The pinnacle of the racing season arrived after weeks of on water training, ergos and circuits. The Victorian State Championships were held on March 3-4 this year on the ever-unpredictable waters of Lake Wendouree.
Squad training for the men’s and women’s crews started early this season, kicking off in earnest in December 2017 with a demanding training program overseen by Richmond’s Head Coach, Basil Amin.
Solid preparation paid dividends for all rowers who competed at the State Championships this year, with impressive individual and crew performances seen on both days of the competition.
The first day of racing saw Michelle Joy secure a convincing win in the D Final of the Open Single Scull event.
The women’s quad scull (Michelle Joy, Karen Doggett, Kate Dyball, Zoe Maxwell, coxed by Derek Begg) finished off their States campaign on a high. Keen to push the boundaries this year, the crew began their weekend of racing with a strong performance in the Open Coxless Quad Scull event. (The post race debrief with Basil about human stretching techniques to match the heights of the 6 ft. plus competition being (mostly) in jest).
The crew went on to secure a gold medal in the C Grade Coxed Quad Scull and silver in both the A Grade and B Grade Coxed Quad Scull events.
The men’s four (Allan Randall, Jon Roberts, Charlie Burke, John Carey coxed by Ally Dejaegher) added more silverware to the Richmond medal tally, with a nail biting performance in the D Grade Coxed Four. In a race which made for great viewing at the finishing line, the men finished less a canvass behind the winning Melbourne crew to claim a silver medal. The men went on to put in a good performance in the C Grade Coxed Four event later in the day.
The women’s quad (Edwina Griffiths, Shern Timmins, Jodie Naisbitt, Yash Vegi, coxed by Derek Begg) put in an impressive performance in the highly competitive D Grade Coxed Quad Scull event, finishing a close second in their heat and boat lengths ahead of nearest rivals, Footscray City and Hamilton & Alexandra.
Lindsey Brown and Morgan Chandler capped off a successful season at States, with strong performances in both the B Grade and C Grade Pair.
Sarah Houghton rounded out a successful racing season with second place in her heat of the C Grade Single Scull event – finishing a mere 0.7 seconds behind the winning boat. Sarah went through to the C Final and also raced the B Grade event.
With only a few practice rows under their belts in the weeks leading up to States, Rochelle Stokes and Edwina Griffiths and Andrew Yuile and Dennis Beck put in good performances in the D Grade Double Scull and the C Grade Pair, respectively.
It has been said that success is a journey, not a destination, and the 2018 season is a testament to the truism.
The rowers who represented Richmond at the State Championships achieved gains over the season as individual athletes and as crews. With many wins and close finishes in regattas in the weeks leading up to States and crews across the board stepping up to compete in divisions they had previously not thought possible – this season was a comprehensive success for Richmond Rowing Club.
For all this our thanks must go to those who worked tirelessly to make Richmond’s States campaign success a reality – especially our Head of Rowing, Tim Evans, Head Coach, Basil and Captain, Barry Campbell.
Thanks must also go to expert coxen’s Derek and Ally, who dedication and motivation each helped give their crews the winning edge this season.
Zoe Maxwell
Rutherglen Regatta 2018
The 13th and 14th of January were the dates this year for the much liked and well attended Rutherglen regatta, with more than 700 competitors contesting 340 races across the weekend. This was the 153rd running of this regatta, making it the oldest rowing regatta in Australia.
The 800m course on the Saturday and a short 500m sprint on Sunday leaves you with short, sharp, shocks of excitement over a fun packed weekend thanks to the quick race starts and the tricky boomerang bend.
Outstanding performances included Morgan Chandler and Lindsey Brown in the Female D grade pair on Saturday (800m) and Female open pair on Sunday (500m).
On Saturday, Michelle Joy was victorious in the Female B Grade single scull, with Sarah Houghton taking silver. Sliver was also the colour for Zoe Maxwell and Michelle Joy in the female open double scull (800m).
The newly formed mixed coxed eight enjoyed the second spot on both days, not a bad effort for a bunch of folks that had never set foot in a boat together prior to rowing to the start.
Stefanie Dudczig and Allan Randall were heroic in the Mixed Double scull on the Sunday picking up silver after a fantastic start – pipped at the post thanks to some pesky buoys and a reedy finish.
