Ballaz. B.Rat. The Rat (see https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_355034/the-rat-bitter-ale ). My old stomping ground but never before my “rowing ground”, thanks to Lake Wendouree’s evaporated state the entire five years that I lived two minutes down the road from it. To its credit, however, the lake did provide much entertainment for the locals in other ways during that period, whether it was revealing cold case criminal evidence in the form of dumped firearms, luring school kids into a false sense of security with an apparently firm and study surface but quicksand-like layer underneath, or, and most excitingly, encouraging the continuing and desperate search for the legendary lost 1956 Olympic Rowing gold medal (even though apparently it was found shortly after and was in fact silver).
The epicentre for excitement, Lake Wendouree, the heart and soul of Ballarat (right up there with Sovereign Hill) did not disappoint on this 2016 regatta event either – even when filled with water! Her glorious breadth and mirror-like reflection of the heavens allowed us all a pleasant day relaxing on the soft and grassy bank whilst enjoying the sight of swans and boats gliding across glass; a picture quite the contrary to the expectations and warnings continually tossed about by pessimistic/realistic club members (come on guys, give B.Rat a break).
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Barwon 2016
It’s Sunday, pre 5:30am, and an alarm is rudely squawking in my ear. It must be sprint season!
Sure enough, on the final day of January the intrepid Tigers headed south-west around the bay to show their stuff at the Barwon regatta.
It certainly wasn’t a glorious start though. With a grim forecast spinning tales of afternoon lighting storms and epic black clouds already towering on the horizon there was a very real chance the afternoon races would be a wash out. My mind flashed back to the previous year, sitting cold and damp in a tent. At least Geelong was consistent!
No time for dreaming about warm beds though because we soon arrived at the river and it was straight down to the serious business of rigging and racing….just as soon as I’d located a coffee and a bacon and egg roll, obviously.
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Rutherglen
When I was thinking about writing this post all that came to mind was “there were lots of races and then there were some more races and some people won and some people didn’t”. I thought I should probably expand on that a bit…
On the weekend of 13-14th January we ascended en masse for the 150th annual Rutherglen regatta. It’s a thought to imagine what the regatta would have been like all those years ago, how many people would have attended, what clubs they came from and what the boats were like.
Continue reading “Rutherglen”
Head of the Goulburn – A race to a winery
As with all rowing regattas, the alarm went off far too early and the sun was nowhere near up as we all made our way up to Nagambie for the Head of the Goulburn race.
I was pretty excited about donning the Richmond Zootie for the fist time and tried hard to quell the accompanying ball of nerves; a mixture of fear and anticipation of my first race in years!
The drive up to Nagambie was pretty quick allowing time for a desperately needed coffee. It was opening up to be a cracker of a day, the sun promised to beat down hard and strong. Coffee was followed by the boat unloading and rigging ritual, lots of standing about waiting, “stretching”, a couple of nervous pees and the application of several litres of sunblock by all.
We finally got on the water and everyone seemed to be in mode. It finally felt like we had it together, we were a proper crew. It felt amazing heading into our first race knowing we had improved so much and this was our chance to prove it, if not to everyone else, but at least to ourselves.
Derek was cracking jokes about the starting official out in a tinny with his dog and then boom we were off and there was no time to think it was just one stroke into the next building to a steady rhythm.
I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that the most appealing reason and subsequent motivator for the Head of the Goulburn was the fact it ended at a winery. Apparently it is the only such regatta in the world!
We only had one other competitor in our Womens D grade 8 and with a rolling start it was a challenge to catch them. We passed a men’s 8 and a men’s four which was really motivating.
I freaked out when I saw the 3km sign thinking “What?!? Seriously?!? We’ve only gone 3km?!” followed by a mental sigh and stern words to push through it! I almost felt like doing a lay down Sally. I pulled myself together and kept pushing. The 2km sign came up and I simultaneously felt incredibly silly and awfully relieved that it was the home stretch. Optimism crept in, Derek’s calls kept us going and we finished strong.
We hadn’t really trained much together as a crew so all things considered we did really well and finished on a tired high!
RRC had lots of crews in the race and everyone did Richmond proud!
Carolyn was asked to row with a Masters E Quad only one week before the race. They were the fastest Masters female quad on raw time and were faster than theMelbourne female quad crew who won in C grade, so a great result! And, they had only been on one training row as a crew with Tom prior to the race.
A special mention to the Mens D four with Robert in bow seat, Ben in two, Raymond in three, Devindhe as stroke, and Sarah R as the coxwain. This crew performed exceptionally well, winning their race.
Congratulations to the winning crews and a great effort all round by all who participated. Bring on next years Head of Goulburn!
By Sarah Houghton
Empty the shed for Melbourne Head
Already looking forward to the next regatta? Well don’t forget this one is local (that means no boat loading and unloading!) and will be followed by a celebration at the club.
We’ll be naming some boats and then opening up the bar and the balcony for a bbq so we’d love to have lots of people around to join in the fun. Make sure you put it in your diaries and let us know if you can help out 🙂
A regatta first timer’s point of view
This year’s Saltwater Challenge hosted by the Essendon Rowing Club was a big one for me. While I’ve been rowing on an off since I was 17, I’d never yet had the chance to participate in a regatta.
