“It’s hugely social,” Britten says, with about 400 rowers finishing each leg around noon its “back to the club or pub for a debrief and you’re mixing with the other clubs.”

Most teams camp out at various sites for the week-long marathon too and it’s a great bonding experience for crews. 

“Camp is a lot of fun pranking each other and telling a few yarns, there’s also calendar events – we do a ‘Red Faces’ skit and we always try and come up with something funny for a laugh,” Britten said. 

He said the Tathra crew also hosted the ever-popular “pick a bum” routine, which provided plenty of laughs. 

“We’re in the veterans category now, so we’re a bit older and more relaxed about it.”

Pambula veteran Andrew Holt echoed the sentiment saying crews kept things light and enjoyed a bit of banter. 

“Practicing water changes one of the lads started singing the Jaws theme song –  it was a good gee up,” Holt said with a laugh. 

Both the Pambula and Tathra clubs will be serious competitors next week, but said they enjoyed a laugh and team-mates were like best mates or brothers. 

Britten’s first George Bass was in 1990 after just four months’ practice in the boat. 

“We were very under-done, we had only picked up the oars in September,” Britten remembers with a laugh. “Nowadays you have a whole year of preparation.”

After that first row, Britten had caught the bug and is now one of the most experienced rowers in the field of 25 separate crews – competing in his 13th Bass this year,

His advice to new starters in the boats is to “expel everything you’ve got”. 

“The main thing is it’s not a seven-day race, it’s a series of 30-minute sprints – marathon runners keep a constant pace, but for us we do our sections then get out, recover and then get back in and do it again.”

He also said to always be mindful of the temperature – hot or cold. 

“Hypothermia is always a worry – if they stop talking or eating the cold is already gripping them.

“The guys who are really lean will be the ones who suffer more, so if you feel cold at all, get wrapped up.

“The heat can be your enemy too, you just break down and stop working and feel fatigued, you’ve got to be mindful of it.”

As a 26-year veteran, Britten has seen it all but 1997 is the year that stands out. 

It was the Narooma to Bermagui leg 20 years ago where most crews were hit by hypothermia after facing five-metre swells and a howling icy southerly. 

“The course record is a bit over an hour, but it took four or five hours to get in and most of the crews suffered hypothermia.”

Britten said being soaked for three-to-five hours daily on the boat meant it was pretty easy “to tear yourself up”, but the blisters were part and parcel of finishing the world’s toughest surfboat race. 

Most would be happy to finish the event, but the veteran crews it gets competitive and Tathra will be looking for a win this year. 

“You never know until you get there, but we’ve got the training and the mindset to win it,” Britten said. 

The crew have been training the house down with six sessions a week in the boat and their own training programs on the seventh day as well as doing stair-sprints in Tathra. 

The key moment for the sweep won’t be the finish, but the landing of the first day. 

“You’ve got to be in the mix when the Bay river opens into the sea, if you can win or come second that first day you’ll know how you’re going as a crew,” he said. 

The first leg is on December 31.