𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮

The zooties are red, the skies are blue.
The table is set, it's time for course two!

The lake, so sombre and still, sparkled under the mellow spring star. The blossoming flora busked in a sublime mosaic yet to become a theatre of war. Truly, an eerily charming calm before the storm of day two galore!!!

Without the need for gongs and banners, the westies rowers picked up where they left off. Boats rigged, oars gathered, zooties up and carbs eaten, the red and black were ready to battle, never surrendering until beaten. 

The never die attitude was displayed by Westie's own Sam Clode in the Men's C Grade Single Scull. A blanket could have been thrown over the field between 3rd and 8th, but Sam tied a knot in his boat as he managed to hold his place from ANA and UWABC trying to roll him over. Undoubtedly, the rest of the shed fired up for some intense rounds of oar-to-oar combat.

Feeling hungry for a bite, the Mens D Grade Double Scull swung by the last-500 fast-food outlet to get themselves a bronze medal happy meal. Meanwhile, the Women's C Grade Coxed Quad deliveroo team driven by Anna Salmon and navigated by Keana Hall knocked on the door with a steaming gold medal seasoned with an extra-hot 0.22 seconds of victory.

Then, the dynamic duo of Caine 'sponge whisperer' Holdsworth and Aria 'covid specialist' Almassi, caused double trouble in the Mens B Grade Double Scull taking a convincing bronze medal finish.

Next was the Women's B Grade Coxless Quad, which Syked the opposition revealing they were Saturday’s dominant Women's B Grade Coxless Four in disguise. With the field frozen in fear, the girls motored down the course to a 12.09-second win, this time shellfish free. Nevertheless, they had a pearler!

Some hot fields saw the Open Double Sculls and the Women's D Grade Double Scull display valiant efforts. Later, fired up for revenge, the Men's B and C Grade Coxed Quads brought the heat and seared down the course with blistering speed securing 2 podium finishes.

The red storm was rolling in as Maddi Ford struck silver after a lightning-fast last 500 pushing an 11.6-second gap on the next place. What soon followed was Joely 'MVP' Patterson and Sinead 'not Keely or Kieran' Reading, thunderstricking their competition in a 20.86-second win.

When the sun reached its peak of the day, Joey 'The Technician' Dawson came out to play. With a microphone in hand and a camera at the ready, those in the boat park got a bit unsteady. Yes, he caught people off-guard and his questions saw people lose all self-regard. Stay tuned to see this expert in action; I am sure he will leave you without dissatisfaction.

Without further ado, it was time for more racing to pass through. Indeed, the Open Coxless Quads, Mens D Grade Coxed Quad and Women's C Grade Double Sculls all graciously flew. 

The sound of the Mario-Kart final lap jingle was in the air as the B Grade Coxed Eights scored a bullet bill from the mystery box and blasted through the line. As NASA is closed on a Sunday, a generous spectator, Elon Musk, remotely used his nearby Tesla to determine the women claiming bronze by 1.88 seconds and the men taking bronze by 0.07 seconds.

Off the bat from the close racing, the Men's C Grade Double Sculls had a good innings scoring a double podium, taking both silver and bronze. Then, the Women's D Grade Coxed Quad stepped up and hit for six bringing in the gold.

Finally, as the eye of the storm passed over the lakes, it was showtime. It’s the reason for enduring months of pain, rain and grime. The creme de la creme is what the state awaits; here comes the Open Championship Coxed Eights.

This year was particularly special, featuring the inaugural Ann Tamigi Open Women's eight. Despite the rivals fiercely jumping out of the gates, Westies left everything out on the lake to secure silver to finish an outstanding season for the Women’s squad. Next up are the men. The young, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed crew in red gave the much more experienced crew in blue a scare in the first 600. Then, made them work for their victory as they surged with 600m to go, only to step again in the final 300m to secure silver.

At the day's end, satiated with a full belly, Westies rowers had the time to digest that they had topped the total and gold medal tally. Indeed, having strong performances through all grades was a testament to all coaches and rowers, the committee, and the broader Westies community. The countless hours of work behind the scenes were reflected by dominant performances on the water.

What a club to be a part of, thanks to all involved and bring on next year when we will be back hungrier, wiser, stronger and faster.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭

Well-carbed rowers from far and wide were welcomed by the first regatta of spring with clear blue skies, chirping birds and a mellow puff down the course. Indeed, the delectable conditions and zesty Champion Lakes aroma whetted the appetite of an already ravenous Westies contingent ahead of a two-course racing frenzy. State champs are finally here!!!