Praise too for the Wentworth Richmond composite Male Masters Eight who won on both days thanks to their great efforts and huge long and lanky Wentworth rowers. Our all Richmond masters eight gave it all they had, but a 6 sec handicap over 800m and 4 seconds over the 500m run made the race for a medal just out of reach.
There was lots of “in-boat” video footage taken over the weekend, and we can confirm the number of actual strokes it takes to complete the course. Over 500m the pair of Morgan and Lindsey took 64 strokes, the double of Dave and Charlie did it in 59 strokes, the men’s D grade coxed four took 58 and the mixed eight 54. Our male masters eight took only 49 strokes over the same distance. Loving the stats!
In addition there was the christening of a new member owned boat – the Hobbit. The name has nothing to do with the height and furry feet of the crew – and any gossip is ‘fake news’. Denis Henry also proved that he is still a wizard at Rock-Paper-Scissors (to keep Leigh and Christine’s daughter entertained).
Off the water – Freshly made bacon and egg rolls for lunch and awesome chicken parmies’ later in the pub, all washed down with plenty of coffee and beer. Mostly beer.
Chiltern – our host for the night is an idyllic, charming and historic town with plenty of laughs in the numerous bars. We visited most of them in search of the best table and the coldest beer.
All up it was an awesome trip, the weather was especially kind to us with day time temps hovering around the 27 deg mark. Many thanks must go to those that worked behind the scenes organising accommodation and boat transport. You all know who you are, and know that we could not have done it without you, and we can’t forget our effervescent Yash who volunteered as our BRO for the weekend. This is definitely one regatta we should all make an effort to attend. Bring on 2019.
Kim B. and Alex R.
HotY 2017
We started our journey in the men’s eight, in earnest, around September of this year. A “Head Season”, with unremittingly long distances, curves, bends and crashes was a completely new concept for me. Basil brought a new fiery intensity to the club; putting us through our paces with some grueling ergos and a new weights program. As well as some killer (literally) circuits. All the joys.
To think 12 weeks ago, I would go on to actually ENJOY sustaining a 28-30 stroke rate for over half an hour seemed laughable and virtually un-doable! However, I genuinely enjoyed every last minute of this year’s Head of the Yarra.
I’m a nervy race-day rower… as my team-mates will confirm from excessively detailed body-workings on our WhatsApp group; “Morning Glory”. I arrived 4 hours before the race; keen to revel in the atmosphere, cheer on other crews and wind down the nerves. However, the nerves quickly turned to an astute state of focus once I watched a few boats taking off from the judges’ box.
Tim gathered us together as a crew at 12.45 with a final few words of wisdom. “Lengthen” would be our call. Lengthen to tidy up your last stroke and reset. Lengthen to ensure a full and strong finish. Lengthen to get your body over for a tender catch.
The starting line announcer sounded mechanical and almost haunting. Boat names were being called out like the quelling from the Hunger Games, with one simple instruction; “ROW”.
“Boat 206… row”.
The race itself feels a little like a blur. I remember the relief of getting around “big bend” (I was sitting in three seat) and then faintly thinking about tanking up for the next corner…
Stef was clinical in her calls and coxing. She put in a stellar performance, driving her crew on for pieces and navigating a difficult course in what can only be described as a coxswain’s race. We managed to hunt down and pass a crew around the 3km mark. We had drawn blood! There was a hunger and a freshness in the boat, perhaps Basil’s intensity was finally beginning to rub off. We wanted more… Tim was screaming from the bank; ushering us on to take another boat down. He wanted the “bumble-bees” from Balmain… The rush of passing another crew lifted us. We soon entered a crash site. Argonauts, were the casualties, missing a bend and lodging themselves in the middle of the river. Quick thinking from Stef and an “oar”esome save from Club President Jon ensured we sailed past our rivals unscathed. We were still hunting right to the finish line; pressing Balmain on the line and perching ourselves right up the pecking order.
Our hard work seemed to be answered in the overall results. Although the results posted on the day had us in 4th place, further inquiry and clarification had us ultimately with a quality 2nd place finish from 12 D Grade Crews. Our time of 33.25 placed us into 90th place overall. Even without knowing the result, I felt an exhilarating rush of joy! We’d finally come together as a crew to put in a solid row. We drove hard right out to the end and we had the shared euphoria of a team’s effort. A beer well earned!
