A BREAKTHROUGH win for Port Macquarie’s women’s crew capped another successful regatta for the Maroro outrigger club on the weekend.
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The master women’s crew of Kim Roberts, Kerry Owens, Karen Newman, Sue Blackmore, Dee Douglass and Fiona Baker was first across the line in Sunday’s 10km short course race at Port Stephens.
Port Macquarie’s men backed up with gold in the open men’s short course, while first-time paddlers Harry Fay and Jimmy Melhuish both made impressive debuts to help lift the open mixed team to a bronze medal.
The club also placed third in the inaugural Broughton Island Bash, which took paddlers on a 38-kilometre relay course from Shoal Bay to Broughton Island and back.
In light winds and a sizeable southerly swell, the format required two six-member crews to each paddle the 19km distance between the mainland and the island.
President Garth Norris said it was a strong all-round effort from the club, scoring a podium finish in every race it contested.
“This is the third time this season that we’ve fielded three crews at a regatta so we are continuing to build our depth for the longer term,” he said.
“Again, we were very pleased to have our novice paddlers performing so strongly and our master women’s crew achieved its best result for the season to date.”
However, Norris said further improvement would be needed if the club was to continue its medal-winning run into the next month.
“We have State Titles in two weeks, then the Gold Coast Cup and National Titles in May, where we’ll be up against the top crews from around the country,” he said.
“If we prepare well we should again be competitive at these events so the next few weeks of training will be critical.”
The State Titles will take place at Palm Beach In Sydney on the ANZAC Day weekend.