Despite sumerous (pun intended) spreadsheet errors, the squad excelled in the heats. Many Westies crews placed top 3 in their respective heats, thus progressing to the finals, some even taking convincing victories. Indeed, early jabs were thrown, but the signature moves were saved for when it mattered.

The women's D Grade Coxed Eight replicated the paw-to-paw argy-bargy between two alpha regatta dogs (Margot and Sebastian) as they claimed Westies’ first gold of the regatta. The dog-like mentality was then displayed by Kieran Reading in the Men's D Grade 1x, claiming bronze and the Women's C Grade Coxed Fours, snatching gold, silver and 6th. Meanwhile, doghouse-phobic Guster Lauftman hijacked the commentary. He had a job to do: ensuring people were aware of wildcard rower Georgia Seed who threw some heavy punches in the stacked Women’s A 1x Final.

There were no brakes on the Westies steam train as Joely ‘The Engine’ Patterson and Sam ‘The Skinny Controller’ Toland railed the rest of their fields, taking home gold in the B single sculls. We caught up with Sam after the race; he swears by a generous 6-month taper, 3 quality sessions in the boat class and a chugging premiership 500 (the 3rd 500). Furthermore, it was non-stop to Gold City as the Men's D Grade Coxed Eight caught the express with an impressive victory, arriving 0.23 seconds earlier than needed.

The Mens C Grade Coxed Four threw a firework display, winning bronze. A short time later, ‘Novice Flair’ Sophie Gillies and ‘Pocket-Rocket’ Alex Rossi in their respective division sculls put on flashy performances while achieving podium finishes.

As the smoke cleared, it was time for the second block of finals for the day. The Women's B Grade Coxless Four was first up. Whilst having a significant lead, the crew decided to celebrate with some open-season crabbing with 5 strokes left of the race. Despite the inappropriate time and place for such engrossing activities, the girls still snatched a formidable 7.26-second win. Feeling inspired by such action-packed racing, the Men's B Grade Coxless Four motored down the course, leaving nothing but a clean wake as they claimed a 10.18-second victory.

Blessed with the gifts of a short lunch break, the knights of Westies were bestowed with interviews conducted by the one and only Joseph Dawson, brother of Lord Xavier ‘The Magician’ Dawson. Watch this space for cheesy conversations 👀.

Speaking of cheese, the Men's Open Coxless Pair had a breathtaking cat and mouse pursuit claiming a close second to NTC hopefuls from Swan River. Next, both the Women's C Grade Eights stole the cheddar with an impressive double podium, adding gold and bronze to the board.

Up next, Men's C Grade Coxless Pair partners Archie Hoddinott and Aaron Crawley won our hearts that day. After an almighty dogfight with Fremantle rivals, they crossed the line in a potential dead heat. However, after consultation with NASA and high-tech satellite imaging, the consensus was the boys in red clutched the win by 0.02 seconds.

More medals were thrown into the pot by the Men's D Grade Coxed Four, Women's B Grade Coxless Pair and Men's B Grade Coxless Pairs, who all whipped up podium grade finishes. Notably, two of the newest and sauciest Nationals recruits (thanks, Simon), Charlie ‘Sprinkles’ Stevenson and Grant ‘Masterchef’ Hogarth in a scratch pair, dished up an authentic, spicy gold medal performance in the Men's B Pair.

As the sun drew closer to the horizon, Westies charged on in the Open Coxless Fours, Women's C Grade Coxless Pair and Men's C Grade Coxed Eight. The day's grand finale saw the schoolgirls (coxed by the wise George Warner) obtaining a fine addition to the Westies gold medal collection.

With Simon looking like a fresh tomato from Nonno Rossi’s garden, it had clearly been a long, hard-fought day of racing. Indeed, Westies had a good feed and devoured the other clubs on the medal tally. However, the Saturday feast barely touched the sides of the hungry Westies belly. It was time for the second course, Sunday.

More to come…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟰 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

Saturday morning - the delicate crisp air greeting one's face, the faint sounds of David Bowie "Blue Jean" in the far distance, tents being hoisted ready for the day's performances, spectators' gumboots trotting on the dewy grass, the smile from the paramedic on standby in case things get a bit too hectic. No, this isn't Glastonbury festival, but just as iconic. We are reporting from the great banks of Champion Lakes, in preparation for the final Pennant to conclude the 2022 season.. Pennant Four!

