Supporters
Captain’s Blog
July 2017
Hi,
It has been a very busy time around the club and it has been great to see a big mixture of crews and squads on the pontoon despite the cold, cold mornings.
AGM
The AGM is scheduled for Saturday August 26 at 3pm. It is important for as many members as possible to attend as this is a chance for you to vote on the committee that will manage the club for the following six months.
After the AGM, we have booked a function room at the Aqua Luna Restaurant upstairs for drinks and nibbles from 5 pm. As it gets closer we will verify numbers for catering purposes.
Website
Just a reminder to have a look at the website and functionality. You can now access the site through drummoynerowers.com.au. It has been a while since our old website was functional so we don’t currently have a presence on the web. The more people who access the site, the better the response when searching for Drummoyne Rowers, so please give it a click or two.
J B Sharp
DRC hosted the 3rd JB Sharp regatta last weekend in perfect conditions.
Once again the DRC organising sub committee did a fantastic job ensuring a great regatta for all.
Thankyou to Ric, Antony and all the helpers for a big effort and great result.
We had a number of wins including The Novice Women’s Quad of Pip Bulbeck, Helen Burton, Samantha Heine and Maggie Smith, Lizzie Moshirian in the WN1X and Michael Musarra, David Heine, Mark Bailey and Hugo John in the MN4X.
Congratulations to all who competed and on the great results achieved.
Pontoon Repairs
This week, Waterways Constructions undertook some rectification work on the pontoon.
While their primary focss was on the connections between the deck and piers they also replaced some decking on the ramp and fixed some of the hinges.
None of the work effected our access to the pontoon.
AED
As mentioned, the Automated External Defibrillator, has been installed. This is an important measure in providing potential, life saving options for our members.
We will follow up this installation with a St Johns First Aid course for a limited number of members.
In the first instance we will invite coaches, then a member of the various crew groups so that we can ensure the greatest coverage of members.
More information will follow.
Navigation On The Bay
In recent weeks DRC crews have been involved in two serious incidents with Leichhardt RC crews, one resulting in hospitalisation of the LRC member and significant bruising to the DRC member.
In the first incident, a DRC crew was involved in the collision with a LRC crew on the run down to Brent Street (Dobroyd Sailing Club). The DRC crew were in the right but the incident had potential to cause serious personal injury. Thankfully no one was hurt and damage was only caused to the DRC 8.
The second incident was a collision between a DRC 8+ and an LRC 2-. The impact was at speed and it appears both crews were too close to the middle of the waterway. The bowman of the LRC 2- was taken to hospital by ambulance.
It is a timely reminder that we need to be diligent in staying on the right hand side of any waterway. Drifting out to the middle or cutting corners is not acceptable, we must be absolutely aware of where we are at any time while on the water.
We will hold a meeting of the bay clubs in the next few weeks to work out actions we all can take to reduce the risk and occurrence of these incidents.
In the meantime, please report ANY incidents or near misses to ???? so we can start to understand the risk areas and factors.
Squads
The Men’s Masters 8+ crews are having regular rows each Friday with a group now of some 20 athletes.
This is incredibly encouraging as we look forward to increasing the workload in the lead up to the long distance races in August/September/October/November.
The Masters Women’s squad have also been active with great results in the last 2 JB Sharps. Nice rowing everyone involved. The plan is to start rowing on Thursday mornings in the lead up to the distance races.
The Tuesday sculling group continues to grow and hopefully are seeing the benefit from these coached technique sessions. Come along if you would like to be part of this group, as all abilities welcome to improve your sculling technique.
On Sunday 23rd July, Glebe Rowing Club are going up to the Nepean for a long row (approx. 30km). They have asked if DRC want to join them. This is a great opportunity to experience some great-uninterrupted stretches of water and help build fitness and technique.
I will canvas the various squads to see who is interested.
Boat Maintenance
Over the next few months we will increase our focus on boat maintenance. In recent weeks a range of shoes and speaker system wiring and speakers were replaced in the McNiven 8. More shoes have arrived so we can complete the job.
Some new foot stretchers have been purchased for the Monty 8+ and will also be installed soon.
Our range of spares is extensive so most maintenance needs can be catered for. Please feel free to fix anything you feel confident to do, otherwise report a maintenance issue on the DRC website.
Working Bee
The last couple of working bees have been great with good attendance and productivity.
We didn’t quite get the brackets on the moving scull racks to store sculling blades but will complete this over the next month.
We did manage to mow and trim the grass areas, clean up the gym and boatshed and do some boat maintenance.
More working bees will be scheduled over the upcoming months and I would encourage as many members as possible to get involved.
With the lead up to the competition season and the long distance events scheduled from August to November, please make sure your RNSW membership is up to date so the entry process is quick and seamless.
Please take care when you are out on the water and I look forward to catching up with you on the pontoon.
Rob Glendenning
Captain
DRC Rowers Inc