Tuesday 5 April 2011

by Ingrid Juchem
Port Douglas Outrigger Canoe Club
 
Port Douglas Outrigger Canoe club started the 2011 racing season with great success at the inaugural regatta hosted by the newly formed Dam Outrigger Canoe Club at Lake Tinaroo.

Teams from Port Douglas to Townsville, including 17 local paddlers, attended the inaugural fresh water regatta in the region.
 
The first medal of the day came in the Master Women OC2 race, with a bronze medal won by Sonya Jordan and Ingrid Juchem. With Faye Lilly winning gold in the Senior Master Women OC1 and Glen Thorp and Justin Whyte bronze in the Open Men OC2.
 
Months of hard training in the gym and on the water paid off for the Master Women crew, winning Silver in the 250m skins race, narrowly beaten by the Cairns team from Hekili.

Jackie Cookie, Danielle Bellero, Sonya Jordan, Ingrid Juchem, Cecely Ridderhof and Lili Jensen then went on to win bronze in the 10km Marathon race, missing second place by only three seconds.
 
The Senior Master Women team of Jane Ward, Jennifer Giles, Christine Bouwkamp (at her first regatta), Faye Lilly, Leanne Griffith and Wendy Morris dominated their 10km race winning gold in style.
 
Glen Thorp, Tim Ellis, Justin Whyte, Kevin Bellero, Bill Ridderhof and steerer Lilli Jensen made up the newly formed Open Men's crew. 

Cheered on by the crowed, the team sprinted to the finishing line in spectacular fashion beating the more experienced crew from Cairns Beaches by a second to clinch a fantastic seventh place in a very strong field.

" I was a bit nervous at the start, but had a great time racing," said Kevin, who only had taken up the sport three month ago.

Other results from the day's racing were:

Bill Ridderhof - fifth in the Golden Master OC1
Justin Whyte - eigth in the Master Men OC1
Glen Thorp - fourth in the Open Men OC1
Danielle Bellero and Lili Jansen - fifth in the Master Women OC2
Danielle and Kevin Bellero - eigth in the Master Mixed OC2.