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| Us in lane one, about to start. |
The racing was to be done from opposite Fergs Kayaks towards the lagoon, finishing at its entrance. This sets up great viewing for spectators as the whole race is just off from the waterfront and there are plenty of vantage points to take in all the action.
We set up our tent and got into warming up quick-smart as we were down to be in the first race.There was a bit of a chill wind as we walked down the loading zone. This always bodes well for racing as a southerly means less chop on the harbour. A northerly blowing can make things a lot more interesting!
We paddled up to race start and got into position first. Things are more simple on the Fun Day. There are no lane markers put out, and no rope for the drummers to hang on to keep the boats in line. All the same, the tension is there and winning is the goal.
The hooter went and we got off to a reasonable start, but other boats did better and we found ourselves in their wake. No matter, we charged on and surprised ourselves by being consistent and not dropping off the pace at any stage. The Fun Day is a short race - about 320 metres, but it is the first of the season and things and people can be a bit creaky so it was pleasing to see we were up to it. We weren't first but we weren't last but knew we could do better, and planned to in the next race.
There was a bit of time before our next race so I went and watched a couple of other races get under way. Some boats shot out in a lather of enthusiasm and burnt themselves ragged in short order. Seasoned teams knew better and paced themselves well, easily winning their heats. Others looked like demented caterpillars drunkenly crawling their way to the finish. Thank goodness there is a month to go to the real regatta. It is always surprising to see how quickly teams improve.
Our next race went better - we got out of the box more speedily, charged down at a steady pace, got pipped at the post and came fourth by a whisker. This was a good effort as there are no divisions for the first half of Fun Day. All teams are randomly pitched against each other - mixed teams, women's teams, school teams, corporate and social.
We strolled back to our tent pleased with ourselves and settled into lunch.
Before we knew it it was warm up time again then back out on the race course. This time we felt we had a chance as we were up against all-women teams. We had a team huddle and talked ourselves through the race. We cruised up the start and positioned ourselves in our lane which was number one. Fortuitous again we thought. We shot off to a great start leaving the others in our wake and held our position. The sweep called power and we dug in a little more right at the end to finish as we started: in front. Yay, a win! Great stuff, we thought, all that practice so far is paying off!
Our turnaround was a little quicker this time for our final race. This was to be a long distance one - two and a half kilometres out to the fountain by Oriental Bay and back. Last year it was around the fountain but evidently one race menaced a swimmer who complained so now we are only allowed to go near the fountain. There were three boats in our race and we set off in at a calm, steady pace. I had the job of calling as well as paddling as our drummer was needed to paddle. Our steady as she goes policy put us third out of three at the turning point but our canny sweep had worked out a cunning plan for a quick turn. She called out for the last three paddlers on the left to hold water while the rest of us dug in deep. That extra effort had us turning on a dime and putting us into second.
They never caught us again and we steadily made our way back not making much distance on the first boat, but not losing much either.
The counting plus paddling caused me to breathe to a certain pattern and I began to get a bit high on the rapid intake of oxygen. I had to control my rate rate to keep that steady pace we needed. In the distance a swimmer cut across our path. 'That swimmer is our target,' I chanted, knowing that he wasn't in any danger. 'Reach, two, three, four, reach, two, three four,' I called, over and over as the bridge crossing the lagoon got closer and closer. 'Dig, dig, dig!' A blast of the hooter and the cheering of the crowds told us we had arrived at our destination. Second! So cool!
We swept into the lagoon and to the landing in front of the Wellington Rowing sheds. Again we had done better than expected and the whole crew was elated.
A great way to finish the day.
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| Heading off to the fountain |
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