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
You gave us feedback and we’ve listened!
The message was clear following our planning day so we’ve been working with extended groups to get ready for the upcoming season.
As a club we have prioritised taking action to rejuvenate our squad structure. You can expect additional training flexibility and a united club training culture. We will have more crews on the water together, racing one another and pushing each other to succeed.
The goal is to unite members through training, to improve our skills on the water and have fun while doing it. Things are moving quickly. We plan to launch the new season as soon as possible once we have access to all our fleet and boathouse. Keep an eye on the blog for more information and make sure you come to the AGM on Saturday 26th July (10am at the clubhouse) to hear more about our plans and get involved.
So what’s next? Click here and tell us what your goals and expectations are for the coming season. Be quick we don’t want to miss you off the list. It may be cold outside at the moment and the thought of putting your feet in the Yarra may not fill you with joy but Winter is the ideal time to start to build fitness and plan for the Spring Head racing season which always looms onto the calendar very quickly at the start of a new season. For example there’s only 2 months until Salty and those rowers who want to be out in a quad competing at Essendon could be out training now if we know that you want to aim for that regatta. Also this year is special because Victoria is hosting the World Masters Games between the 9-12th October in Ballarat. Members aged 27 or over may like to compete in this competition as well and so it would be helpful to know numbers for planning for these events.
So what are you waiting for, complete the survey.