THE 2011 Navy George Bass Surfboat Marathon wrapped up on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After six gruelling days of rowing, competitors undertook the final 22km journey from Pambula to Eden.
Saturday’s weather was fine and sunny, with a brisk north-easterly breeze pushing the surf rowers and surf ski paddlers through the slightly choppy seas.
Tathra’s two crews continued their fine form to both finish in second place overall.
The women’s veterans secured a runner-up finish on the final day in a time
of three hours,
49 minutes.
It was the fifth time Tathra’s women held on to second position during the marathon.
The women’s veteran competition was taken out by neighbour Pambula Power while Pambula Saltwater Pearls finished third.
Tathra team captain Sharon Clarke said the crew was ecstatic to finish second.
“It was a proud achievement,” she said.
“Some girls have only been rowing for eight months so it was great effort.”
Ms Clarke said racing conditions proved tricky during each leg.
“We experienced something different every day,” she said.
“We had nor-easters, south-easters, a bit of everything.
“At the end of the day you thought ‘how am I going to do this again tomorrow’, but we did it.”
According to Clarke, Tathra’s women were proud of their finish on Saturday.
“We got ourselves in to a ‘runner’ and, aided by a big nor-easter, we just flew,” she said.
“We had a good finish to the marathon.”
The Tathra veteran’s men also finished the event with an impressive performance, securing second place in a time of 1h41m.
The crew enjoyed a consistent 2012 event, finishing in second or third place every day.
Bull recorded victory in each leg to take out the category and Narooma finished third.
“It was a proud effort by our guys,” Ms Clarke said.
“They are all very experienced rowers and they really put in.”
Twenty-three boats and 14 surf skis entered the George Bass marathon, which covered 190km over seven days.
The open men’s category was taken out by Canberra Vikings, which were clear leaders ahead of Wollongong City.
Torquay won the open women’s category from Broulee Coasties, while Bermagui’s crew finished sixth.
