by 
The skies were clear, the heat was building and the empty white tents were flapping gently in the morning breeze over Darling Harbour. Who knew that this would set the scene for one of the most epic Lunar Festival performances that Mako had ever pulled off.
But at this stage we had no idea. We gathered around the familiar stained Bunnings table and tattered pinboard, gulping in nerves at the race draw line-up of the largest Sydney clubs in town and the strength of our competition. It was time to prep for racing:
Warm-Up
Kezza used gymnastics to increase blood flow to paddlers’ brains (not something Mako are accustomed to) thus optimising race psychology and performance. Nice one Kez.
Nutrition
Our trusty nutritional advisor Val was on hand to demonstrate the importance of eating correctly, as a tool for increasing performance.
IT Support
Elizabeth Brown’s mastery in phone hacking provided much needed material for our socials on someone else’s phone. How she came to unlock the item remains a mystery.
Logistics
President Simon had the wranglers sorted and was soon flipping boats at marshalling like the best Star Casino Croupier that still has a job. Nice one Prez and many thanks.
Budget
Our fundraising was covered by the newly-established Only Fans Mako Foot Fettish site, reeling in the subscriptions throughout the weekend and paying for at least one of the after-party drinks.
…..and then we were ready to race
Day 1: Senior A Hat Trick
Mixed was first up, with a record 2 crews for us: Mako Mojo and Mako Magic. Improving every race to strip seconds off our time, we managed what no other club managed to do, get two crews from the same club in the Grand Final. What a race it was, with Mako-v-Mako rampaging through the final in PB times to take SILVER and make Mako history.
Mako Maidens raced under the knowledgeable sweep Jess, and steamrolled the city clubs through the heats, to make the Grand Final and take a BRONZE. Not only do we paddle like demons, we look good doing it and received much commentary from spectators and clubs alike.
Mako Men (plus 6 women) were stoked to have Bear sweeping the boat for the opens crew, and determined to make him proud. And boy we did. After smashing the heats and making the Grand Final again, Bear led the lads in an intense discussion to prepare for their upcoming race. (photo 3 standing) It worked a treat, the gents leapt out of the start, the crowd jumped to its feet screaming Mako-Mako-Mako, and pulled off a surge home to take a first ever GOLD.
And with that Mako become one of the Top 3 Senior A clubs in NSW.
Day 2: Premiers Top 6
Prems was always going to be tough with the level of competition ramping up another notch. But Mako never back down from a fight, and fight we did. Scrambling to understand the points system used for race progression, Point Dexter Jess did the calcs and gave us a clear path for match racing to meet our goal; make the Grand Final for all crews. We did. We nailed it. We had a ball doing it.
Yet again Mako was the only regional club to make all Grand Finals in Premier categories and become one of the Premier Top 6 clubs in NSW.
The Thanks
A huge thanks to Simon for volunteering on the boats.
To Jess, Bear, Rach and all our drummers; you are sublime.
To every reserve who cheered, carried water, took photos and supported, you are what makes this club so brilliant.
To those that weren’t selected for certain crews but were always there cheering and supporting your mako mates, it was noticed.
To all Mako, thank you for bringing joy to so many, and most of all us.
And in a flash the weekend was done. Mako drove their salt-encrusted hobo vans back to the coast to return to our normal sleepy lives. We will forever tell tales and cherish the memories of our 2025 Lunar Hat Trick over a beer at our sponsor Club Jervis Bay #makomojo
Comments