Saturday 1 November
There was a carnival atmosphere down at the Gold Coast Broadwater in Hollywell this afternoon as the first day of the outrigger canoeing competition got underway with crews battling strong northerly winds.
Bayside Outrigger Canoe Club member Bill Woodforde said his crew relished the relentless conditions and admitted that it aided their style of paddling.
“It’s tough out there but we’re really strong when it comes to head wind,” Bill said.
“Everyone soaked up the tail heading out but it really came down to whoever can dig the deepest coming into the wind and that’s where we were able to pick up the pace.”
The crew’s motto ‘No Excuses’ came into play during the six-man six kilometre pursuit when their boat got snagged on a buoy.
“We competed in the six-man boats this morning and we were trying to catch the crew in front of us but we collected the buoy on the way in,” said Bill.
“There was a strong current and a strong head wind and we tried too hard, got unstuck and paid the price.
“It was a hard race and we got chased down by the crew behind us, but we hung on, finished strong and claimed third place.”
The men’s 30+ crew, led by Woodridge local Maui Mokaraka, were constantly reminded of the efforts required of them with their motto printed on the front of their wet shirts.
“Our motto is ‘No Excuses’ and it means that whatever happens out on the water you can’t blame it on anything except for yourself,” said Maui.
“It’s been our motto since ‘way back’”.
The outrigger canoeing competition continues tomorrow at the Southport Yacht Club in Hollywell from 7am to 3pm.
The new system was born here and filagra this is not something that we would like to see. Caverta whilst better in some elements but not momentous for us.
