Sapphire Coast Outrigger Canoe Club members have been putting some kilometres under their paddles in the build up to the Noc (Norfolk Ocean Challenge) the Rock race at Norfolk Island January 16-20.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The crew of six, led by coach and steerer Pete Bowery includes Fran Bowery, Geoff and Gill McCallum, Robyn Loorham and Bev Steer who have been in serious training for the last three months.
They were due to go to the event in January 2022 but a week before, COVID shut the island down.
READ MORE:
It was really disappointing, we were shattered," Pete said.
But now they are ready to go for it all again. The club paddles three times a week, but three months ago one of those sessions started getting longer. The typical one hour paddle - they can often be seen around the Pambula Rivermouth - started stretching out to three or even three and a half hour paddles.
The team will be taking part in three races, with the first the 26km Round the Rock Island Marathon.
This main event is the highlight, organisers said with paddlers journeying around the whole Island, including through an 8m wide naturally formed basalt rock arch and past rugged coastline on a course like no other.
"It's been important to build up to that amount of time paddling. I'm hoping we can do the round the island event in 2 hours 30 minutes or 2 hours 40 minutes but it will depend on conditions," Pete said.
"Our shorter paddles are for technique and strength training," Pete said.
He has been outrigging for about 14 years starting in Wollongong but when he and Fran moved to Merimbula they decided to start their own club on the Sapphire Coast and were fortunate to get sponsorship from Bega Valley Realty for their six person outrigger. Now they have one session out of Mogareeka every week as well as the three sessions at Pambula.
The second race the crew will tackle is the 12km Iron, that is likely to be to uninhabited nearby Phillip Island and back.
Organisers said the course is challenging, rewarding and exciting for all competitors. The week ends with 1km sprints for six person and single person outriggers.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
Bookmark www.begadistrictnews.com.au
Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular headlines newsletters
Follow us on Twitter: @Bega_News
Follow us on Instagram: @begadistrictnews
Denise Dion
Regional daily news journalist on the Far South Coast of NSW. Contact me on 0418 213 780 or at denise.dion@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Regional daily news journalist on the Far South Coast of NSW. Contact me on 0418 213 780 or at denise.dion@austcommunitymedia.com.au