As we head toward the back end of the season, from last minute sicknesses taking key rowers down, to Jack's Wifi reception not receiving the coach uniform memo - (lollypop top, blue jeans, white hat supercombo).. this regatta did witness its set of interruptions; but never fear, the Westies Army demonstrated their resilience, rose up to the challenge and as a result delivered some stellar performances.

Live from the green carpet as rowers mentally prepared for their races, the men's squad exchanged new season style tips with one another, showcasing the latest crocs, snap pants and new zooties, meanwhile the ladies opted to participate in a warm up exercise by setting up the almighty red tent (ok, Simon helped a little) and showing how it's done.

For the first races of the day, the lake was filled with a swarm of single sculls for the season's long anticipated time trials for the Men's and Women's A & B divisions. It was a fierce competition all round with rowers showing hunger for that States spot. Not a bad start to the day with Alex Rossi and Blake Whyatt taking out the silver and bronze in the A division as well as John Purcell and Charlie Stevenson bringing home the gold in their respective divisions. Next the girls singles were up, strong competition across the board with Freya Walsh and Maddison Ford coming out on top taking out a Gold and Bronze.

Intermission from the sculls, taking you to race 10 - the Women's D coxed quad. Under the guidance of Keana, the Ladies held it together consistently and came in at a cool second. Yeah clubbies (and Liv!) Back to the single sculls, Sam Clode the lone WARC scull in the Mens C division put on a show fending off the other sculls and gliding through the finish lines bringing home the silver.

As the majority of single scull races were completed, a welcome surprise from mother nature had arrived to shake things up for the second half of the regatta as surf boat rowing was the unexpected item on the agenda. Double scull crews proceeded up to the starting line, square blades buried, ready at the catch and facing up to the challenge.

The waters didn't seem to be double trouble for these crews as Alexia and Mia brought home the bronze in the Women's C grade double. Additionally, it was A+ effort indeed from Archie and Aaron pulling off a last minute dash for Gold in their race and finishing with Charlie and Aria in the UWA heat holding off 2 out of the 4 UWA crews to take home a bronze.

Moving onto the quads. The first race off the rank was the Mens B coxless quad in what was a very tight race. With seconds apart between all four crews, the boys backed themselves and rowed hard to  finish with bronze. A delighted D grade Men's quad paddled up to the deck as they secured silver holding off Curtin by a split second. It wasn't such pleasant news in the Men's A grade coxless quad as an unwelcomed visitor by the name of "Big Bad Crab" made an appearance in their race however they paddled away with their heads held high, moustaches intact and pivoting their focus to their next race.

Under the watchful eye and commands of Florence Barnett, The Womens c grade coxed quad placed a very comfortable first with the second crew under Izzey's guidance taking out a sweet silver. Soon after, bearing the brunt of the waves, stellar efforts from Sophie Gillies adding to her medal collection and taking home a silver in the D grade single scull.

It was big boat time as crews carried out their boats against the gustily winds with an eager spirit ready to tackle the seven seas. The added element of the waves made it anyone's game with the women's and men's B coxed eights coming home with bronze. For the Men's C grade coxed eight, it was a battle to the end with a difference of a second between first and second place with the westies crew taking home silver.

Next up was go time for our illustrious Men's and Women's A Grade 8 to take the stage. Head to head with our long term frenemies Swannies and despite much quicker times since last pennant regatta for the both races, it still was not quite enough to hold off the navy and white with both crews taking home the silver. 2 more weeks until States, is this a preview of what's to come, or do westies have something hidden in their back pocket? Stay tuned.

Notable mention to the greatest comeback of Pennant 4.. The Men's C grade Coxed Quad … What seemed to be a comfortable win for Uni with the crew drifting into a daze thinking of that celebratory sausage sizzle, the Westies boys launched a sneak attack, whipping out a 10 long and hard showstopper that made all the difference with WARC flying through those red buoys to take home the Gold.

As the day progressed, what used to be a lake was no more as ocean waves became more prominent at this point but that didn't phase the lethal "Jojo" taking third place and landing with bronze for the Women's d grade double scull.

