Rowing Report
Saturday 9 November 2024
Last weekend, The Shore Boat Club competed in the annual St Joseph’s College (Joey’s) Regatta at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. The weather was on show this weekend with blue skies and some of that well known Penrith heat.
Our Year 10 VIII’s got the day underway, and first off the bat was the Fourth Year 10 VIII. The entire crew, bar the stroke seat (who has made the move from coxing to rowing this season), made their Shore Rowing debuts here with all members of this crew in their first year of rowing. With only one other crew entering this division (Joey’s), it was a classic drag race between the two schools. In both races, neither crew could break contact, with both boats overlapping all the way down the course. In the end, it was Joey’s that had the better of the day, but the Shore boat recorded two very good 2nd places here.
The Third Year 10 crew continued their impressive form, recording two wins from their two starts, both with a very impressive 15 second margin. This crew look to have a very solid middle 1000m where they continue to build on what looks like quite a good start sequence and early race rhythm. Very mature racing for this time of the season.
The Second Year 10 crew also recorded two 1st place finishes from their two starts, with the second race being one for the ages. Here, the Riverview crew led through the first three markers after a very impressive first 500m. The Shore crew stayed composed and set out to focus on that middle 1000m rhythm that has seen them perform well so far this season. This allowed the Shore boat to eat away at the View lead, coming into the final 500m under a third of a length down. Here, the Shore crew stepped in to create a winning margin by just over half a length.
The First Year 10 VIII crew re-engaged in a very familiar battle with Riverview and Newington. In the first race, the Shore crew started very well but misfired a little in their transition into their middle 1000m rhythm. In the first race, this saw the Shore crew sit in 2nd place through the final marker, but in the second race, this saw them come through in 3rd. What was very pleasing in both these races was the desire shown in the final 500m, with both races finishing strong, especially in that second race where they rowed over the top of Newington to finish in 2nd place.
The mighty Senior Third VIII raced next, although this was a new-look crew after some 11th-hour crew changes that were brought on by injury/illness in the crews above with both Hugh Riley and Taj Robertson moving into the Fourth IV through the week, this gave an opportunity to Third VIII royalty James Gray and Alec Eldershaw. The Third VIII category at this stage looks to be a two-horse race between Shore and Riverview, with the Shore crew taking out last week’s double and Riverview doing the same this week.
The Fourth IV continued their impressive run this season, even with a 50 percent crew change through the week, one occurring on the morning of the regatta. In their first race, the Fourth IV hit an even seven minutes for the 2000m, which for a scratch combination is a very aggressive time; the second race saw an even better performance with a very impressive 2nd 1000m, seeing the crew break seven minutes for the first time this season.
The Third IV resumed their good form from last week – accounting for the field in the first round of racing with a strong first 1000m. Unfortunately, some of the illnesses that had been moving through the School community raised its head here, with the crew withdrawing from the second round of racing.
The Second IV welcomed Caleb Jones back to the racing fold this week after a long layoff. This was a new combination for this season, and what a race it was – In the first photo finish of the season, the crew saw a good lead slowly get eaten up by the Riverview crew, and only a .11 margin (the width of a bow ball) separated these crews. In the second race, a late crew change through illness was a little too much for the crew to deal with.
The Second VIII was making their race season debuts this week after illness ruled them out last week. Their first race was an outstanding start to the season, with a brilliant first 1000m setting up a cracking lead to record a win with clear water between them and the Riverview crew, who finished in 2nd place. The second race was a slightly different affair, with a strong start coming from Riverview in an attempt to correct the ledger from the first round of racing. This provided an opportunity for the crew to show their composure through the middle 1000m, where they just chipped away patiently at the view lead and eventually took the lead through the last 500m to record a two-second margin. This was an impressive display, especially considering the late change made, which saw Kalan Welch move from the First IV and row in the First VIII that morning.
The First VIII had a solid weekend this week, although it was without Oliver Harvey, who had stepped out of the crew this week with some injury concerns. The crew welcomed Connor Glancy into the bow seat, and he did a brilliant job slotting into the boat with only a limited time (warm-up row) to get into the “groove”. The crew raced well and were in a close battle with last year’s winners, Joey’s, to secure 2nd place. Riverview again proved too strong at this stage of the season. They recorded a great win, with Shore coming in just .9 of a second behind 2nd place Joey’s to secure the podium finish. In the second race, the pace of the second 500 seemed a little too much for the crew to deal with, and they had to settle for 5th place. There is a lot of speed in this crew, so improvement is certain!
Photography by Mr Justin Glancy.