Bronte Surfboat News

During an excruciating erg this morning, a thought occurred to me:
The question is asked of you in training so you know how to answer on race day.

How are you going to answer?

Welcome back, to a new start in 2012.

And a new start is what the Bronte A crew has to offer you all.

Ocean Thunder round 3 was held last week, and historically we have left the beach prematurely. Be it big waves, big nerves or a big letdown, we just can't seem to crack the event.

To reflect this, in the lead up to race day we started calling it Ocean Chunder. Keep it fun, low pressure and a place to really get this combination sorted. With young Justin Taylor at the helm for only the third time with us, we were keen to see how fast we could get our shiny blue hull humming.

After a few rounds, we had a fourth, third, second and first under our belt. With two more good results, beating North Cronulla for the win and robbing them of their extra point, we progressed through to the first elimination round. Needless to say it felt good to leave our boat on the sand while a dejected few packed up early and headed for the bar. 

The first elimination round saw us responsible for sending Cottesloe on their long journey back home.

Quarters were next, our 8th race of the day, where we stayed collected and smooth to cruise out to the cans, milk every runner home and sprint up the beach to knock our friendly rivals Elouera, sending them on their way.

We found ourselves lining up for the semi's, pumped to be there. It was our 9th of the day, but due to smart racing we still had some go left in the tank. Had a great run out, good rhythm and easy speed. Our weakness has been the first few strokes coming out of the turn and onto the first runner. This may have lost us some momentum, and wasn't helped by being in the smaller swell end of the beach, so we fought hard but ultimately came in one wave behind the rest of the field.

We didn't make the finals, but after 9 races and a massive improvement, I feel proud to present the new and improved crew of 2012.

Happy New Year

Greetings wave lovers, 

The Bronte Boaties have had a whirlwind few weeks of racing, results and revelations.

Below is a shot from Ocean Thunder Round 1, on the 12th November. 

We raced hard, started fast and headed out to sea with the rest of them, but turned slow and were still coming to grips on how to best run the chop. So we left the beach with only 6 rows under our belt, first off the beach. We were disappointed but we had plenty to work on for the upcoming week.

The next week was dedicated to turns and running chop. We started to get a hang of how this boat best turns, and ran chop the best we have this season. With a solid week of concerted effort under our belt, we headed in to round 2 of Elouera quietly confident and excited to see what we could do.

First race we were off to a cracking start, neck and neck with North Cronulla, turning together, running chop together, and crossing the line a nose in front. A great start.

Second race began with another solid start, a great relaxed run out, and an easy run back to claim first place by a few lengths.

Third race was close, but resulted in another win, allowing us the points to claim victory for the day.

Our thanks to Cam Allison for replacing Tom for the finals due to a back twinge. He slotted right in, and held on for a close second.

I later found out that we had amassed enough points to become Branch Champions, and to represent the Sydney Branch in the upcoming Inter-Branch competition!

This news came just in time to make us look good at the boat christening...

I present to you, our new boat - The Bluey Graham.

Bluey himself sat in the boat for it's christening run. He had a few pointers for us, as well as a massive grin.
If anyone has some shots from the day, send them through to me and I'll put them up: josh_sch@bigpond.net.au

A few weeks have passed, and we've since discovered that although we fulfilled the agreed criteria to represent our branch, the branch convener kindly notified us that we weren't considered good enough to represent the branch, and that North Cronulla would take our place. 

By a happy coincidence, the convener is a North Cronulla member. Good times.

We've also raced at Mollymook. It was raining sideways & the sea was pumping. It was a toss-up whether to head down, but we persisted as I was sure we would learn something. 

And learn something we did, as the video below shows:

a few good starts, a few big waves and a few bruises to take home.

We've got ocean thunder this weekend, and we're ready to give it a red hot crack. 

After last weekend's technically & physically demanding sessions, we're confident, relaxed and feeling pretty damn good.

I'll post our results and a wrap-up of 2011.

Until then, my good friend Bruce Lee once told me: "If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them"

As promised, here is the rundown from our first carnival of the year.

Upon arrival, the surf conditions were starting to draw a crowd. Boats were being unloaded very tentatively, or not at all, as everyone was waiting to hear from the officials. Would it be cancelled?

