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Day 5 is an interesting day. The end is in sight, the pontoons are close, and spirits were high as we hit out one last time over the splash and dash 200m. With the same weary 20 seniors and a handful of youngsters, Mako gathered strength to throw everything they had on the racecourse for the day.
Mako Mixed 18 fought bravely through the reps and missed out on a Semi by a whisker. The crew reached speeds never before seen on the teal waters of Jervis Bay and the resulting backdraft managed to tame Hobo Kiwi’s hair into submission. But not a happy Hobo having spotted what we thought was Grizzly Adams on course, sparking a serious onset of beard envy.
The mighty Premier Women 18s crew were next up smashed out their heat and rep to Annie’s maniacal drumming with a giant A stuck to her forehead. Kudos to Captain Sal who swept like a boss and managed to storm the beach in a landing worthy of Anzac Day. They missed out on progressing to the Grand Final by 0.1 second.
Grab your Fivers
There was much puzzlement in marshalling as the Mako Opens crew made it straight through to the semi and were seen tucking $5 bills into their race shorts before heading out. After perhaps the pluckiest performance of the day, they stripped 2 seconds off their time and missed the Grand Final by a whisker.
All was not lost however, as the Mako ladies have talents hidden under their race tops and treated the lads to a strip tease on their way back to the pontoon to the roar from the crowd. Super sweep Sally was reported to have earned a whopping $70 in notes through her gold-star assets. Nice one Sal.
None Shall Pass This Boat
Kicking off their 2k race mid-pack, the Opens headed out and kicked off a hard chase of a red-hot Pacific Dragons crew ahead. No passing or pain exchanged to report, but by the end of the race with a raucous cheering gang onshore, the Mako crew arrived at the line with a Lords of the Rings declaration of “None shall pass”, and none did. As a reward for such a gargantuan effort the Open’s crew were then rewarded with a full nipple broadside from the beach in a raucous team celebration of the best 2k run ever for the Open’s crew. The big reveal, #10 Nationals ranking.
Warrior Women Wow
Chicki donned her familiar denim sweeping shorts to take out the gutsiest 18 women in the country over 2km of chaos. With a hard chase over the first 1km, traffic congestion on the 2nd corner proved problematic and the going got tough. With a full sail over the last 500, the Mako Amazonians punched hard and often and streaked home to grab #7 in Australia.
What should have proved to be a quiet return to shore was interrupted by the Mako lads with a return nipple broadside to the now renowned count of 2-3-2, that while matching enthusiasm, came up with a disturbingly higher score for paunchiness and areola hair density. At the request of the food vendors, shirts were lowered, and celebrations continued deep into the night.
The Wrap Up of an Amazing Adventure
As the sun went down over the redgum shores of Gateway Lakes, AusChamps has proved to be a watershed moment in the Story of Mako. In the largest fields seen since before Covid, Mako stood tall time and time again. The lighthouse in the story was undoubtedly the Prem Women Standard boat crew who smashed their way into the 500m final, with just 18 plucky women on board and only one Prem paddler (Hi Court).
When it came time for punching it out in Semi’s and Finals, Mako was consistently the only regional crew among a sea of city clubs. Where larger city clubs have the luxury of large recruitment pools and paddlers moving between clubs, as the only club in Jervis Bay, Mako recruits, grows and succeeds in our missions within our community.
There is a heart and spirit in Mako, that can overcome age and experience, it’s called Mako Mojo and its our special weapon. Mako Mojo is a smile, its irreverent, its committed, its supportive, its focussed and it burns in all of us.
A huge thank you to our sponsor Club Jervis Bay, whose support puts the gas in our tank and the wind beneath our wings.
To our incredible Coach Chicki, thank you seems hardly enough to what you bring to Mako. Planning and running three sessions a week over the past eight months, configuring a thousand versions of each race crew (only to go all Mr Squiggle on the day), being a coach, mentor and friend to every member and helping goals be achieved, changing peoples lives, and never putting yourself before the needs of the club. Thank you, we see you, we love you.
With Mako assembling later in the night at a local Wine Bar, shenanigans will be had, stories will be told, memories will be reflected and another chapter in the Book of Mako will close. Roll a fresh page into the typewriter, the next adventures begins….
Bear out!
