Port Macquarie Regatta - Supporting White Ribbon Day - Speaking out against violence towards women
A great first regatta for NLMOCC! Saturday saw the state titles for OC1/2 in very heavy ocean conditions. Representing the club was Richard Thomson and Kathy Spong in the OC2 mixed senior masters category, Steve Dawes and Luke Evans in the open men’s OC2 and Nathan Evan in the open men’s OC1 division. This event was the first time both Luke and Kathy experienced outside conditions in an OC2 and it’s obvious they faired quite well as the mixed crew of Richard and Kathy took out gold and Luke and Steve came home with a silver. It was also a great experience for Nathan who used the event to further build his skills in a category that has some of the sport’s most elite athletes.
With heavy ocean conditions persisting on Sunday, all OC6 events were held in the calmer waters of the Hastings River mouth. The day also saw the event co-inside with the launch of white ribbon day which aims to raise awareness to eliminate violence against women. All NLMOCC paddlers were happy to support the cause by wearing a white ribbon or wrist band on the day.
The OC6 program saw men’s, women’s and mixed categories complete two separate 6km races with the aggregate times determining the final place getters. After Matt Evans snapped a paddle in the opening stanza of the first race and with a crew reshuffle, the men’s team performed stronger in their second race of the day. Whilst at the presentations it was announced they had missed a podium finish, as we go to press the final placings are under review and the crew are hopeful of securing the bronze medal position, coming in behind a dominant Coffs Coast crew and the silverbacks from Sydney OCCI.
The mixed crew performed strongly and consistently, securing a second place in both 6km preliminary races and returned home with a firm grip on a silver medal.
The final event of the day was the open mixed challenge with the club submitting two crews for the 8.5km event. Two laps of a course including crossing the river mouth in some sloppy conditions saw one NLMOCC crew cross the finish line in 5th and the other in 11th.
The first regatta for the club was a great launching pad for what will shape up as a very competitive season for our new club. The next regatta is on the 31st of January in Sydney.