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The second day of racing is one we always look forward to with the change of distance to only 500 metres, though when you are racing you can feel every metre of it. The anticipated high winds were in the back of our minds but when racing began conditions were great, and we were keen to get going. Jason and Magnus faced off in the master’s single with Magnus having a two second handicap on Jason due to his old age, I mean, because of his age. Jason caught up with the field early and pushed away for his first win of the day and Magnus though unable to hold his lead on Jason, held off the Shoalhaven sculler to take silver. The two then teamed up for the master’s double and seeing as they placed first and second in the singles, the pressure was on them to perform. Shoalhaven put up a good challenge but Jason and Magnus went away with the gold.
Jason also raced the open single which he also won after gaining the lead early. Jack placed sixth in the same final. Paul raced in the lightweight single and while there was a clear winner, he was in the mix for the remaining medals but he narrowly missed out, placing fourth. Will made a surprise appearance in the single to contest the under 23 single. With only one other rower in the race from UNSW it was a straight final. Will got out early and ensured he held off the UNSW sculler who put on several pushes throughout the race and he went away with the win.
Jack, Paul, Will and Miles teamed up for the opens quad and again like Will, it was a two-boat race against UNSW. They got off well and went away with a well earnt win.  MO4x: Will, Miles, Jack and Paul A starter's error along with inexperience lead to Jooya and Hugh missing their start in the under sixteen double and instead of starting the race, they struggled to get their oars under control. Fortunately for the boys the umpire kindly gave them another chance giving them a spot in the final. They raced hard in the final and went away with a fourth placing.  MU161x: Jooya and Hugh On the women’s side Jacqui had a good race in the single, racing her own race and in the late stages taking over the leader from the start to take gold. She then less than thirty minutes later teamed up with Eleanor in the open double and this time in a more comfortable race took another gold. Though with the conditions getting worse as the day went on it would not have felt comfortable.  Fiona and Jacqui heading out for masters single Aimee contested the under sixteen single. She comfortably made in through to the semi final and after a harder race made it through to the final. She put in a good effort in the final but the other scullers were too strong on the day and she went away with a fifth.  WU161x: Aimee Unfortunately, due to strong winds the regatta was cancelled at the lunch break. Meaning many of our races were cancelled. Rumours are that the Nepean open men’s doubles will face off in a sprint on the river in the coming weeks to see who is the fastest crew.
A big thankyou to everyone who helped over the whole weekend. Especially for everyone’s efforts on Sunday. On a few occasions when big gusts came through, I saw several rowers and their families rush to help tie down boats and the like to ensure no equipment was damaged. Also unloading was completed without any incidents which was quite an accomplishment given the strong winds. That is it for the year for regattas. We can now focus on training and look forward to one of the most anticipated regattas of the year, the Taree Summer regatta. The first regatta for the weekend was the Reindeer regatta. While it is a fun regatta in its nature in crews dressing up for the event, we used it for speed testing for crews as we get closer and closer to the major regattas of the season. We were also fortunate to have good conditions that saw some quick times recorded. Congratulations to Trent on competing in the novice single and completing his first race. Hugh went off with a bit too much excitement which he paid for in the later stages of the race. However regardless of this he went on to record a personal best and placed second with the Penrith sculler pushing through him to take first. Jacqui did not get into her rhythm in the early stages of the master’s single but it improved as she progressed through the race and resulted in a third place. The women’s under sixteen single had a lot of entries and Aimee and Sarah placed second and third respectively in their own divisions. Jason pushed away early in the master’s single and went hard the whole way in the pursuit of pulling a quick time. He went away with the win and a quick time but also many points to work on for future races. Miles was the final race for us in the under seventeens single. He faced up against some familiar faces from last season and knew it would be a tough race. He, like his brother, Hugh, went off too hard and paid the price as the race went on. There were some positives to draw from his third placing but again may things to improve on before State next year.
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