Female A grade doubles Eily Taylor and Lily-Rose Hall Krause.
Corowa’s rowers made the trip to Bendigo to attend the club’s first crewed boats regatta for the season, competing over the 480m course at Lake Weeroona.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The short sprint regatta is an ideal starting point for the club’s newest rowers to begin their rowing careers, although strong cross-head winds made getting off the start a bit of a challenge.
The senior rowers also took on the sprint course in the A-grade and masters events, winning four races and fine-tuning their starts for the longer events after Christmas.
The club’s first event was the A-grade quad featuring LilyRose, Phoebe Packer, Indi Hogan and Eily Taylor, with Edie Tomlinson as coxswain.
With two heats, a top-two finish was required to progress to the final. In a great battle with the Barwon quad, the Corowa crew finished comfortably in second place.
The final was a close race, with little separating the four quads. The Barwon crew held a narrow lead, while the Corowa crew battled it out with Essendon. In a final sprint, Barwon held on for the win, with Corowa moving clear to take a confidence-building second place.
The club had two entries in the female C-grade double scull, with Kylie Krause and Grietje teaming up, while Liz joined forces with Tamasin. With four heats, a win was required to progress.
The new combination of Kylie and Grietje rowed a strong first race together to finish in third place. The experienced combination of Liz and Tamasin showed great control to lead all the way and progress to the final.
With four doubles lining up, the crew from Footscray took the early lead as the Corowa crew battled it out with Geelong to finish in third place.
The club’s first win came in the male masters quad, featuring Brad Pearsall, Darren McMahon, Nick Wragge and Alex Schultz, with Ollie McMillan as coxswain. The crew proved too strong, leading all the way, with Ollie recording her first win as a coxswain.
Julie Underwood and Georgina Pearsall entered the masters single scull. Georgina was up first, with the race plan to get out fast and hold on for as long as possible.
Following the plan, Georgina was up with the leaders and, against strong opposition, finished in third place.
Julie was up against the Wendouree sculler and knew she was in for a real battle. Little separated the two leading scullers, with Julie finishing three seconds behind.
Large entries in the female C-grade quad meant a heat win was required to progress. The beginners’ quad of Nikki McMillan, Carol Renwick, Fiona Wragge and Nat Ryan, with Ollie as coxswain, lined up at their first regatta.
The simple race plan was to keep straight and get to the finish line as quickly as possible. The crew gained valuable racing experience and finished the race strongly.
The second Corowa crew featured Liz, Tamasin, Georgina and Indi, with Edie in the coxswain’s seat. The Geelong and Corowa crews moved clear of the rest of the field, battling for the all-important win needed to progress.
Over the last 20 strokes, the Geelong crew took the lead to move into the final.
The club’s second win came in the A-grade double scull, with LilyRose and Eily teaming up. With four heats and 16 of the best doubles vying for a place in the final, the Corowa crew showed great technique to take the heat win against a quality crew from the Yarra.
The final featured half of the Geelong crew that had won the A-grade quad earlier in the day, and the Corowa girls were determined to turn the tables in the double.
LilyRose and Eily showed their class to take the early lead and lead all the way to claim the win.
Marcus Davies lined up in the first heat of the under-17 single scull and, in a tight battle with the Corio Bay sculler, both progressed to the final.
The Essendon sculler showed his sprinting prowess to take the lead, with Marcus closing the gap on his heat winner to finish in third place.
The male C-grade double featured Darren and Nick. Needing a win to progress, they found themselves in a battle with the Essendon crew.
Little separated the crews over the course, with Essendon holding on for the win by less than a metre. Consolation came from the fact that the Essendon crew went on to win the final, showing that the Corowa crew was on pace.
The Corowa female beginners’ quad of Nat, Fiona, Carol and Nikki, with Ollie as coxswain, continued its great improvement, bettering its C-grade row to finish in fourth place.
Phoebe and LilyRose lined up in the A-grade single scull, with Phoebe competing in the second heat. With little training time in the single, Phoebe rose to the challenge to finish in second place.
LilyRose was in the third heat and, with little separating the scullers, finished in third place. Her heat winner went on to win the final.
Will Hogan is getting back into the boat after suffering a broken leg during the winter. Will is working hard on his boat skills as he builds up his strength.
Lining up in the C-grade single, Will worked hard down the course, gaining more confidence for the season ahead.
The mixed masters quad featured Kylie, Grietje, Nick and Alex, with Edie as coxswain. Coming up against a gun crew from the Yarra, the Corowa crew moved well clear of the rest of the field into second place with a well-rowed race.
The open mixed quad of Georgina, Eily, Marcus and Brad, with Edie as coxswain, lined up against a strong crew from Geelong. The Geelong and Corowa quads moved clear of the rest of the field, with Geelong getting its boat in front to claim the win.
The club’s third win came in the female masters quad, with Julie, Grietje, Liz and Tamasin, and Eily as coxswain, proving too strong as they led all the way to victory.
The men’s C-grade quad featured Will, Nick, Alex and Marcus, with Eily as coxswain. Needing a win to progress, the Corowa crew was locked in a battle with the local Bendigo quad. With little separating the boats, Bendigo held on to win by half a length.
The club had two crews entered in the female masters double scull. Liz teamed up with Georgina to take on crews from Geelong and the Maribyrnong River.
The Geelong crew continued its strong showing at the regatta, taking the win, with the Corowa double splitting the Footscray and Essendon crews to finish in third place.
Following a late crew change, Grietje jumped in with Julie for a hotly contested race featuring state representatives. The Corowa crew rowed a great race to finish in third place.
The youngest rowers were up next in the under-15 double scull. Having started rowing through the school rowing program at Corowa High School, Edie Tomlinson and Allera Wight were competing in their first race.
In the windy crosswinds, the young crew found the going tough at the start before regrouping and rowing a straight line down the course. The girls gained much-needed racing experience as they continue to work hard at training.
The club’s final events were the mixed double sculls, with the masters crew of Darren and Liz teaming up for the first time. After a full day of rowing, the crew put in a great performance to finish behind two Yarra crews in third place.
The open mixed doubles pitted the two Corowa crews against each other in the final. Last year’s winning combination of LilyRose and Brad lined up against Marcus and Phoebe.
The two Corowa crews moved clear of the field, with the more experienced combination of LilyRose and Brad taking the win.
It was a great day of racing, with four wins a real bonus. The club thanked all the parents and helpers who assisted throughout the day.
The club has a special day planned for Sunday, October 25, with the christening of its newest double scull, The Julie Underwood, at 11am. Local member Justin Clancy will attend.
The rowers will now turn their attention to the MRA regatta at Lake Moodemere, being held on the earlier dates of Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1.
The date change is due to the hotter weather in January and the need to avoid heat restrictions, which have been a concern in the past.
New members are welcome to come and try rowing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4.30pm, and on Sunday mornings from 9am.
21°C