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!