The men’s squad struck form in the first regatta of the season easily winning the Men’s C Grade Quad Scull at the Essendon Saltwater regatta last Saturday.
In appalling windy and unseasonably hot conditions, the crew of Tim Foster, Sam Morrison, Troy Durham, Matthew Lane and cox Jo Lian-Lloyd kept their cool to record one of the best times on the day.
Not to be out done by the men, the women’s C Grade Quad Scull of Laura Schouten, Annalise Gehling, Geraldine Goss, Edith Hamilton and Jo Lian-Lloyd picked up a win in a very competitive field to also kick start their season in fine style.
In a surprise result, the glamour mixed quad of Franzi Locher, Simon Crunden, Jim Cooper, Leonie Cluse and cox Derek Begg finished third in the mixed masters category only eight seconds behind the winning Cardinals crew (who they passed during the race???).
Jim Cooper summed up the day in a nutshell for the glamour quad saying that they may have only been eight seconds behind but at no stage during the race could they have made up the time as the crossed the line with the tank running on fumes.
“While we went down by only a slight margin the real bonus for the glamour quad was flogging the Richmond dual Australian champion mixed quad and boy am I getting some mileage out of that” he said.
“Over the last month we have had several very ordinary mornings on the Yarra with everything climate change can throw at us including wind, rain, barges, even dolphins and the dual Aussie champs have been missing in action, presumably tucked up home under the doona hiding from the conditions and as a result, we managed to conquer the conditions while they (the Aussie champs) found it all a bit too tough” he said.