We couldn’t have put a Richmond men’s eight together without wider help from the club. We cannot thank Tim, Dave and Keith, Ray and Kimmy enough for stepping in during training sessions and keeping the momentum going. Special mention to Matt Ebbatson on this front, for stepping up on about a week’s notice to fill in for Tim on race day after Tim succumbed to injury. We also lamented the losses of Laurent, James and Cam to injury at earlier points in the campaign; watch this space! They’ll be back. And an extra special thanks to Basil, Tim, Dennis and Ger for driving us on as coaches. The feeling of vindication for all the training and mileage off the water made me feel like a proud, proud man!
And of course, the men’s 8 was far the only Richmond presence on the water at this year’s HoTY. First off the mark from the Richmond crews was the women’s masters A-C 8 at about 11.15am, coxed by Mike Numa. By all accounts they made a great start, pushing off strong and swiftly passed several crews through the first half of the course up to big bend. Although the coaching observation had to turn back after that, the crew pushed on to finish in a solid 8th in category in a time of 37:01. This is the first time Richmond has entered the masters category, competing with some very strong crews. They’ve now set the benchmark for those to come!
Just shortly before the men’s 8 was to kick off, the women’s D grade 8 made their dash down the course, starting at about 1.20 and coxed by Derek Begg. Again, some strong crews were amongst the competition. The reports are again that the team pulled down the course strongly. They ultimately finishing 8th in category in a time of 41:51, improving on their overall placing from 2017. Ed has passed on her take on the girl’s tilt: we made a good start, the boats who were going to pass passed and then we had a steady row down to big bend. The bend was tricky in shallow water and rowing started to get difficult. With no other boats in sight it almost felt like any given Sunday row. We got a second wind going pass Scotch and eventually make it over the line, exhausted. Once we’d cooled down with some beers in the shade, the pirates rowed the eight home, and the highlight was cap’n Derek who did not give his pirate voice a break the entire 8.6km back. Thanks for keeping it fun Derek!
In addition to those full crews, Tigers were on the water in other boats. Gerry Goss, as well as coaching all of the Richmond crews at various times, scorched her way down the course in a composite Nagambie boat in the women’s masters F-K category. Her crew won their category in a time of 33:55! Ray Dennis also competed in a composite Banks crew in the men’s masters I-K 8, which crossed the line in 35:15. And we can’t forget Basil of course, who ended up scoring a seat in a masters Argonauts crew at the last minute.
There were also Tigers on the water in the coxswain’s seat. Shern Timmins was on the water early, coxing a composite Year 10 MLC/Tara schoolgirl’s crew from Sydney – Shern’s second HoTY in the cox’s seat! Nicole Stupka also steered an Adelaide crew down the course. And Lindsay Brown added an international element, taking control of a mixed crew from New Zealand.
Although some names have already been mentioned on the coaching front, it never hurts to say them again and to make sure that everyone is included. All the coaches put in a huge amount of effort and time, which is almost entirely out of their dedication to the club and their passion for rowing. They also fulfil multiple roles, as Derek (coach/cox), Mike (coach/cox), Tim (coach/rower) and Dennis (coach/rower) all demonstrate. We’d like to say again thanks to Basil, Tim, Dennis, Derek, Mike, Gerry and Barry.
With all that, another HoTY down – bring on HoTY 2018!
John Carey (telling the story of a first HoTY experience) and Andrew Yuile (doing the round-up on all RRC involvements)
Footscray and Henley on the Maribyrnong Regattas
Saturday and it’s overcast with the likelihood of rain, not the best weather for racing but the carpark was already full. 9 o’clock and we’re plenty early for a 10.36 race time.
As usual when the Sullivans tow, the trailer is handy and loaded with other Club’s boats. A big thanks for Shern whose been here since the start of the day to fulfill the clubs BRO duties.
Our first race; Guy, Leigh, Phil and Denis; Race 33, the MM4X+ first and final. The familiar impatient wait at the landing for a space, that odd nervy sense of haste to get the feet set and find a line to move down the transition lane.
