PHOTOS; (107)pp left to right; Emily Cooper, Cassidy Wenmoth in Rotorua colours (BAY COAST rowers behind)

PHOTOS; (163) the boat park at the Willow Haven Holiday Park on the edge of Lake Rotorua .

PHOTOS; (51)t left to right; The Girls eights racing to the finish with Mokoia Island in the background. Bay Coast in the lead ahead of Rotorua ( points went to Rotorua as Bay Coast had a boy on board to fill a seat).

PHOTO; (left to right) Anne Aitchison (Safety Boat Driver), Rebecca Jenkin and Bridget Morsheads (in the double scull), Vicki Wenmoth,( tallying the winners), Harry Ashby  (Coach Boat), Ross Morrell (obscured in right of picture- blue elbow: Umpire)  

John Howard Regatta (Leg1) rowed on Lake Rotorua …

This weekend saw the 1^st leg of the John Howard Rowing Regatta raced on Lake Rotorua. Rotorua came first with 57 points, Bay Coast Rowing Club 56 points, Gisborne Rowing Club 8 points over the two days of racing.

This was the first time racing had occurred in the sport of rowing on Lake Rotorua since the days of the Rotorua Carnival which stated in 1903 and ended sometime after 1934. Later rowing regattas moved to the Blue Lake and racing ceased on Lake Rotorua until this weekend.

Today’s crews came from Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club, Bay Coast Rowing Club, Gisborne Rowing Club and the newly reborn Taupo Rowing Club joining with Rotorua Rowing Club (RRC) to race the 2km course, set with the finish line at the end of Beaumont’s Road, Ngongotaha.

The Willowhaven Holiday Camp provided a perfect squad centre for all the skiffs and crews and also hosted many rowers from out of town.

A win all round! The 2^nd Leg of this regatta will be held late August.

The RRC trains their crews on Lake Rotorua every day but now there will hopefully be further regattas on Lake Rotorua to add to the existing two RRC hosted annual rowing regattas held on the Blue Lake;the ‘Corpor8’, Masters and Novices regatta at the end of October and the ‘Blue Lake Regatta’ co-hosted with the Whakatane Rowing Club held on Wellington Anniversary weekend in January.