Winter rowing series starts - May 2015

TOP RACE:  Former WHS student Hugh Pawson, (number 20), took out the first Whanganui Winter Series rowing event of the season on Sunday.

The year's first Whanganui Rowing Association winter series event was held on Sunday with Aramoho Wanganui Rowing Club single sculler Hugh Pawson taking out first place.

It attracted a field of 32 boats with rowers of all ages competing. The weather and water conditions helped rowers record some fast times over the 5km course, though luckily for one single sculler who ended up taking a dip, the water wasn't too cold.

The Whanganui Winter Series allows a variety of ages, and boat classes to compete together as each crew races against a world record time for their own boat class.

The winner is the crew which gets the highest percentage of that time. Runner up was Horowhenua's masters E grade sculler Bruce Tait with Wellington Rowing Club men's double Mark Brock and Griffin Hunt third.

Also competing was Wellington Rowing Club's Luke Watts, Kyle Malone, Fred Coughlan and Henry Whitford-Lee, who had been selected in the New Zealand Universities men's four to compete internationally later in the season. Waka were represented by Tahi Nepia who was the sole waka entry in this event as many had competed in a 24km event the day before.