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In every great sporting story, tales of challenges overcome, and adversaries conquered abound, and a new chapter was today written through the incredible efforts of our Premier Women’s 20 500m crew. Before we jump into the tale of the tape, I’ll paint a picture for you.
Mako arrived at AusChamps with a long-held commitment to race a 20’s crew whenever we can and that was the plan for AusChamps. Arrive on Day 4 and some of the pieces in this little chess game had been moved about by Mr Covid and Ma Flu and the Women’s crew took to the water with 1 Premier aged paddler and 17 feisty comrades with three days racing and some hard miles on the clock. Enter tent left the final wild card; Sally Casey sweeping at her first Nationals with many pundits likening it to Phar Lap’s win in the Maiden Juvenile Handicap at Rosehill 27 April 1929.
What unfolded on course today, marked a new high for the coastal knuckleheads.
Opening their account with a solid heat run, and as planned and expected the girls headed off to the repechage with a challenge on their hands to continue into the later rounds. Challenges is what our girls do and they punched their way out of the rep and into the Semi. With peels of raucous laughter coming out of Chicki as she listed the Semi crews, the girls puffed up with a never say die strut and headed off for a knock down drag ‘em out broo haha.
The crews rampaged down course and at the line, the girls rolled through in 3rd with the glimmer of fastest time in the minor placings hanging in the air. Quiet, quiet…….WTF Mako called into Lane 6 and the girls had punched a ticket to the Major Final.
Finals time and it was the race of the day. The girls fought, kicked, kicked again and flew over the line in a blanket finish. Shaving 3 seconds off the Semi time, and just 1.5 seconds back from 3rd, Mako Premier Women had locked in a #6 National ranking and written a whole new chapter in the Book of Mako (that Netflix have optioned for short series).
Inch by Inch Second by Second for the Opens
Elsewhere on course, the Open’s crew made their mark with an incredible heat run to win their way through to the Semi and avoid the dreaded rep. With a brief that noted the quality of the company we were paddling with, the Semi goal was to simply get faster, and that we did. With strokes Shane and Jack in perfect set and pause harmony and Kiwi timing his calls like a Swiss clock, the lads flashed into third, and while a final didn’t eventuate, a quick look at the times and is was mission accomplished, with over 4 seconds (a boat length) clipped off the heat run. Allllllright!!
Mixing It With The Best
Morning racing for the Mixed crew was a now well-travelled match racing path of Heat, Rep and Semi. Meeting our brief of ‘faster-faster-faster you buttheads’ the Mixed crew continued to improve each time out and with a small seed planted to relax and enjoy the semi from trusty old Lane 6, the crew nailed their fastest time but bid farewell and safe travels to our mates from Te Waka and Sunshine Coast for their Finals run.
But Wait…..It Wasn’t Over Just Yet
Enter for the first time ever to the Nationals stage, our debut Prem Mixed 10 2k crew and what a crew it was. Aside from Hobo Glasso and Kiwi, the ravages of father time had spared the remainder of the crew and they took to the course in a field of 14 looking youngish and ready to see where they stood in the best Mixed 10’s crews in the country. One minor challenge: as an unseeded crew, Mako started from the back of the field and were forced to set off after the winning crew from the 500m. And chase they did, four legs, solo. Not a boat to pass and perhaps the most challenging 2k racing scenario.
And what does Mako do with a challenge, well they chow down dig deep and give 100%. The crew crawled off the boats at race end, buggered and not knowing where they finished. Moments ticked by as the times were entered and final placings decided. Tick, tick, tick…….boat 10, 11, 12, 13; the scoreboard blinked, Mako disappeared from position 14, the scoreboard blinked again; MAKO 4th in an unexpected and totally bloody fantastic result.
As the sun settled over Gateway Lakes, Mako headed off home with a #6 ranking in the Premier 500m Women’s and #4 ranking in the Premier 10’s Mixed 2k, probably not realising what an enormous step the little club from JB had taken, because they are knuckleheads.
