Port Macquarie’s Outrigger Canoeists are on fire.
Just recently they promised the town a State Title.
In a dream come true, the intrepid seafarers returned with not one, but two State Titles, and an individual Paddler of the Year Award.
A wet and windy dawn welcomed paddlers to Cronulla beach on Saturday.
With southerly winds expected to peak at 80km/h and swells running at three metres, the race co-ordinators had to confine the day’s racing to the mouth of Port Hacking in Sydney’s south.
The conditions for the Women’s 7km shortcourse were still a challenge, according to Port Macquarie’s steerer, Chayanne Harihi,
“There were breaking sets coming through just to one side of us on the start line and the wind was howling. We knew then that the competition was going to be against nature first and the opposition second.”
Racing against women’s, mixed and men’s crews, the Port Macquarie Women paddled as if at home on the Hastings River bar and found themselves crossing the finish line first in Women’s and beat a number of Mixed and Men’s teams.
Lauren Grant, Steerer of Port’s “A” Team, paddled with the Women’s Team.
The two Mixed teams gained valuable intelligence from the Women’s race on the conditions outside the relative calm of event headquarters, Gunnamatta Bay.
As the winds strengthened, the two Mixed teams set out for the start line.
It proved a difficult task to get 25 fifty-foot canoes and 150 paddlers neatly on a start line in 60km/h winds and breaking swells but, despite this, the two Port Macquarie Teams started well, with the eventual winners asserting themselves from the outset.
The locals established an early lead but were constantly harassed by two teams from the South Coast, Mollymook and Five Islands.
Port Macquarie later learnt from their opponents that their downwind performances broke the other team’s spirits.
Paul Watkins, Steerer of Silver Medallists, Mollymook, said that his team were astonsished at how quick the leaders were after each turn into the downwind legs.
“Port Macquarie out surfed us like demons, it was impossible to make up that sort of ground without a sail or an engine!”
Lauren Grant, who later that night was awarded NSW Female Paddler of the Year for her Individual, Club and National Team achievements, said, “We paddled well upwind, and romped it on the downwind legs but the challenge was maintaining stability through the two long cross wind legs which troubled every team. It was horrendous, I hardly paddled a stroke, I spent the whole time bracing and steering to avoid flipping.”
The Silver and Bronze were taken by Mollymook and Five Islands, whilst Port Macquarie’s second team gained valuable experience and championship points, finishing in fourth place.
The Club will now concentrate on ultra-long distance races and National Titles in Queensland next month.
In a bid to demonstrate the joys of Outrigger Canoeing, the Club will host its sixth Corporate Challenge on April 16 where local businesses and workmates get together for a fun, hard day’s racing at Westport Park. Enquirie via the Club’s website at www.marorokanu@websyte.com.au
