The Moruya Drifters backed up a great season last year, where they reached both the NSW and Australian Championship finals in 2015, by finishing inside the top eight at the 2016 event at Alexander Headland.

The crew has had a disrupted season with injury and illness causing a lot of lost training time.

The Drifters only managed to race together as a unit at three events for the season, one of which produced a win at the ASRL National Short Course Championship in January at Manly.

The crew had the skill and confidence to take on this year’s Aussies and set the goal of improving through each race of the event.

They raced four times on Friday for two first placings, a second and a third.

The Drifters progressed to Saturday as the second placed crew on points in the division and winning the first of the elimination races.

The crew’s first race on Saturday saw them draw a tough alley, where only three crews had qualified from all morning between 8am and 1.30pm.

Putting in the row of the carnival, the Moruya crew were the only boat all day to finish second from lane one in the quarter-final propelling them into the last eight semi-final.

As can happen in surfboat racing, the crew suffered a cruel blow when gear failed in the semi-final.

A bow oar popped out of the rowlock and cost the Drifters several lengths as they righted the problem.

Rowing strongly, they came right back into the race being shaded just on the line.

The Moruya crew really were final contenders and a real medal possibility until the equipment failure, but that is the sport and the crew took the blow on the chin as quality sportsman do.

The Drifters will now have to move up a division for next season and start at the bottom rung of the age ladder of the under 23s men’s grade.

Hunt said the crew will be well capable of handling this step up after an off-season spent in the gym.