On the way down to the line we get to cheer on Andrew as he comfortably takes out a heat of the MD1x. Later in the day after plenty of racing a tired Andrew after recovering from a less than perfect start, performs well in the ensuing final.
Plenty of room down behind the start line for some race starts and a “faster, faster” set. Hitting 52 is a great confidence builder for the first race.
While we’re down behind the line, it’s Gerri and Ainslie’s turn. Appearing to have the other two crews covered they easily win Heat 2 of the FC2X with a boat length and a half margin.
Off before us, it’s Dennis, Andrew, Jon and Allan in the MM4X+ with Stef on the tiller and Corio Bay and Footscray on the line. Despite what the programme says, these are all first and finals. Confessing later to never have got going in the race, the guys finish 3rd – maybe it was the quick turnaround for Andrew, maybe the first race of the day, First races are often a triumph of adrenaline over technique.
Richmond off GO; don’t you love being an E crew! Hawthorn and Rutherglen Lakes/Wahgunyah are both off 3 seconds; we get a great start and enjoy a comfortable win.
Straight after Andrew’s D single final, Dennis, Dave M, Jon and Allan coxed by Stef race down the course in the MD4+. The Wahgunyah crew doesn’t let up and chases them all the way to the line but can’t prevent another Richmond win.
Now to the final of the FC2X; two well-credentialled Essendon crews can’t prevent Gerri and Ainslie racing to the line and taking another win for the Club.
Back in the quad for the X4X+; Jen, Denis, Leigh and Christine. One of those starts that reminds us all to be ready every time; because none of the crews was. Hardly is a line called than we hear Go! Surprisingly, we’re out of the blocks fast and first. Two great crews; Footscray City and Essendon keep the chase on and by the 300 metre mark they’ve drawn alongside. Unbelievably they end up in a dead heat and no, that doesn’t make it a 2nd for us – that would be 3rd.
Race 108; the MM4+ first and final, two Richmond crews (Leigh, Guy, Denis, Phil and, Allan, Jon, Andrew and Dennis) and Rutherglen Lakes/Wahgunyah, a grudge race? No, but plenty of banter at the start line. And what did I say about being an E crew? You gotta love it! Richmond -Sullivan off Go, Rutherglen Lakes off 3 secs and Richmond – Randall off 9 secs.
The chase was on from the start and it’s a great one, two for Richmond with the Sullivan boat holding off the fast finishing Randall crew. Was the margin still 9 seconds? Depends which boat you were in. J
We don’t get to see Race 66; the final of the female C Grade double scull, safe to say Richmond, Goss and Raggatt have a comfortable win over two Essendon crews.
Race 123, the first and final of the FC4X+; Karen, Michelle, Ainslie and Gerri coxed by Shern have a win over a sole Essendon crew.
Late in the day Keith, in his double with Dave M takes out his first win in the B final of the double. There’s nothing more encouraging than your first win. That is what brings you back to the start line time after time.
It’s Sunday and standing high above the river at Essendon you get that great view of the full 350 metres of the course and you know that if you don’t start fast here you don’t win.
We find out that before we even arrive, Anthea has won in the FM4+ composite with a Caulfield and Mercantile crew.
11.36; it’s a much better time to for the first race of the day. The MM4X+ again with Rutherglen Lakes/Wahgunyah off 1 second; 1 second! What sort of start is that? And Barwon/Corio composite off 3 seconds – that’s a bit better.
It’s tricky to get a practice here but with a steady hand and a keen eye Christine takes us through the weird bridge foundations to get a couple of starts in and get the heart rate up.
It must have worked, a really tight finish with Barwon/Corio right in the mix – when it’s that close it’s always hard to know especially when the finish line is angled across the river. Finally it’s confirmed another Richmond win!
Back in the mixed quad and on the line against Barwon and Hamilton and a mighty young crew Hamilton looks. Mixed should be Masters J so we suggest they give us a 22 second start which unobligingly they ignore. A great start for Richmond but Barwon comes off their racing line, oars clash, some have to stop rowing; we get going again and dash for the line, holding off Barwon comfortably. Where is Hamilton – I can only see two boats – gear failure on the line? But no! They win and we’re left wondering – but for the crash – maybe?
