Sue and I headed for Anglesea on Saturday afternoon with Will,o... in tow. The weather was unkind and along the Geelong freeway the boat on the trailer had it's own bow wave!
On arrival in Anglesea the weather had moderated but still windy and cold so we settled in for the evening after a walk to check out the river and launching spots.
Sunday (after heavy rain at 4.00 am) dawned clear and still. I bailed the boat out on the trailer and proceeded to The Anglesea Recreation and Sports Club, where Peter Doyle was waiting to welcome us. Peter had assured me that every day in Anglesea was sunny and fine so he was right, so far. We had a good turn out of WBA members with myself and Sue with Will,o... , Penny and Jim with their 2 kayaks, David and Jenny Stott with Annie, David and Margaret O'Dempsey with Acorn XV, Rob and Pat Ripley with Greenbean, Andrew Cohen with Lindsay Symonds, Norm and Jen Boreham with Flexi and also Paul and Karen Rubera.
Once the boats were launched we were officially welcomed by the ARSC personnel, Peter Doyle, Ian McMillan and Ellie Young, the ARSC President.
Ian treated us to a presentation on the history of the club from its 1910 inception to current days, including the building of their club boats, the two four oared "Thames" skiffs built by James Edwards of Princes Bridge in 1912. We were presented with a hard bound book on the history of the area and the club and this is available for borrowing from the WBA library. We reciprocated by presenting a WBA club Burgee for their flag pole.
On the river the water was high due to the rains and activities we restricted to the seaward side of the bridge although Jim and Penny contorted themselves to get under the bridge and go upriver to explore the area. We were able to row one of the 4 oared skiffs and although new to multi oared boats our people performed well actually keeping in time to the stroke oar!
Lunch was a BBQ which fed the hungry rowers along with fellowship around the table. By mid afternoon boats were being taken from the water in preparation for the drive back home .. a very enjoyable event thanks to the preparation and hospitality of the ARSC.
Chris Kelly
Photos by Rob Ripley
https://woodenboat.asn.au/articles/2015/261-sail-row-paddle-day-at-anglesea-26-april-2015.html#sigProId72a5397829
Photos by Penny Braybrook
https://woodenboat.asn.au/articles/2015/261-sail-row-paddle-day-at-anglesea-26-april-2015.html#sigProId017abf67bf