Bronte Surfboat News

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.

Apologies all, for the lack of your weekly dose of surfboats.

I have been busy hanging out with these guys... 

Aaaaannnndd back to surfboats. The Bronte surfboat members have been training hard in the gym, on the rowing machine, and we've even been on the harbour a few times. We'll be moving into the surf in a couple weeks, and for preparation we watch this next video. 

Ready yourself for one of the most famous surfboat video that exists on youtube. It's well known amongst the surf boat community, and is known only as 'The Carnage Montage'.

You've been warned.

So come along to our carnivals, for your chance to see it in person.

Well, so far you have experienced the thrills & spills of big surf.
Now, I'd like to introduce you to the finer points of what we do. 
The rowing stroke is a complex and quite unnatural movement. For a boat to go fast, all 4 rowers have to be in time & move exactly in unison.
Combine this with inconsistent water height, waves, wind and other competitors attempting to move in roughly the same direction (occasionally perpendicular to the desired direction of competition). You're starting to get an idea of how technical this sport can get.

Our training has to reflect this, so I present to you 4 1/2 minutes of a flatwater session. It's not crash and bash, but it hopefully sheds light on a pretty technical sport.

Enjoy. 

Greetings all, 
One thing you will find in a surf club is the prevalence of nicknames. Often someone is known only by their nickname to the majority of the club. Especially the newer members.
It took me a whole year to figure out that the man they call Zippa, is actually called Bob.

Now, to the video below.

Ocean Thunder is unique; the race does not finish in the water. The athlete in bow (usually) must jump out and run up the beach through an allocated gate, around 30m away, to win the race. There are plenty of opportunities for mistakes, mishaps and mirth.
You would be forgiven if you thought you were watching the birth of a baby elephant, or footage from a warzone. 

You bear witness to the birth of a nickname. Once called Tom, now and forever: Jumbo.



On a side note, we actually would have won most of the races that day if there was a finishing line in the water.
The running races were a different story.

Welcome to another installment of the Bronte Boaties archival footage.

Here we witness the ASRL Open down in Wollongong. from 2 years ago.
The event was shifted north one beach, due to the epic waves smashing onto the original location. As you can see, it helped.
A bit.

Enjoy!

To start this stream of communication rolling, and to give you all a bit of background on the Bronte Boaties, archival footage of our trials and tribulations will be uploaded weekly.

This video was shot up at Coffs Harbour, November 2008. The conditions were monstrous, but we left with smiles on our faces and stories to tell.
Don't let it put you off, they no longer hold competitions in these kind of conditions.
Please enjoy our first attempt at competition. If you are short on time, skip to 3:10, that's where the fun really starts.

Welcome to the new Bronte Surfboats page, a place to be informed, inspired and amused.

We have decided it is time to become a more integrated part of the club, and we hope you’ll have us.

Faced with a new season of tough competition, early mornings, long weekends and expectation of good results, the boaties decided to rally the inaugural boat committee AGM. Here we discussed the upcoming season and the growth of the Bronte boaties.

The main discussion points revolved around recruitment, resulting in a ‘Come and Try’ Day. The event will be held at Yarra Bay, allowing the opportunity for all to have a paddle in one of the most impressive crafts that have ever pushed off from shore with two equally impressive rowers.

We also discussed our sponsorship options, in order to secure a brand new boat to take us to the podium throughout the season, all the way to Aussies.

Congratulations to the appointment of Tom Jeffries as our new Boat Captain and Cameron Allison as our Vice Captain. With these two fine gentlemen at the helm, we have given ourselves every chance for a professional and successful season.

If you are interested, or know someone who would be interested in rowing for Bronte, contact Tom Jeffries on 0409 603 074. A date will be forthcoming for the Come and Try Day. I promise it won’t be in the middle of Winter.

So welcome again, to the new season and webpage of the Bronte Boaties!