After two North Cronulla crews headed out to sea, and made it back in one piece (in style), all gear was unloaded in earnest. If the crash test dummies made it, we can too.  

We were armed with brand new gear and our long awaited brand new boat. What a beauty! Our thanks go to all in the club, Graham & Basil, and our sponsors who made this boat possible. Thank you, we'll do you all proud.

So with the unveiling of our cleanskin boat, we were ready to race!

The first race was a very very close second, with both us and North Cronulla on the winning wave.  A good start.

The second race had us out by 3 clear lengths, which we built on, to win convincingly. 

At this point, the wind started to pick up, the already cranky sea was getting rougher.

Both our third and fourth races, in lane 2, were hindered by a sand bank. Lanes either side of us had a rip, to take the rest of the competition straight out. However, this is surfboats, and no excuses can be made for the surf conditions or anything else out of our control. We move forward, and look towards Ocean Thunder round 1, next week. 

Until then, enjoy a little slice of yesterdays action.

Sometimes you have something looming ahead.

Or sometimes you're in the thick of it. 

This is something I found; it sums up the essence of competition, the urge to plow ahead and the drive to self-actualise.

I hope you find it as powerful as I did.

Ocean Thunder.

The world sends shivers of excitement and a tiny bit of fear down the spine of all OT competitors. It's coming around again this year, being held once a month from November until February.

To give you an idea of why this competition is such a big deal, I'll compare it against any other normal carnival:

Normal Carnival:

• 3-4 races per day
• Start the race standing next to your boat, jump in when the gun goes bang
• The starter waits for a lull in the surf before making said gun go bang
• Crews race out, through the gate cans (that essentially designate lanes from the beach to the turning buoy and back - go outside your gate & disqualification results)
• Crews turn, return through the gate can, and whomever crosses the line first wins.
• The finishing line is made by two flags standing in the water at either end of the competition area, about 5m out from the sand

Ocean Thunder:

• at least 6 races, with a possibility of 14 for the crews who make the final.
• Some races start with a 30m sprint to the boat
• The started pulls the trigger when the biggest, gnarliest wave rears it's ugly head
• Crews race out, with no gate cans to designate lanes
• Crews turn, return without designated lanes, and the race does not stop once the boat hits sand - the bow rower must jump out and sprint up the beach - you've seen previous footage of Bronte coming unstuck due to this very rule - thereby possibly rendering a great row absolutely wasted.
• The sprint ends once the rower runs through the correct gate - also a sore spot for a previous wasted Bronte effort
• But wait, there's more - sometimes the race doesn't end there. The final is a double race - after the first race out and back, the bow rower jumps out, sprints up the beach, around the gate, and back to their seat (while the other crew members spin the boat around) - at which point, the whole thing starts again - needless to say, this happens after 13 previous races
• Oh, did I mention the whole thing is professionally filmed, and broadcast on Fox Sports? This might explain why the starter waits for Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, to kick up a bit of a stink before making his gun go bang.

So now you know why Ocean Thunder is named exactly that. And now, the evidence:

November 12th - Round 1. Dee Why Thunderdome. All welcome - if you dare.

Greetings wave lovers,

Last weekend, the A-crew competed in the first race of the season. This race is unique in the racing calendar, as it is a time trial. A long time trial. On flat water. It's pretty much the opposite of what we've all signed up for in surf boat racing.  In fact, this kind of event tends to be one of the main reasons for most of us to leave river rowing and make the natural migration to surf boats. 

The majority of the Bronte boaties have come from flat water rowing. A few of us have previously competed overseas, and one athlete has previously represented the fine nation of New Zealand in the Under 23 division. Thankfully we've all seen the light.

WIthout further ado, cast your eyes upon the route we have conquered - all 12km of it.

Our time: 1hr 4 mins

The winning time: 1hr 1min

We went into it not concerned with winning, but to treat it as a training row - to get into our rhythm that we'll be serving up for the rest of the season.

Now with that ghastly race out of the way, we're into the surf! Only a few more weeks before our first carnival, and the first test of our off-season preparation.

It will be held at Elouera, part of the gorgeous southern Sydney beaches. At this carnival, we'll be represented in both the A and B mens division, with a women's crew currently in the works. 

A result update and coverage of the day will follow. Until then, train hard and swim safe.