With fatigue settling in coupled with winds building up momentum, posed a question mark outcome for the last race of the day, the women's c grade coxed eight. Two Westies crews presented themselves, with both crews fighting hard to take their wooden boats across the course, brilliant effort by crew 1 taking the silver and the crew 2 placing 4th milliseconds after Uni.

That concludes Pennant 4 and starts the countdown for regatta we've all been waiting for… States Championships 2022. A shout out to the Westies loyal supporter fan base - humans and canines alike who came down. We hope to see you with your pom poms in a couple of weeks!

Until the next instalment of your favourite rowing report - stay well and keep dry!

Pennant 4 Regatta stats:

- Overall medal count: 20 (Gold = 6, Silver = 7 & Bronze = 7)

- Weather conditions: 6.5/10

- Dejan planking in various locations within the Westies domain? Absolutely priceless!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟯 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

As the clock struck 5am, the shed was choc-a-block with ambitious Westies rowers ready to take on boat loading. The boats began to flood the trailers as the Swan River laid flat and peaceful, with not a single ripple afar. Off went the trailers, followed by devoted Westies members whom were yet to discover the sensational conditions that the lovely Champion Lakes had been brewing all week. 

30 minutes later, arrivals to Woop-Woop were greeted with dark grey clouds, rolling waves and the growling sounds of thunder…or maybe it was just Simon Cox. Nevertheless, the show went on!

Kicking off proceedings was Joely Patterson clearing up the Women’s A scull in a whopper third place despite catching a crab mid race. This was quickly followed by the almighty Sinead Reading, who absolutely obliterated her opponents to claim gold in her scull race and fourth overall in the Women’s A/B scull. 

The gritty efforts of the Westies rowers did not stop there, with Captain Sam Toland putting on a show in the Mens A/B scull taking out 2nd position in his division. Special mention to Alexander Baroni who raced his last 2km scull race for Wests, placing 4th overall in the Men’s A/B division just 2.38 seconds off first. We wish him well as he embarks off to row with foreigners! To top off the first events of the day, our marvellous Maddi Ford powered against the rough conditions straight into first place. 

Last but not least, amazing effort from our superstar Sophie Gillies who cleaned up the gold and her competitors in the Women’s D grade single scull, beating 2nd place by a whole 34 seconds!

As the sculls docked back onto the pontoon, trestles began to flap as the wind picked up. Following Stefano’s orders, hands were holding boats as Wests rowers swiftly scrambled to tie down the hulls using Simon’s complicated yet effective tying technique. The wind was now howling, but that did not stop the cracking efforts from Tyler and Kieran in the Men’s C Pair as they pushed through to the line in second place, with no one behind them in sight.

As the pair racing continued, we saw stunner efforts from Aquilla and Tanika taking out the Women’s B pair while beating the Men’s A pair time by whole 22 seconds, stroked by Dejan Bouwhuis and backed up by boyfriend Joey Dawson. Better luck next time boys!

It began to pour down, but that did not stop the eager Westies rowers from standing by their boats…despite the Swannies tent being the only cover in sight!

Next came brilliant efforts from the Women’s D grade coxed four of Izzie, Beth, Mia, Clare and Jasmin, earning second place, closely followed by a smashing job from Liz and Tamsin in their C grade pair as they fought against UWA all the way to the finish, coming in first by 0.08 of a second. Next, Westies schoolgirls and Clubbies showed up in full force as three C grade coxed fours charged through the rain to take 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Moving up in the boat classes, representing the red and yellow the Men’s A grade four put on a show as they swept their way to silver, swinging back in the wind despite the tough conditions. This was quickly followed by a battle against the best for the Westies Women’s A grade four as they fought their way into top position against their toughest competition yet, themselves. 

The Eights racing commenced with a ripper of a race from the Westies Men’s B Eight, flying through the finish line to secure the bag, coached by the one and only Jack O’Dea. Huge congratulations to all our new and returning schoolgirls who claimed the glorious gold in the Women’s C grade Eight, backed up by our experienced Women’s squad members, flying past five other crews.

Now, what do you call a boat that comes in second place?

The Rudder-up’s!! ….in this case it was the Men’s and Women’s A Eights securing second place as they battled with SRRC in the unforgiving head wind.

Overall, a successfully day for Pennant 3 with the WARC medal count totalled at 21: 8 Gold, 8 Silver, 5 Bronze.

