Maadi Cup 2008
The season has ended for the Club's secondary school rowers, with the Maadi Cup held at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel from 31 March to 5 April. The best result for the club was a fifth placing in the A final for Onslow College in the Boys Under 16 8+. Two other Onslow crews also made top 10 placings, with second placings in the B finals for the Boys Under 16 4x+ and Boys Under 16 4+. Onslow crews also made B finals in the Boys Under 17 4x+ (4th), the Girls Under 16 8+ (7th), the Boys Under 16 8+ (8th) and the Boys Under 15 2x (6th).
The other good result was for Samuel Marsden, making the B final in the Girls Under 16 8+ and placing 6th.
Congratulations to all secondary school rowers on another great season.
Mike Grace's Cook Strait Crossing Attempt
Wellington Senior Men's rower Mike Grace, along with Star rower Ben Dunsheath, set out on 15 March on their first attempt to cross Cook Strait in an ocean-going rowing boat. The forecast was for a great day - 2-5 knot northerly winds and a light sea swell. However, after about half way through the trip (taking an hour and 45 mins) the wind was up to 20 knots, and Mike and Ben were forced to pull out. The attempt has not lowered the spirits of the pair, and they plan on having another crack at the crossing as soon as Wellington's weather co-operates.
Some photos of the crossing can be found here:
National Champs 2008
A large contingent of the club's rowers travelled to Lake Karapiro for the National Champs from 19th to 23rd February. With 11 crews making finals, their were some good results achieved.
In the mens events, the best results were bronze medals in the Men's Club 8+ (with the same crew placing 4th in the Men's Senior 8+) and the Men's Novice 4+. The Novice Men also placed 5th in the Men's Novice 8+. Video footage of the Men's Club 8+ final can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZU0glA3GfE, with an interview with coxswain Erin Hill here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF3M6yG2dZE&feature=related
Not to be outdone, the Novice Women also made the dias, taking the bronze medal in the Women's Novice 8+. The Senior Women also made two finals in strong fields, finishing 5th in the Senior 4- and 8th in the Senior 2-.
Wellington club coxswain Michael Dessoulavy also achieved a bronze as coxswain for the Central RPC crew in the Men's Premier 8+.
Congratulations to all crews involved in another fantastic season.
Wanganui Champs 2008
Despite the lack of news on this website this season, the club's rowers have still been putting in some hard training and achieving some great results. The senior mens squad pulled off a stunning victory at the Wanganui Champs, held on the 9th and 10th February on the Wanganui River. They managed to hold off some talented crews to take out the Mens Open 8+, in the blitzing fast time of 4mins40 (albeit helped by a very fast tide). Other great wins at the regatta were the Mens Open 4- (winning the Wally Sharpe trophy), the Mens Under 16 8+, and the Womens Open 4x. Along with a large number of second and third placings this made for a very successful regatta for the Wellington Rowing Club.
Corporate and Schools Regatta Results
A corporate and schools regatta was held on Saturday 1 September in blustery conditions at Korokoro over 700m.
The corporate races involved crews from various companies in Wellington, mostly made up of novices, and coached by members of the Wellington Rowing Club. The results were:
Corporate Women: won by the Electricity Commission.
Corporate Mixed: won by the combined crew of Voco Ltd and Whats on Report Ltd.
Corporate Men: won by Cardno Truebridge Calendar Beach.
The Cardno TCB crew also took line honours in the Grand Final, although with handicapping taken into account the overall win went to the Department of Building and Housing/Education Review Office combined crew.
In the schools races, the Club's rowers from Onslow College and St Mary's College competed against other schools in the Wellington region. Onslow managed wins in the U17 and U19 Boys 8+, while St Mary's had a win in the U19 Girls 2x. The overall regatta was taken out by Wellington College.
Wellington Wins Redding Shield
Wellington won the opening regatta of the 2007-08 season, the Redding Shield, held over a 500m course on Lambton Harbour on Sunday 19 August. The Club finished on 43 regatta points, ahead of Petone on 37 and Star on 26. Notable wins include both the Mens and Womens Open Eights.
