Queensland Masters Championships 2016

My photos of the 2016 Queensland Masters Rowing Championships held last weekend at Coomera, Gold Coast, are now available on Flickr.

You can view and download photos in various sizes, including original high-res, via Flickr.

Just click on this photo to go to the album:

What a terrific 2 days of racing, despite the crosswind, which we have all come to expect at Coomera. The vibe was relaxed and it was fantastic to have my clubmates with me, having travelled alone to the last 3 regattas.

The morning of Day 1 was calm and I was thrilled to record my first ever uneventful singles race in the heat of the WE1X – no crabs, no collisions, no buoys hit, no swearing, and I stayed in my lane. Woo-hoo!

The final was a little trickier. The crosswind was in full force by then and the B-word was on everyone’s lips. At the start line I was yelled at for moving up 1.5 metres instead of 1 metre (!) and then for not checking hard enough. But I did manage to line up on my bowside buoys to allow for the wind.

I might have got off quicker if the starter had said “Attention” before saying “Go” (he did it again later). But we were probably all equally caught out by that.

At the 500 m mark, it was like someone flicked a switch and strong gusts blew me from Lane 2 to Lane 1 which, fortunately, was empty. I decided to stay there but with about 100 metres to go I was drifting into Lane ZERO, which was fringed by a rock wall and lined with spectators who, from here, can see the whites of your eyes.

At this point, I decided (isn’t the brain amazing?) I couldn’t sacrifice speed for direction and just made it over the line (in 4th place) before fending off with my right leg to protect the beautiful boat that a kind soul had lent me and for which I was prepared to jump overboard and drape by body over if it came to that. Which it didn’t.

Even coming 4th, I felt elated that I had taken on the challenge of the crosswind and come through it. I had won, in the sense that I overcame my fear and anxiety.

Check out the Results of the 2016 Queensland Masters Rowing Championships.

Now, bring on the nationals! Only 4 sleeps to go.

Below is a little taste of my photos or go straight to Flickr to see the complete album of 213 photos.

To download a photo in Flickr, click on the photo, click on the little down-arrow in the bottom-right corner, choose the size you want (or else click ‘View all sizes’ and then choose the size you want) and download.

Thanks to my friend Peter for lending me his camera.