Pics from day 2

Sue and her team put a boat back on the rack after a race. There have been many, so I'm not sure which one this was.

We are renting boats w/oars from a collection that was assembled for that purpose, for the use of the teams that have travelled distance. Most of the Aussie teams have of course brought their own. It has been a major hassle finding the proper boat for each practice or race, from about 25 racks, getting the boat set-up for the specific rowers, carrying it down a congested area for several hundred feet, launching, and then repeating all in reverse afterwards. Teams sometimes take out the wrong boat, so ours is not there, but we are definitely getting better at prepping and getting set in time to race. I will try to get a video of taking a boat off the rack and out. Folks at home will see it; and maybe I'll figure out how to post to Utube and link to that.

Rhonnie, Lori, Becky (cox), Nancy, and Sue happy to be back after another race.

I'm in the bow of this quad right at the finish line buoys. This is a "blind boat", meaning that no one is looking forward (no cox). I was the navigator for getting into position through a armada of other boats, getting set at the starting platform, keeping us within our lane, and calling directions on rate, holding water, etc.
Tom Swan is in front of me in three seat, with Kevin and Richard from the Anchorage club ahead of us.
At the finish line, the tank is empty, and us old guys have to try to find some air and get our wits about us before we try to move out of the way of the finishers of the next heat coming down the course. Sometimes painful, but I think there is something strangely addictive about those four minutes of excitement. No real way to describe it fully. This world class course and venue is a part of what make this so cool.

Getting off the course, under the bridge, after another finish in a coxed 4.

We qualified for the semi-finals in this heat, which meant we had about an hour to get back to the dock, carry the boat to the rack, drink something, think positive, and get down there and line up again. We were out of the running in the semi, which seemed like enough for that day.

It did feel good to be one of the group who managed to qual for another race.

Harold, Kevin, Richard, and Roger.

Composite age for a Mens E group is 55.

We got away from the racing in time to catch a train to the Olympic park in Sydney to attend the opening ceremony for the World Masters Games.

Between our group and the Anchorage crew, we got the train car involved in a sing-along. We traded versions of the Alaska Flag song with others singing the Australian National Anthem.

And Row, row, row your boat.......

We got to the park just in time to fall into the line-up with the other rowers who were there.

Some folks rallied up for 3 hours to get started, but we just walked in. Wow.

There was about 90 minutes of moving into the stadium in this great long queue of folks having a fine time, then we entered the stadium in mass waving our flags and grinning.

The stadium is huge, and open to the sky.

This guy invited us to come up to Newcastle to barbeque and row with their crew. We might do it.

It was a blast, waving our Alaska flags and yelling along with everyone else!

After all sports had entered, there were some dancing performances (even some "original people" with digeridoos and boomarangs and smudge pots), speeches, etc., then a flag raising, more speeches, and then the music show started. A bunch of Aussie "stars", even Leo Sayer, looking a bit worn. We soon moved down off the bleachers (several beers later) and were dancing it up in the crowd. We didn't last too long, it had been quite a day.

We headed back to the train just as the fireworks started.

No caption needed.

Except, that's Kevin.....


More to come, and I'm still a day behind!