What a fantastic way to wrap up the regatta season at the Southern Region Regatta in Nowra on the weekend.

Twenty-three Griffins headed down the South Coast for a brilliant weekend of racing, team spirit and plenty of laughs. For some paddlers it was their very first away regatta, and the Nowra Waterdragons put on a friendly, fun and very well-run event.

It was great to have a couple of Invictus and Nowra paddlers joining us to help fill our men’s crews. The weather was perfect, the Griffins marquee was set up under a huge shady tree, and the outgoing tide made for some interesting racing conditions for our sweeps.

We placed in every category we entered, bringing home:
 2 bronze medals for the men
 2 silver medals for the mixed crews
 2 gold medals for the women
 Winner of Female Rowing Erg competition - Jen

Every Griffin paddled their heart out and looked strong on the water. The standout was definitely the women’s 200m final where we won by more than 3 seconds thanks to a flying start. The turns racing also brought plenty of chaos, but our sweeps handled it with some great cornering and avoidance skills.

It was nice hearing other clubs acknowledge how well we raced and how much Griffins has improved across the board.

And it wasn’t all about racing. We enjoyed two great club dinners, lots of laughs, and for some, Sunday sightseeing including Ben’s Walk before heading home.

A big thank you to everyone who paddled, swept, drummed, supported and cheered. We were Loud, Proud and Strong — and definitely back again next year.

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