To say we all left wet would be an understatement, but a big congrats to our OARSOME rowers and coaches for braving the wild weather. Bring on Pennant 4!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

Saturday’s wild weather was a distant memory by Sunday morning as clubs rocked up to fresh conditions at Champion Lakes for the second pennant regatta of the season.  Threatening clouds brought a subdued number of spectators, but the promise of glistening water, artisan coffee and the finest BBQ skillz in the southern hemisphere were enough to attract the dedicated. As boats were rigged, sodden ground conditions (comparable to Splendour festival I’m told) resulted in more than one rower ending up ‘A over T’ whilst rigging boats, but nothing could dampen spirits on the water, with only a light breeze and a surprising lack of rain.

The banter bus rolled into town as Nick ‘Segue’ Sumich and the first guest commentator of the day Joey Dawson took up their positions in the commentary box, and the A and B grade scullers made their way to the start line to herald the start of another cracking day of racing.

As the first race took to the water, big Blake Whyatt’s decision to lose the mullet-weight was vindicated as he crossed the line to take the top B-grade honours and third place overall, followed closely by Alex Baroni.  The second race of the day saw Josh Hantke and Dejan Bouwhuis coming home in second and third position, with the Club’s reputation put on the line as the mic was handed to the dangerous duo of Xavier Dawson and Alex Cartwright - but to the surprise of Simon Cox, no spectators were seen leaving the venue after their commentary. The ladies also put in a strong showing in the sculls, with Joely Patterson returning from injury to take gold in her grade.

As the air temperature began to rise, a previously untested ladies C-grade coxed quad put in a stellar performance to bring home silver, before the men’s C-grade scullers hit the water, quite literally in some instances (Note from the editor: you’re not getting away with just that Oli. See photos for further detail.) This was followed by silver for Sophie Gillies and Elyse Moreau-Barrett and bronze for Clare Baroni and Finlay Gobby in the women’s C-grade doubles. 

On to the first 8 of the day, and Elise ‘Tonya Harding’ Christou was forced to put her sweet roller-skating moves on hiatus just long enough to cox the men’s B8 to victory in a nail-biting sprint finish against the Swan River crew, with UWA a close third.

A commendable effort in the men’s C-grade double for Stu Payne and Chris Zhao, who suffered a dislodged foot stretcher off the line, but still put in a solid effort.  Year 11 powerhouses Tom Byass and Sam Clode came in 4th in their double – a great result during Tom’s first year in a boat.

As a light breeze began to drift over the course, the fleet of capable dinghy drivers changed over, and the BBQ churned through bacon rolls.  Nick Wakeford stepped out of a dinghy in full WARC attire, leaving no-one unsure of which club was running this regatta.  Meanwhile GG ‘Safety’ Walker remained in command of the H&S boat, ready for action like a coiled spring in the event of an incident.

Back to the racing, and the A-grade quad stroked by Super Mario crossed the line in style, taking out 2nd place before the B-grade doubles hit the water with Joe Dawson stepping in at short notice to partner Caine Holdsworth.  Kieran Reading and Alex Edis brought home a solid gold in the D-grade double, a convincing 7.27 seconds ahead of UWA.

Xav Dawson brought his A-game, but sadly not his zootie.  Either that or ‘The Magician’ had made it disappear, but forgotten how to find it again.  After receiving a piece of Keana’s mind, Xav commandeered a sweaty zootie, and the C8 got underway to bring home another silver for WARC.  Sterling efforts from the women’s C-grade coxed quad with a gold in the first race, followed by a strong finish in the second race from the Clubbies coxed by George Warner in a field of far more experienced crews.  More silver medals followed in the form of Sophie Gillies’ C-grade scull, the men’s A8 (who, in a blistering performance, more than halved the gap to first place compared to the first pennant), and the women’s A8.

With the trailers all but loaded and the breeze picking up, the Clubbies won bronze in both races of the Women’s D-grade double. The women’s C8 brought home the final silver of the day, and another successful day on and off the water for WARC came to a close.

Hats off to everyone involved in running yet another fantastic Westies regatta, and a big congratulations to those returning home with medals or competing in their first events.  Onwards to the next regatta.

Go Wests!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

What a start to the Pennant season with an absolute stunner of a day! Extra-early morning loading saw both rowers and an unprecedented number of furry friends descending on the shed. Whether or not puppies truly assisted in the loading process is ultimately unclear, however what they lacked in useful digits or limbs, they certainly made up for in boosting morale and cuteness. Coxing legend Keana Hall perfectly described how everyone was feeling – ‘I’ll keep coming to loading if the dogs are here!’

