Rowing Report
Saturday 22 March 2025
Head of the River Regatta
Full of anticipation, the Shore Boat Club headed to the Sydney International Regatta Centre to compete in the 128th AAGPS Head of the River Regatta. This is a highlight of many who row at Shore and this year was no different, with the boys from North Sydney determined to put on a great show for all those who made the effort to attend and lend their support.
Year 10 VIIIs
It is tradition to start the HOTR Regatta with the Year 10 VIIIs. These competitors have just completed their first season of sweep, so the opportunity to row in front of thousands of spectators gives a taste of how it feels competing in Head of the River. All our Year 10 VIIIs have had a great season with lots of lessons learned along the way. The week leading up to the final day was filled with drama, with many late withdrawals due to illness. It is important to point out the selfless decision made by the seventh seat of the First Year 10 VIII, Micah Minchin, who ruled himself out of the day due to illness and not wanting to let his crew mates down. This was a very tough call but done to support the majority which was very impressive! We still had a few under an illness cloud but with our ‘next man in’ mentality the crews quickly reorganised and got on with preparations.
The Fourth Year 10 VIII had a last minute change with Dominic Walker moving into the stroke seat on the Thursday prior and Henry Johnston moving into the bow end. Early into their race the crew realised they would need to come together quickly as they were under fire from St Joseph’s College (Joeys) and St Ignatius College Riverview (Riverview). At the halfway mark, the crew found themselves in the unfamiliar position of 3rd, trailing Joeys by just two seconds. A brilliant final 1000m saw the crew from North Sydney dispatch their Hunters Hill rivals and claim 2nd place — a great result!
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Riverview, 2nd – Shore, 3rd – Joeys
The Third Year 10 VIII steadily improved throughout the Term and were most certainly ready to race. The crew welcomed William Heiler back into the stroke seat, a combination that had proven successful in previous regattas. Right from the first stroke, it was Riverview and Shore through every marker on the course with 3rd place dropping back quickly to allow these two crews go to battle. The two boats were separated by under one and a half seconds at all stages – with the Shore team claiming victory in this tightly contested race. It was a display of brilliant focus from these rowers who are early into their sweep racing careers.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Riverview, 3rd – Joeys.
The Second Year 10 VIII welcomed Julian Noakes back into the boat for the final dance. This was again a drag race between schools that had traded blows all season, with 3rd place almost ten seconds behind the battle for 1st. Our crew trailed in the first 1000 metres but were not deterred from the task at hand and looked for those small one per cent effort areas to peg back the deficit. As they crossed into the final 500 metres, they trailed by just 0.3 of a second (approximately one metre). It was at this point in the race that stroke Peter Cominakis and seven seat Michael Hocking went for the jugular, bringing up the beat to sail past Riverview and putting on a brilliant show for those watching from the sidelines.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Riverview, 3rd – The King’s School (King’s)
The First Year 10 VIII had a tough run into the final day but were boosted by the inclusion of Xavier Coker into their crew for the big show. With their seven seat down and potentially more illness affecting the crew, the early pace of the race proved challenging to a crew more accustomed to leading the early stages of the races. An improved second 1000 metres saw our crew draw close to 2nd place, but in a very tight finish they had to settle for 4th. While not the result they had aimed for, I was very proud of this crew, and the efforts they put in throughout the season were truly worthy of a gold medal.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Riverview, 2nd – King’s, 3rd – Joeys, 4th – Shore (just two-thirds of a length back from 2nd place).
View the full gallery on Lampada here.
Seniors – IVs
The Fourth IV had a brilliant run this season, enjoying many 1st places through the year and some great performances against higher ranked opposition. This crew welcomed back stroke Liam Kennedy for the final two weeks of the season (after a short injury lay off). This crew has a knack of breaking contact by the halfway station and this race was no different with some brilliant early boat speed opening clear water just as the bow ball crossed the first 1000 metres. It was here that the boys really got down to work, building on the margin through the third 500 metres and reaching the final stage with a five second lead. From here it was a case of ‘shut the door’ with the mighty Fourth IV pushing further ahead to defend the Penrith City Cup by a very impressive nine seconds and setting a new record time of 6:51.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Riverview, 3rd – Joeys.