Scheduled for the very start of spring, the annual Saltwater Challenge is a quad skulls race conducted in a time trial format and spans a gruelling 4.5km starting upstream at the Tea Gardens Reserve near Canning Street Avondale Heights down to the Club.
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to row on, with sun glistening off the stunning Maribynong River. As we arrived in time for the third bracket of the day, rowers and spectators alike were dotted along the riverbank, calling out in support of their teams.
Joining my teammates at the Richmond Rowing Club marquee, we made quick work of the rigging – and I could feel a nervous-but-excited rush settle over me. By the time we made it through the race briefing, put the boat in the water, and settled in for the pre-race row upstream, I was really keen to get started. But being one of the first boats to leave the Club, and one of the last boats to start our time trial, I was to be kept waiting just a bit longer!
Coxed by Karen, our crew consisted of Rob at bow, myself at two, Ray at three, and Ben at stoke. While we were initially supposed to row in the Masters category, me being 25 meant that we’d all be rowing in D Grade. In preparation, our race plan was simple – to keep to a modest rating of 24, but once we set off, we exceeded this goal for most of the race.
While the water was beautiful and still, the course had a few tricky bends, and we really felt the value of having an experience cox lead the way. While I knew it would be different, I wasn’t truly prepared for the difference between rowing training, and rowing in a regatta. When you are pushing to your limits with every stroke, it’s both exhilarating and exhausting in a whole new way. Especially as we rounded the corner for the last stretch, I could feel my muscles screaming out in protest… but on we went.
As we crossed the finish line, the horn brought with it a rush of relief and the realisation that I’d done it: I’d rowed my first regatta… eight years after I first picked up an oar.
Now, back to the Club for a beer.
Thanks to everyone who helped out and contributed to make the day a success.
By Devindhe Ratnaayake
Masters States done for Another Year
A beautiful day on Saturday at Lake Nagambie was the setting for this years Victorian Masters State Championships. The last regatta of the season in Victoria was a successful day for many of the clubs crews with a special mention to all the novice rowers who came away winners on the day.
Justin’s novice girls not only learnt to row this season but also learnt to scull and in their first ever sculling race were involved in a close battle with Footscray but keeping focussed all the way to the line and according to the commentator “sitting up just that bit taller than their competitors making all the difference over the last 100m” they came away victorious. The mens novice crews also showed cross discipline skills winning in both the four and quad.
It was great to see Laura Schouten back out on the water in a Richmond zootie (in her first ever masters regatta) rowing in a composite crew with Lindsey Brown taking home a gold medal in the eight. Geraldine Goss was also busy getting plenty of race practice in ahead of national Masters to be held in NSW in a couple of weeks. We lost count of the number of events and medals but there were some great races. With RRC finishing 5th on the medal tally (with only 16 rowers competing) we are clearly a strong force in Victorian rowing.
A big congratulations to all involved in a great day and a wonderful conclusion to the 2014-15 season. Thanks to Tim Evans for towing the trailer and our support crew of friends and family whose cheering helped ever tiger push that bit harder to the finish line.
Richmond Crew Medallists
Male masters Novice Coxed Four (gold) – Robert Gordon, Raymond O’Shea, Jon Roberts, Allan Randall and cox Rebecca Lionnet
Male masters Novice Coxed Quad Scull (gold) – Robert Gordon, Raymond O’Shea, Andy Harrison, Allan Randall and cox Rebecca Lionnet
Female masters Novice A/C Coxed Four (gold) – Josepha Smith, Susanna Mullner, Merry Kraina, Aline Dejaegher and cox Mike Numa
Female masters Novice A/C Coxed Quad Scull (gold) – Josepha Smith, Susanna Mullner, Merry Kraina, Aline Dejaegher and cox Shern Timmins
Male masters A/B Single (Silver) – Andy Harrison
Mixed Masters A/C Quad Scull (silver) – Michelle Joy, Andy Harrison, Tim Evans and Karen Doggett
Female masters A/B Double Scull (bronze) – Michelle Joy and Karen Doggett
Saturday 2nd May was a busy day for the club with members participating in the Albert Park masters regatta and the fundraising sausage sizzle at Hawthorn Bunnings. Thanks to all those who were involved in such a successful day, particularly Emily Dunn who took time out from her wedding planning and put a lot of effort into arranging the fundraiser, our Boat Captain Barry who transported the boats to Albert Park on the Friday night and then sizzled some sausages on the Saturday, Tim Evans who brought the boats back home and Justin Thomas who represented Richmond as the Boat Racing Official (BRO). Also to everyone who volunteered to serve at the sausage sizzle, including Matt Crouch and Charlie Burke who managed to reserve some energy to volunteer post-regatta and who I am told had killer sales technique to boost the end of the day profits.
Those who braved the 40kph winds at Albert Park wore their black arm bands in respect of Eric Britton and were rewarded with some successes. Our novice women’s crews were particularly successful in the regatta with two crews claiming gold as a testament to their first season in the four and quad. We also had a very competitive female masters coxed quad taking gold and Andrew Harrison taking gold in the men’s single which was no mean feat in the conditions. Those who weren’t as successful could take comfort in APSM and Argonauts bake-off with a great selection of sweet treats available that were very difficult to resist.
