Wauchope-Bonny Hills shine at North Coast Surf Boat series

B.O.T.A (Baddest of Them All/Best of Them All) came first in the under 19 division at round three and four of the series held at South West Rocks on Saturday November 3.

Boat captain and sweep of the team Dylan Sainsbury said it was always a good feeling when a crew from the club does well within a local competition.

"The girls are very stoked that they are getting a reward for their effort," he said.

"Saying that, it is still early days for the season and the U19 Women's division of the North Coast Surf Boat Series is currently in a three-way tie between ourselves, Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga.

"So we've still got some work ahead of us."

Team members Grace Field, Brooke Instrell, Charlee Maher and Lilly Maher, and Emersyn Smith have been training two to three times a week in preparation for the event.

The team responded well to the calm conditions on Saturday morning during the competition as a recent swell has led to most of their training to take place in the Hasting River instead of the surf.

"We've done much of our training on the river which helped, however as the day progressed the wind came up and the chop started to get the better of us," Mr Sainsbury said.

"We are looking forward to being able to train off the beach again and crack some waves!"

The series was meant to continue the following day (November 5) but as conditions worsened due to wet weather, the Sunday event was cancelled.

"It's never ideal when a day's racing is cancelled but the conditions were horrible so the whole Wauchope-Bonny Hills team was just excited to get warm and dry," Mr Sainshbury said.

"Unfortunately the club lost a couple of marquees in the deluge which will now need to be replaced before we attend our next carnival."

The team now only has a few weeks of training left before they travel to the Coffs Craft Carnival run from November 25 to 26 November and then to the next two rounds of the North Coast Surf Boat Series at Woolgoolga on December 2-3.

The girls are very excited for the next carnival after our recent success and are aiming to attend the Aussies in the Sunshine Coast next year," Mr Sainsbury said.

Other teams from the Wauchope-Bonny Hills Surf Life Saving Club also competed in the series with Team A placing third in the Reserve Men's competition.

"It's just great to get five crews competing for the club again," he said.

"And having junior crews around gives everyone so much excitement about the future of the club's boat section."

The teams are doing well but the club is open to new members.

Those interested in joining the club or wishing to return to rowing should contact the club.

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