Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club’s open men’s and under 23 men’s crews put in tremendous effort in Sydney on the weekend, but had little to show for it.
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The under 23s, the Fortescues, made the semi-finals at the NSW Australian Surf Rowers League Open at Manly on Saturday, but progressed no further.
“It was not quite what we wanted,” sweep Neil Innes said.
“The crews rowed pretty well, but there was some very, very hot competition.”
The two crews competed in the Best of the Best carnival at Wanda on Saturday in big surf.
Both crews made the final, and lead at the turning buoys, but the waves helped the other crews more than them and they both finished third.
“It was disappointing because the guys were rowing really good,” Innes said.
“Our crews handled the conditions well, because a lot of crews got slam-dunked.”
The Fortescues could especially hold their heads high, as they kept pace with the Avoca under 23s, who are one of the best junior crews in Australia, capable of matching it with 90 per cent of the men’s A crews in the Ocean Thunder series.
It was a similar story for the Moruya SLSC Vikings open men’s crew, who made the semi-final of the ASRL Open on Saturday, but were eliminated on the line. They were also eliminated in the semi-final at the Best of the Best on Sunday.
Sweep Gavin Hunt said the contrasting conditions at the two events made for some interesting rowing.
“It was reasonably flat on Saturday but there was a sea running on Sunday, so it was a bit of fun,” he said.
