PORT Macquarie Rowing Club’s state team may have been thin on the ground, but left a large footprint on the beaches of the Clarence River at the recent NSW Masters Championships.
The event was attended by representatives from 35 organisations from NSW and Queensland.
The weather gods smiled on the championships in 2010, a sharp contrast to the gale force winds that forced several race cancellations last year at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.
For most of the time, barely a riffle of wind rippled the surface of the Clarence, and temperatures peaked in the early 20s, perfect for competing.
Port Macquarie’s comparatively lean team of 20 netted six state titles, gold medals in 11 events and silver in four.
Veterans and novices (some of them in their first season and debuting at a NSW Championship) made their mark.
Veteran Robert Hopley took the men’s H (70-74) singles, men’s H doubles and men’s H coxless four crowns with North Shore Rowing Club partners.
Kim Chilton, in her second year of competition, defended her 2009 women’s D (50-54) title and additionally won the women’s C (43-49) singles.
Chilton and national champion Elizabeth Levido claimed the women’s D doubles as well.
Last year’s F victor, James Young, was unable to defend his title due to a shoulder injury, but attended in a coaching capacity.
This only marginally diminished his formidable regatta presence as he paced the beach, delivering alternate encouragements and excoriations to Levido and Chilton.
Carry Williamson secured the silver medal in her H singles section, and went on to claim a further silver with Port Macquarie’s Meredith Hinds and long-time St George partners in the women’s F quad scull.
Williamson and Helen Vella (St George) also placed second in the women’s G double scull.
Tim Morgan, Bob Mowlem and Darby Munro teamed up with Hopley to snare a silver medal in the men’s G coxless four.
Morgan and Mowlem then went on to place second in the men’s F pair.
John Nolan received a silver medal for his part in Manning River’s men’s F eight.
Some further triumphs were recorded in the mixed events.
Levido claimed two gold medals with David Hamilton (Surfers Paradise) and Branko Kovacic (Drummoyne) in the mixed D and mixed E doubles respectively, as well as a gold in a power E quad with Manning River.
Chilton and Graeme Bell won gold in both the A-B and C divisions.
Second place went to Hinds and Mowlem in the mixed E double, and to Hopley and Chilton in the mixed F doubes.
Hinds, Munro, Jones and Morgan placed third in the mixed E-F quad.
The novices also pulled off some impressive crew work.
Debbie Gardner, who launched herself into a scull for the first in January, together with coach McCartney, nipped the heels of the placegetters in the mixed C doubles all the way down the course, pulling off a very creditable fourth.
Gardner also grabbed fourth place with McCartney in the mixed A-B doubles.
Geraldine Haigh, with only a few months of rowing under her belt, joined with novice crewmates Pauline Roods, Geraldine Clarke, Louise Jones, Al Wheatland, Brian Glawson and Tony Chilton in various quad events.
These folk, who lead extremely busy work and family lives, had nonetheless made time to train regularly with each other in the preceding months and came flying down the course in fine style.
Other close races included fourths for the men’s F quad (Watts, McCartney, Mowlem, Morgan) and the women’s E quad (Hinds and a composite Manning River crew).
McCartney and Watts were happy with their first in the men’s E double heat, McCartney with his win in the men’s E single heat, and Glawson and Graeme Bell with their fourth in the hotly-contested men’s C doubles heat.
Port Macquarie Rowing Club medal tally
Men’s H single – Hopley gold
Men’s H double – Hopley/partner gold
Men’s H coxless four – Hopley/North Shore gold
Women’s D single – Chilton gold
Women’s C single – Chilton gold
Women’s D double – Chilton, Levido gold
Mixed A-B double – Chilton, Bell gold
Mixed C double – Chilton, Bell gold
Mixed D double – Levido, Hamilton gold
Mixed E double – Levido, Kovacic gold
Mixed E quad – Levido, Cavill, Redell, Nix gold
Men’s G coxless four – Hopley, Mowlem, Morgan, Munro silver
Women’s G-J single – Williamson silver
Women’s F quad – Williamson, Hinds silver
Men’s F eight – Nolan silver
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