Port Macquarie boat captain Rick Rolff decided conditions were too treacherous for his master’s women’s crew and pulled them from the competition. The master’s men continued to row and navigated their way through the five and six-foot waves to finish with three respectable fourth-place finishes.

“It was a matter of survival more than anything out there,” Rolff said. “Some sets were rolling in that were about five or six feet, but then you would get a race where there were no waves so it was a bit difficult.”

Rolff also decided conditions were too difficult for his junior crew with the junior competition abandoned due to the conditions.

“If you got in the wrong spot it was pretty treacherous and a lot of the boats were going sideways as they went out,” he said.

The Port Macquarie boat captain said his master’s women’s crew were thankful for his decision after they saw Macksville get into trouble in the race before they were due to head out.

“After the Macksville crew ended up back on the bank, the masters ladies all came up and shook my hand,” he said. 

“I think they were very grateful I decided not to let them race.”

Rolff said there was concern the races might have been abandoned altogether if they remained in the middle of the beach.

“They moved it to the corners and it was alright. It wasn’t too dangerous if you had experienced crews, but if you didn’t you were in trouble.”

Wauchope-Bonny Hills sweep Steve Monaghan said conditions were “very lively” and when their reserve men’s crew were hit with a waterfall in the first race, it was all up hill from there.

“It’s really difficult to row when you have a boat full of water because you lose too much ground and you’ve got to play catch-up,” he said. 

“The boat was filled to the gunnels.”

They overcame that challenge throughout the day to register enough points to finish second overall before they won the final at the end of the day.

The men’s open’s team kept in touch with the top crews with a successful day on the water and picked up regular second and third placings.

“Their boat speed was very nice and there isn’t much between the top five crews in that division,” Monaghan said.

“Crescent Head lead the way and then the rest of them are all fighting for positions.”

Focus now turns to the final round at Woolgoolga next month.