Anthea has a win in the Mixed Eight in a combined Caulfield, Mercantile, and Richmond composite over Barwon and Essendon.
In the end a great weekend of racing with a swag of medals for Richmond and best of all for tired rowers, a short drive back to the sheds for a quick boat unloading.
By Dennis Henry
Vic State Champs
I was plied with alcohol when I somehow agreed to write the States blog for Karen, hence its lateness, as I had forgotten all about it by the time we got back from Nagambie for boat unloading!
The early birds scored Richmond some serious bling- Geri and Ainsley a Gold in their C Double and the boys (Laurent, Dave, Jon and Allan), championed by Stef had their Gold stolen by a bow ball in the D Four. Still I think Silver suits them quite well. We love medals but we also love it when everyone gives their best and the girls from “the eight” (Boat one: Shern Timmins, Catherine Dorian, Zoe Maxwell, Gabriella Ibbott, cox Derek Boat two: Yash Vegi, Karin Bouvin, Edwina Griffiths, Jodie Naisbitt, cox Stef) had some fierce competition in the D Fours. All this success before I even rocked up after a blissful sleep in, around 11am, to assume my previously acquired position at States as #1 cheerleader (this year as Toms Tigers ailed crewmate).
Wouldn’t be a complete blog without an interlude about the weather!
It was a far cry from the previous regatta. The wind still blustered away but the sun shone fiercely with no rain to speak of.
The medal trend continued through the afternoon with the successful combination of Geri, Ainsley, Michelle and Karen earning Bronze in the final of the C Quad (coxed by Sue Andrews) and Gold in the 2000m B Quad first and final (coxed by Derek Begg).
The ladies Eight fought hard in their race, alas the competition was fierce with Powerhouse taking the win.
Toms Tigers (Lindsey, Morgan, Lisa and Carolyn, coxed by Derek) plowed through their heat to the hotly contested final, where there’s no doubt they left nothing in the tank making Coach Tom in his flash crew teeshirt pretty proud. The men’s pairs was a fun race to watch with Tim and Jon racing against Nic and Dave. It was a tough race with a pretty happy Tim and Jon getting the Silver. The Men’s Quad championed by double n Dennis had 50% of the original DEMN crew as Martin kindly stepped in to fill Charlie’s seat with Mike C and Andrew. Even Nicole was in the coxswain seat for the heat. They pushed through and collected a Bronze. Perhaps Martin might consider a come back after all!
All in all a pretty successful year at the 2017 Vic State champs for Richmond. Bring on masters season!
Sarah Houghton
Shiny New Boat (and it's first win!)
Thanks to everyone who put forward suggestions for the name of our newest RRC fleet addition. As a committee we thought long and hard about the choice for this new boat. It is a brand new Sykes coxed quad/four for women that will no doubt get extensive use and be with the club for many years to come (if we look after it very well! – please). As a result we believed it was important to name it after a person who embodies the Richmond Rowing Club spirit and who has contributed throughout many years, continues to do so today and hopefully will continue for many years to come, so it is my pleasure to announce it is to be named the Dennis Beck.
Dennis has been a smiling face around the club for many years and has been an active and very successful rower, representing RRC at state and national levels. Most current members will know him as regular coach, cox and substitute extraordinaire happy to jump in and fill a seat or do what is necessary to ensure crews get on the water and have fun. He is never far away when we call for a volunteer to BRO at regattas, serve drinks on the bar, or man the BBQ. Along with this he has served on the committee in the role of captain and been a constant helpful hand at the club. The current committee believe he is very well deserving of this honour.
Can you recognise the man throughout his RRC career? and some other familiar faces.
I was delighted to be at the club with the man himself when the shiny new boat was delivered just over a week ago and also very proud to be involved in its maiden voyage at Nagambie last weekend. Now just over a week old the brand new boat has received its first bling with a successful row on Saturday with the WC4X+ winning through a heat, semi and the final to take out the title at Australian Henley.
Let’s hope for many more successes in this beautiful boat (and with some more fundraising maybe we can buy another one 😉 – don’t forget to buy your Quiz night tickets for 18th March now).