Arrival at Champion Lakes found what must be one of a rowers’ favourite sights: glassy water. Such a marvellous way to begin the day, particularly in contrast to the breezes battled by crews in the Perth to Fremantle Head Race.

Westies scullers started the day off well, with Georgia Seed taking out the first race of the day, winning the WA/B1x by over a length of clear water. Following up strongly, the time trial format of the top sculling event saw Alex Baroni finishing third overall, closely followed by Gus Lauffman who took the bronze position in the top division of the MA/B1x to take out fifth fastest time overall. Continuing the strong sculling performances in her WA pennant racing debut, Maddi Ford took out the WC1x with a convincing win.

Ollie Hickman and Aaron Crawley kicked off the sweep events, taking out the silver in the MC2-. Not to be outdone, the Westies MB8+ took gold over both the WA and SA Pathway crews. Next it was the women’s turn. Alyssa Capewell and Kate De Marchi took silver in the WC2- with Finlay Gobby and Clare Baroni taking Bronze. Crews combining Clubbies, brand-new schoolgirls and Women’s squad rowers had a convincing win in the WD4+ and a solid second place in the WC8+.

As the morning progressed, a strong cross breeze brought some significant drift across the course, leading to multi-lane adventuring for crews in both racing and aligning.

Special mention to Xavier Dawson and pair partner Alex Cartwright who took out the dubious honour of the being lucky enough to be christened by the questionable waters of Champion Lakes. Blame was swiftly placed on an improperly fastened gate in spite of multiple rumours claiming otherwise.

As racing continued, the WARC Men’s B4- took out a bronze, in a close finish behind the UWABC crew. Sharing their race due to a shortage of competitors, the Westies’ Women’s A8+ had an early foray into Lane 0 and visited the reeds, but upon recovery, took full advantage of the opportunity to race to the line. The Westies Men’s A8+ put out a solid performance but unfortunately were unable to catch the reigning state champs from Swans this time.

A dramatic final event for the rescheduled WA4- saw the Westies crew leading through a very tight race, only to be pipped on the line by the fast finishing crew from SRRC.

In spite of a number of last minute changes, WARC crews rolled with the punches and put out some awesome performances. Bring on Pennant 2!

Pennant 1, WARC medal count: 6 Gold, 7 Silver, 4 Bronze

An awesome start to the season. Go Westies ❤️💛🖤

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

The Perth to Freo Head Race. A beast of a race from the Swan River Brewery, through Matilda Bay, around Pelican Point, past the Nedlands Yacht club, across Dalkeith, circling Freshwater Bay, along Blackwall reach (pause for breath) and into the Fremantle Rowing Club. It is truly a beautiful 16km course, persistently reminding you – especially in the Claremont, Peppy Grove and Mosman Park regions – how futile one’s efforts are, as you row past some of the most expensive houses you will never own.

This year’s Perth to Freo saw both the Westies Men’s and Women’s A eights compete and produce racing that was positively electric, very chaotic, and in the end, straying into the logistically absurd.

The morning began in a much more relaxed fashion than most regattas, as the Westies squad arrived at the West Australian Rowing Club at 7 am, a beauty sleep compared to the nightmarish 5:00 am arrival expected for boat loading at a normal regatta. As everyone got ready to hit the water, there was much excitement surrounding the long row ahead, with Apollo Solomon even very generously offering to ‘take care of the first and last 500m’ for his crew - just as long as the rest of the crew took care of the middle 15km for him. As the two Westies eights eventually hit the water, a crisp tail breeze greeted the competitors at the start line, giving the crews some hope that perhaps the race might be over quicker than originally thought.

A very relaxed start to the day meant a very concise warm up for the Women’s eight in a never before seen combination. From the cox seat, Tyler Clement calmly hid the fact the crew had missed their start time which meant a quick and chaotic start, but luckily it didn’t take long for the crew to find their rhythm. Rough water bruised knuckles early in the race, but the crew stayed consistent to row through the other women’s eights as well as a couple of men’s masters eights. Pamela Riley and Maddi Ford pushed through recent hand surgery and an injured wrist, and a big shout out to Sophie Gillies for surviving and thriving in Perth’s roughest and toughest race in her first season of rowing!

