| We’ve had some fantastic ocean racing locations throughout the season but with a setting like Port Stephens for the State Titles there is no doubt we are truly spoilt! |
We’ve had some fantastic ocean racing locations throughout the season but with a setting like Port Stephens for the State Titles there is no doubt we are truly spoilt!
Many thanks to Suzy Kong for taking on a big learning curve to step in for Mel and coordinate logistics for the weekend. Also thanks once again to Michal for safely getting our canoes up there and back.
Congrats to all for some great performance improvements across the board with all crews closing the gap to the opposition. You can check this out via the full results and comparisons to previous races here… 2010 OC6 Results Tally v5.xls.
Special congrats to our 2010 OC6 Marathon State Champions – Short Course Mixed and Long Course Men!
The PD record keepers are happy to stand corrected but this appears to be our first ever mens long course State Title medal and the first ever PD long course gold medal! Awesome!!!
See below for race wrap-ups from all crews.
Where to Now?
For those heading to the Gold Coast Cup we now set about adapting to water change racing. For everyone else there is one more race for the season at Balmoral on May 2. This is rumoured to involve an OC12 race!
Short Course Mens
Crew: Mark, Paul, Laurette, Peter, Jacob Glenn
Things they did well:
– Worked hard in very flat conditions. Used lifts/technique calls in absence of conditions
– Had a good conservative rating to back up for the next race.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– More experience to steer the Pirrama which has unique characteristics.
– Some paddlers had excessive overtime and sickness in the lead up. Talking about it before the race might have made the experience better for them.
Crew: Paul, Laurette, Glenn, El, Lisa, Mark
Things they did well:
– High spirits/great vibe meant everyone worked their new positions really well and had fun.
– Crossover skills/experience meant we took advantage of every little runner out there despite leading by a large margin. We came in only 1 minute after our time in the preceding SC Mens race and crossed the finish before the next crew passed the final turn.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– Would have loved some more competition.
– Would have loved some bigger waves.
Long Course Womens A Crew
Crew: Amanda, Charmian, Rachel, Annett, Mandy S, Michelle H
Things they did well:
– Race start was brilliant
– Focus in the boat. Felt we did not get distracted by anything around us, even when we got tired crew kept focused.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– Boat run/power phase at the same time. This has improved heaps from beginning of season but still a point we could do better. Sometimes we may focus too much on the rate rather than hitting the power phase in the water together.
– For this race our mind set was for a long race. After a "whopping" start we could have pushed harder for the first few km to the first turn.
Long Course Womens B Crew
Crew: Linda, Jo P, Mei-Sing, Suz B, Nicola, Suzy K
Things they did well:
– Great race start
– Intensity and power of the whole crew really locked in for a large part of the race.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– Trying to stay focussed on the sections of a race which is just one long stretch. In the section between the turning buoy and first island, the long straight line was tough for the crew to stay focussed even though we broke it into 2 mini races.
– Cleaner changes on the huts. Sometimes, esp when the focus wasn’t there, changing sides wasn’t always as clean as it could be.
Long Course Mens A Crew
Crew: Billy, Craig, Matt, Marty, Michal, Gav
Two things they did well:
– A top rate was set and maintained throughout that allowed this new combo to work together from the start and maintain solid hits with great technique throughout the entire distance.
– Paddling with focus and determination even when we were on our own and crews in front were well ahead.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– There is more speed to be gained by training and ultimately racing at a higher rate. This is particularly so for the shorter marathons.
– Keeping blades parallel with the canoe throughout the stroke remains any opportunity for further free speed.
Long Course Mens B Crew
Crew: Geoff, Moana, Graeme, Norm, Adrian, Stu
Two things they did well:
– Were fit and motivated and kept it on the whole way. Worked every bump that was going.
– Good communication up and down the boat – Seat 1 called the clear and blocks, Seat 4 passed up and down all the calls.
Things they’d like to improve on:
– Getting a clean start and getting around turn buoys with another canoe going around at the same time.
– The club getting another Spirit!
The Mother of All Races
Sunday saw a new addition to OC racing with ‘The Mother of All Races’.
Crews raced across to the northern side of Port Stephens where one member ran up Yaccaba headland. They then paddled back to the southern side where another member ran up Tomaree Headland before sprinting to the finish at Shoal Bay.
For their efforts the two PD crews collected a total of $800 in prize money! A great effort by all, particularly our hill runners, Jacob, Michal, Moana and Paul.