Impressive rowing at Marlborough regattas

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31881, 8 January 1969, Page 9

Impressive rowing at Marlborough regattas

HPHE increased competition x this season at Kerr’s Reach gave Christchurch a fine send-off for Picton; the unpredictable element was not so much the competition as the course conditions. Accustomed to hauling their shells through mud, weed, rubbish and a trickle of dead water, Kerr’s Reach oarsmen often fail in what the Picton and Wairau locals euphemistically term a “jobble.”

Fortunately the MarlChampionship Regatta at Wairau gave coxswains a foretaste of the difficulties caused by a wide course, unpredictable currents, and a blustery head-wind. The Union senior pair, though in an exposed lane, overcame the choppy water and rowed powerfully to a four-length win over Blenheim.

Union’s second success was more of a surprise. T. Armstrong and the veteran B. Fraser, who had combined only a week before, sculled very stylishly to beat Wairau by one length. Both Armstrong and E. Robb (Canterbury) sculled determinedly in adverse conditions in the senior sculls, their skiffs bobbing like corks on the waves. They finished third and fourth respectively, halfswamped. The Avon novice fours which had done so well in the pennant series

were sheltered in their heat and won easily, but in the final, drew an outside lane and came last.

The women’s crew from Avon just managed to pull home by a length. Canterbury had no luck with stations. The senior four and senior eights were both beaten, but the experience was invaluable.

The conditions at Picton were the best for the last 10 years. Even the wash thrown up by launches and pleasure-boats was not, as bad as usual. For four of the Canterbury crews the regatta was a triumph. The senior four: J. Knox (cox), G. Lopas (4), M. Robinson (3), B. Pettigrew (2), and D. Pickrill (bow), shot away at the start and won as they pleased. The senior eight, in which the four was joined by T. Just, M. Brownlee, G. Radford, and G. Smith, won just as comfortably—a win highlighted by the fact that the Star crew used the Doneratico eight used by the New Zealand rowing squad in Canada.

It was disappointing that the Wellington and Hutt Valley crews were not there to make the competition really representative, but as members of this fine eight, Radford and Smith deserve their senior status.

The race of the day was the junior eight title. Wairau led marginally for most

of the way, followed by Star, but Canterbury, when they spurted at the finish pulled up a length in 10 strokes and when Wairau caught a crab, stole the race from Star by six feet. The Union junior four showed their quality by winning the junior fours race easily after previously rowing into third place as a senior four.

The standard of rowing in the maiden class was markedly high, and dominated by Petone. In fact the schoolboy four which was far superior to the rest of the field when it added this event to the Canterbury total, could only take third place behind Petone and Wairau in the maiden class. This was in direct contrast to the senior double sculls where B. Pettigrew, a maiden sculler, and E. Robb beat a surprisingly poor Star pair into second place. Even the winners, Wairau, were not impressive.

The Avons womens four repeated their victory over Wairau to retain an impressive record. To judge by these performances, Christchurch oarsmen have a better chance than ever before of winning New Zealand championship titles, and certainly the Christchurch regatta on January 25 and 26 will be a more interesting spectacle for local residents than it has been in recent years.