Melbourne High Rowing on Lake Wendouree

One of the great things about Joe undertaking rowing is the interesting places he gets to row. We were impressed with the beauty of the Barwon River in Geelong and now having visited Lake Wendouree we now know there is much more to Ballarat than Sovereign Hill and the Eureka Stockade.

There were two races for each of the Year 10 and Year 11 crews. The Year 10’s were racing in the eights and the Year 11s were racing the quads. Both of the Year 11 crews won medals for their finals. Great effort! Photos and videos below…

Joe’s boat came third and the boys looked good in the way they rowed. Unfortunately for our other team one of the riggers broke early in the race so the boys were rowing with 7 rather than 8 resulting in a slow finish. Both teams gained invaluable experience in the real rowing conditions on a lake that hosted the 1956 Olympic rowing events.

Here is a gallery of some the photographs taken on the weekend in Ballarat.

Meow Gallery: The gallery is empty.

Before and after each regatta, the boats have to be transported, rigged, placed in the water rowed to the start line even before the race. After the race they row back to the pontoon and with a drill practiced many times lift the boat out of the water and return it to the cradles.

This video is for those who may not have seen the process of getting the boat out of the water before.

After debriefing and derigging, Joe, Helen and I went into Ballarat city centre for lunch. As we headed for Bakery Hill, we passed Lydiard St, a fine example of historical architecture dating back over a century. We noticed the street was blocked off and the streets were lined with magnificent old restored vehicles. We went back after lunch and walked through what could have been a set from the movie Grease. Not only were the cars done up but people were also dressed in period clothing with colourful dresses, men with sideburns and slicked back hair. A live band was playing rockabilly music with folks dancing away on what was a gorgeous day. The event was the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival.

Here are some of the pictures from that event. We were certainly shown a side of Ballarat worth revisiting and being just an hour and a half out of Melbourne, a lovely day trip.

Joe and the boys head off to Sydney on Wednesday to compete against Sydney Boys High on the Parramatta River. I have no doubt it too will provide a stunning vista.