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
HoTY 2016
Head of the Yarra has been and gone for another year with close to 2300 competitors in 255 eights taking part in the 8.6km race up the Yarra from Birrarung Marr to Hawthorn Rowing Club. The club had an impressive number of members participating across the day either rowing in our club and composite crews or coxing some of the visiting crews. This year we entered 2 of our own crews but had representation in another 6 boats across the day.
As one of the first races in the morning, the Richmond D Grade women’s eight put in a solid effort down to Hawthorn despite the difficult traffic conditions and we managed a clean run down past Big Bend before running into trouble. The rowing gods however turned against us but thanks to Mike’s expert coxing, both the boat and crew all made it to the finish line in one piece despite a few knocks and collisions along the way. With a last minute sub, our crew consisted of Kathy Macrow, Karin Bouvin, Vicki Brennan, Jodie Naisbitt, Dana Hill, Piyada Pravitharangkul, Gabriella Ibbott, and Yash Vegi.
After a spot of lunch and a hydrating glass of wine or two, we pottered across to the Yarra to watch other crews and wait for the Men’s D Grade eight to appear around the bend. After a few false alarms (seriously how many clubs have yellow zooties) the men’s crew coxed by Shern powered past us looking far more refreshed than I had felt at the same point. The men’s crew was made up of Laurent Demay, George Frederiksen, Jon Roberts, Allan Randall, Charlie Burke, Andrew Yuile, Guy Ayres, Michael Calvert and David Micallef.
Keeping with Richmond tradition, after the river reopened the women’s eight’s rowed back in costume- this year’s theme being animal fancy dress. Thanks to everyone who participated in getting all Richmond crews on the water and to our volunteer/cheersquad BRO, Stef Dudczig and some pretty great photography credits Tim Evans and Michael Gehling.
Dana Hill
Melbourne Head 2016
Richmond again showed their worthy credentials at the Melbourne Head regatta. Variously referred to as the “Head Racing Championships of Australia”, and a curtain raiser for the Head of the Yarra on the following week, the race nevertheless is a unique opportunity in the season to demonstrate our prowess on home “surf”, among an enlarged competition from across Australia.
Richmond claimed line honours in the mixed and masters categories, with Lindsey & Dennis Beck, Rochelle Stokes and Michael Gehling (yours truly) outsmarting the competition in what was meant to be a casual, social quad… with that intention overridden by competitive spirit, in typical Richmond style. Speaking of typical Richmond style, Carolyn Manning overcame a fierce field, as well as a tangle with an octuple scull, to take line honours too!
The day started with the Men’s Eight raising the curtain on their Head of the Yarra appearance the following week, with solid efforts backed up by Allen Randall, George Frederiksen, Jon Roberts and Laurent Demay in the Club Four competition and Michael Calvert, Andrew Yuile, Dave Micallef, Charlie Burke in the Club coxed quad, with Shern Timmins and Sarah Houghton expertly navigating down the familiar waters. James Attenborough, Ka Ki Wong, Todd Marshall and Alexander Reid also joining the Quad race, admirably rounding out the field in their first ever regatta. Andy Harrison and Ivan Gushchin also represented us well, coming mid-field in the single sculls.
Richmond’s masters’ men also kept the competition on their toes, with Leigh Sullivan, Guy Ayres, Denis Henry and Phil Munson, coxed by Chris Sullivan, cruising over the line with a solid mid-field placing.
Richmond was well represented by its female contingent in the Double Sculls, with Stef Dudczig & Sarah Houghton, Ally Dejaegher & Suzie Mullner with Jodie Naisbitt and Vicki Brennan all competing in the doubles. The club coxed quad sculls competition also saw a great turnout from Richmond. Gabriella Ibbott, Dana Hill, Karin Bouvin and Da Pravitharangkul, coxed by Stef Dudczig, fought off Suzie Mullner, Morgan Chandler, Ally Dejaegher and Chris Sullivan, coxed by Laurent Demay. Sophia Robinson, Ainsley Raggatt, Karen Doggett and Lisa Ortu, coxed by Mike Numa, took out an admirable third over the 3.5k course.
Afterwards, Richmond threw open the doors, and the bar, for a post regatta barbecue. Thirsty rowers, old hands and new friends lapped up the view, rounding out a beautiful, clement and successful day for the race and the club.
By Michael Gehling