The Men’s A eight departed last, desperate to catch and pass the strong Fremantle A eight before the race was over. The racing began well, with a cracking first half. However, as crews began to get passed by the men, problems began to rear their heads. Pelican point was a dumpster fire of several master’s eights trying to take the same line around a corner, which to no surprise ended poorly. But this didn’t faze the men’s coxswain – Elise Christou – who took some extremely aggressive lines around the course.

However, if either Westies crew thought they’d gotten away with a smooth race, the final corner was to have the last laugh. With Tyler and Elise both committed to their racing lines, a collision (or ‘love tap’, depending on your interpretation) became imminent. Although both coxswains did their best to take evasive action (with some unsolicited advice exchanged between the two), bow technician Sam Toland turned to see Tyler reaching out to fend off the men’s bow while at race pace. The men’s eight had to easy oar, but fortunately both boats and crews emerged unscathed, with the heated words exchanged considered to be ‘water under the (narrows) bridge’.

Once the racing finished, the most interesting part of the head race began to unfold. It was beautiful, mesmerising, captivating, like a beautiful dance between man and boat. As the Westies squad observed, Simon Cox began waltzing his way around the two eights. It had to be seen to be believed. Simon, up to his waist in the chilly Fremantle water – in his tracksuit pants, no less – was a sight to behold. This tango of sorts resulted in the linking of the two eights in a catamaran style. The delicate contraption allowed the two eights to be towed back to WARC, which was said to be ‘way easier than loading the trailer’.

It was not ‘way easier than loading the trailer’.

Overall, two entries resulted in two wins, which again showcased the strength of the Westies Squad, and was celebrated with a drink or two at the Shag afterwards for some. The next event is Pennant 1, where hopefully we will see more Westies success. Well done everyone!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

The sun shone and the birds chirped as the jovial westies squad arrived at A.N.A., lead by the Westies captain power trio of Sam Toland, Ruth Morris and Westies newest and fluffiest mascot, Sebastian Morris-Toland! The weather may have been a little chilly, but the West Australian Rowing Club were all keen to show what precisely 7 days of hard training had done to change our fortunes from last week’s Mettam’s Regatta.

The mornings boat loading session was cold and dark, and punctuated by some major absentees. Simon Cocks (oops) and Stephano Balosso decided that this morning just wasn’t for them; good riddance, I say. I have never seen a less chaotic, smoother or well organised boat loading! Everything ran ahead of schedule, zero shouting, comprehensible English was spoken by all, and there was exactly the right amount of not Simon. Perhaps a boat loading this smooth will never happen again, and strangely, it all occurred without both of “gods gifts to boadloading”. Coincidence? I’ll let you decide… Another notable omission from boat loading was treasurer Dejan “Goat-House” Bouwhuis. Boat loading began at 5:00, and when asked at 5:15 by Joe Dawson; “are you awake”, Dejan replied; “yeah…” “why?”.

Now that’s a man I really want handling my money.

The trailer then set off for A.N.A., with the westies squad in tow. As the boats began to assemble themselves on the banks of the Swan River, the Dawson brothers (the “technician” and the “magician”, I’ll let you decide who is who) began taking some liberties with Tyler “my hero” Clement’s camera. I imagine some of the snapshots won’t appear on this Facebook page, but feel free to ask Joe about it, he’s quite proud of his work.

As the rowers made their way to the race start, the perilous course began to rear its ugly head. The Guildford to Garret road course is a proper doozy, with treacherous turns, chaotic corners and surprisingly slippery straights awaiting the ballsy coxswains who had to navigate the course. To successfully and quickly race this course is nothing short of a miracle, and Elise Christou was kindly rewarded for her good work with a dunk in the freezing cold river, shortly after the race finished. That one just didn’t go her way; thanks Georgia Seed!

The racing results, however, largely did swing in Westies direction. A dominant win in the women’s A eight was a great showing from the crew, and the men executed a brilliant race, beating the swans A eight by only 1.86 seconds. Full credit to the boys, good footy from the fellas all round, great scoreboard pressure and a lot of hard ball gets which really got us over the line in the third quarter. The masters composite quad won their event by default (being the only entry in the event), but a win is a win, so well done! Unfortunately the open quads struggled in 3rd and 4th, but finished strong.

Overall, this regatta was a resounding success, most notably from our A grade men and women, who showcased their strength on a tricky course.

Well done to everyone who competed, let’s keep the momentum rolling for the next regatta.