One minute was all that separated the first and second placed teams after 40 kilometres of paddling, in an enthralling finish to Saturday’s inaugural Mouth to Mouth outrigger challenge, held between Dunbogan and Port Macquarie.
A powerful Northern Beaches team which included Port Macquarie representative paddler Wes Byrnes, narrowly outlasted Cronulla Outrigger Club to claim the race in an impressive three hours, eight minutes and 19 seconds. Another Sydney team, Port Hacking Outriggers, finished in third place.
The Port Hacking Club also claimed first place in the Master Men’s category, while Northern Beaches underlined its strength in the NSW Zone by taking out the Open Women’s crown.
Mollymook outriggers made the most of their trip from the NSW South Coast, picking up the Open Mixed title in the race, which was hosted by the Port Macquarie Maroro Outrigger Club.
Single canoe paddlers Graham Groenveld and Nathan Purll from Pittwater contested the race as an OC1 relay team and finished in the remarkable time of three hours, 15 minutes and 40 seconds, beating most OC6 crews home.
Perfect conditions greeted the paddlers at Pilots Beach, Dunbogan, on Saturday morning, with a moderate southerly breeze and easterly swell offering competitors plenty of assistance on their journey down the coast.
Bumpy water off the Tacking Point headland resulted in the only “tip’ of the race, with the Sydney-based Pacific Dragons crew recovering well to finish towards the tail of the field.
Port Macquarie Outrigger Club President Wayne Barnard said the club couldn’t have been happier with the way the event panned out.
“It was great for our club to be able to stage such a successful regatta with the help of the Hastings and Camden Haven com-munities,” Barnard said.
“We owe a great deal to our sponsors, club members, volunteers, support boat drivers, media and everyone else who contributed to the event.
“The visiting clubs have all said they want to come back and race here again and, with that continuing support, we certainly look forward to having another opportunity to showcase our region to the wider outrigger community.”