Male Masters Single Scull – Andrew Harrison
Female Masters Novice Coxed Four – Josepha Smith, Susanna Mullner, Meredith Kraina and Aline Dejaegher. Coxed by Robert Gordon
Female Masters Coxed Quad Scull – Carolyn Manning, Lindsey Brown, Karen Doggett and Michelle Joy. Coxed by Derek Begg
Female Masters Novice Coxed Quad Scull – Susan Powell, Stefanie Dudczig, Thalia Marshall, Shern Timmins. Coxed by Michelle Joy.
Regatta Report by Jodie Naisbitt
Masters Season Kicks off on the Yarra
The Banks regatta held on Saturday 11th April kicked off this years masters season. Richmond’s entry list was long and varied highlighting the competitive spirit of the Tigers. It was a perfect day for many of our newest recruits to take to the water in their black and gold for the first time and with the racing followed by a glorious afternoon on the deck with the bar and BBQ fired up Richmond was definitely the place to be.
We certainly had plenty of things to celebrate with a total of 9 wins and 11 runners up. A big congratulations to all those competing for Richmond for the first time especially Lachlan Molesworth who was part of the successful male masters eight. Other highlights included the new combination of Andy Harrison and Shern Timmins in the mixed masters double who also triumphed and Michelle Joy who completed a 100% winning record, crossing the line first in all four of the events she entered.
Once again the day was made possible by many people contributing to the regatta/crew planning and I want to thank Justin for being the clubs BRO. The social activities at the club were co-ordinated by another winner on the day, Kathy Macrow and a team of helpers manning the BBQ (Laurent and Charlie) and serving at the bar (Stephan, Dennis, Richard, Aline, Ray, Stefanie and Elaine).
Another very successful day with 9 RRC winning crews all picking up enough wine to start our own club cellar. Full list of winners below:
Mixed 4X+ – Michelle Joy, Jodie Naisbitt, Barry Campbell, Michael Gehling, cox Derek Begg
Female 4X+ – Michelle Joy, Karen Doggett, Cat Hardie, Carolyn Manning, cox Mike Numa
Mens 8+ – Michael Gehling, Michael Calvert, Charlie Burke, Jon Roberts, Matthew Crouch, Lachlan Molesworth, Andy Harrison, Laurent Demay, cox Dennis Beck
Female Novice 4+ – Stefanie Dudczig, Elaine Hynes, Sarah McNicol, Karin Bouvin, cox Derek Begg
Mixed 2X – Andy Harrison & Shern Timmins
Female 2X – Michelle Joy & Karen Doggett
Female 1X – Geraldine Goss
Female Club 4X+ – Michelle Joy, Karen Doggett, Geraldine Goss, Carolyn Manning, cox Mike Numa
Female Novice 4X+ – Kathy Macrow, Stefanie Dudczig, Sarah McNicol, Shern Timmins, cox Derek Begg
Easter Roadtrip
For those veteran RRC members Easter weekend has always meant just one thing – Mildura road trip!
Well it’s been many years since RRC made the long trip up the Calder freeway to partake in the Mildura and Wentworth regattas but this year we did. Both the Murray and Darling rivers provided beautiful surrounds and calm waters for rowing (and swimming, as Erin can vouch for completing her swim test at the conclusion of day 1). The rest of us settled for a swim in the motel pool or dip in the spa before a refreshing beverage at the Mildura brewery.
We may have been few in numbers for the trip but I think we all agreed that the weekend was a great success. The rowing was of a great standard and once that toggle was released at the start there was no letup despite the almost 90 degree turn in the Henley on the Murray course or the bridge crossing the River Darling on Sunday. All those training sessions on the Yarra have taught us well that a bridge is just a marker to push off no matter what river you find yourself on.
Bec roared on the mixed eight and some quads while the Lucy Crunden (boat not person) went up and down the river countless times with all combinations of doubles crews pushing for the line.
The highlight for many had to be Michael Gehling’s Jesus moment though when preparing to race the single. Unfortunately for Michael but to the amusement of onlookers it turns out he can not walk on water 😉
The RV officials joined in the fun spirit of the weekend and coordinated a new event for the conclusion of each days racing – the pot luck eight. The aim of the event was to get everyone who wanted another row to put their name forward and get representatives from every club out on the water in real eclectic crews covering both sexes and all ages. The races pitched RRC vs RRC aswell as Mildura, Wentworth, Essendon, Nagambie, Rutherglen and Corio Bay. It really was a great fun event with fast and furious eights sprinting down the course in the afternoon sun. There was also some bling to be collected at the end for the lucky ones like Shern Timmins from RRC who claimed victory on both days.
Thanks to everyone who made the weekend possible especially Kathy Macrow and Barry Campbell for organising and to all those involved at the two regatta venues who showed great hospitality and in my humble opinion served the best egg and bacon sandwich I’ve ever had at a regatta. What more could one ask for?