The Third IV had excellent improvement over the final few weeks of the season. The crew had tasted success against the field and were keen to bring home the Father Gartland Trophy to North Sydney. The first 1000 metres went our way with the crew crossing the halfway mark ahead by one second. Riverview responded with some great rowing to lead into the final 500 metres. This was a tight finish with Shore responding through the 1750 metre mark to have their bow ball in front, but a little jagged stroke surrendered this momentum enabling Riverview to take the win. It was a cracking race enjoyed by the crowd.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Riverview, 2nd – Shore, 3rd – Joeys
The Second IV had an inconsistent season — when they were on, it was hard to find a faster four. Alas this regatta was not to be theirs. The first 500 metres caught the crew out as King’s, Riverview and Joeys launching forward to create a small breakaway pack at the front of the field. By the end of the second 500 metres, the Shore crew moved up on 3rd place and looked poised to finish on the podium, but unfortunately slipped back during the third 500 metres. The crew bravely held onto 4th place, and while it was not the result that they hoped for they should be very proud of what they achieved throughout the season.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Riverview, 2nd – King’s, 3rd – Joeys, 4th – Shore
The only way to describe the First IV’s race is they absolutely blew their opposition out of the water. On a day of nail-bitingly close results, this event was the polar opposite. This crew hit a brilliant gear in the first 500 metres and held it for the 1000 metres, building and sustaining a clear water margin. They looked like they could row for days at that pace! The crew of Toby Crowther, Austin Hamilton, Sam Bowman, Oscar Miller and, in his final race for Shore, Henry Faddy pushed the whole race to establish a winning margin of ten seconds and setting an amazing new record time for this event of 6:36.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Newington, 3rd – Riverview.
Seniors – VIIIs
The mighty Third VIII welcomed a few late additions to their crew with the inclusion of Rupert Forrester and Caleb Jones due to injuries. The crew were excited to be rewarded for their efforts through the season with the use of the new Laszlo boat on this final weekend. Full of fire, they came hard out of the blocks to open a half-length lead through the first station. This was always going to be one of the races of the day with both crews having very close racing through the season. Through the middle 1000 metres, Riverview took back some of that margin to just trail by 0.34 of a second coming into the final 500 metres. It was at this point the spiritual talisman of the Third VIII, Will Taafe, yelled from the bow to inspire his crew and drag them over the line in 1st position, the first time all season that the Riverview Third VIII had been beaten with Joeys trailing behind by twelve seconds.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Riverview, 3rd – Joeys.
The Second VIII had an outstanding season and were pretty much undefeated with only some illness getting the better of the boys during the season. They did not come into this regatta over-confident, but instead with an understanding that anything can happen, the underdog can rise and the favourite topple, and this was exactly what Riverview hoped would happen. There were definitely some early heart-stopping moments in this race. Riverview shot out of the blocks like men possessed, determined to throw the Shore crew off by applying early race pressure and it almost worked. Riverview led through the first, second and third stations but the boys from North Sydney did not falter in the face of adversity, impressively chipping away at Riverview’s lead to come into the final 500 metres only one second behind. It was here that the true Shore spirit prevailed with the crew’s almighty push creating a two second swing in margin to put the blue canvas of the Shore boat in the lead. Once they had the lead the result was never in doubt with the crew buoyed by the calls of coxswain Jethro Chapman.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Shore, 2nd – Riverview, 3rd – King’s
The Major Rennie race closed out the HOTR Regatta and this was a true ‘David versus Goliath’ battle. The ever-impressive Riverview First VIII came into the race the favourite but Shore’s First VIII have been continually improving and were ready to challenge. As soon as the green disc flashed on the screen, Shore and Riverview traded blows reflecting the pattern of the day, and just 0.7 of a second separated the crews through the first stage. A strong move from Riverview saw their lead open through the second stage with Shore maintaining contact throughout the middle stage of the regatta. It was here that the class of the Riverview crew shone through as they made a further push to break further away the Shore crew. Riverview recorded an impressive winning time, but pleasingly our First VIII achieved their season best time in what was one of their final races wearing the chevrons on their chests.
FINAL PLACINGS: 1st – Riverview, 2nd – Shore, 3rd – King’s
Mr Glenn Bates
MIC Rowing