Letter from the President – Julia Davies
Hello Swannies,
Our annual Rod Fry Memorial Race was held on Sunday, this past weekend. For those members who have recently joined the club – Rod Fry was a long time member of the club and a National and International acclaimed C1/C2 paddler, sadly Rod is no longer with us – he is missed by many in the paddling community and his legacy carries on in our annual event.
Again this year, the event was highly successful, over 70 participants in different disciplines and for the first time a SUP race to the 6km marker and back (awesome!!!).
I didn’t race this year instead I had the pleasure of supporting all the paddlers to the finishing line as I was on the jetty with the rest of the timekeeping crew, I got really excited following the hard work of entrants chasing down times or their competition to the line.
It was a great day weather wise we started early to miss the boat traffic at Freo, which I believe, in comparison to previous years was an improvement.
I want to say a big thank-you to all who took part and made it such a fun event.
First a big thank-you to our sponsors who give so generously every year and without whom this event would not be possible;
Paddlesports MEGASTORE, our main sponsor – who gave vouchers and gifts
Mosmans Restaurant – who gave vouchers for food and wine – They are just next door and have a lovely venue and menu
FINN Kayaks – gave out some really useful car tiedowns and various other prizes
Stellar Kayaks & Surf Skis – provided a great prize for the raffle draw.
Bakers Delight – always give generously to our event they are in the shopping centre in Mosman Park – if you are around that way pay them a visit – always service with a smile.
Coles Mosman Park – always support us with food for our BBQ
IGA Mosman Park – have always supported our event
Subway Mosman Park – always give generously
Boatshed Cottesloe – regularly give towards our events
Zephyrs – are there for our daily paddlers providing a coffee and breakfast menu.
Members please pop in to say hello and help support us by supporting them.
Safety is key for this event we are on a busy part of the river and a safe crossing of the channel is paramount. Thank you to Fremantle Sea Rescue for providing a safety vessel and crew, without their services the race would not be possible.
Also a big thank you for helping keep our paddlers safe to:
- Alwyn Duke who looked after the 3km paddlers
- Our club members who acted as ‘Spotters’ at key places along the river
- Katherine Kalaf
- Evi Ferrier
- Carolyne Gattard
- Alisdair Finnie
- Dale Magnus
- Shirley Go
- Our on-water kayak support:
- Kerry Hughes
- Pau Bowen
- Marty Wells
- Justin Mann
- Rowan Davidson radio operator for the event, liaised with Marine Services
- Lee Edwards who managed the safety programme
A big thank you to Demi O’Brien who worked tirelessly on registrations and was the main point of contact for all the non-Swannies who competed.
Thank you to the timers, who without this event would not be possible:
- Millie Williams
- Ruby Mayes
- Isabella Choate
- Julia Davies
A huge thank-you to those members who volunteered their services to ensure this event was a great success:
Lee Edwards has organised this event for the last 4 years – it’s a huge commitment and Lee has been responsible for the safe running of this event – a lot of upfront hard work organising people and services to be in the right place at the right time. This will be the last time this event will be run by Lee so I want to give him a big big thank-you for the last 4 years support.
All the other volunteers that work behind the scenes making this successful, Janet O, Janet V, Trish, Marty, Frank, Darren Rose and Shirley Go – making BBQ, cakes, sausage rolls, raffle etc. available – thank-you so much and if I have left anyone out apologies I know there are those who work behind the scenes.
Thank you to the group who cleaned out the Boatshed on Saturday morning and to John Williams and the others who cleaned up after the race.
Thank you to Isabella Choate and Demi O’Brien who together with Lee worked hard to make this a very successful event – well done and a big thank-you.
And finally, thank you to all the competitors, for making it a fun race and for getting out on the water and doing their best!
Catch-you all on the water,
President
Results
Congratulations to William Lee and Amanda Bowman, the fastest male and females on the water. To see a full list of results and times, click on the button below.
Photos
If anyone has any photos from the day, please send them to admin@swancanoeclub.org.au so that we can share them with everyone!
Contact us
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Email: admin@swancanoeclub.org.au
Phone: 0466677497