A RECORD turnout of paddlers took part in race four of the PaddleNSW state marathon series on Woronora River on Saturday.
Sutherland Shire Canoe Club hosted the event, which saw 175 boats and more than 200 competitors take to the water in glorious conditions.
Paddlers from as far away as Victoria and the ACT joined competitors from a number of clubs in the area to compete across 13 divisions.
Cronulla Sutherland Kayak Club member Sasa Vujanic took out the open men’s K1 25-kilometre division in a time of 1 hour, 51 minutes, 39 seconds.
Sutherland Shire Canoe Club president Steve Dawson said the club was thrilled with the success of the event.
‘‘The feedback I’ve got to date is that ours is one of the best courses in one of the nicest places to kayak in Sydney,’’ he said.
‘‘It was really well attended, a record turnout for us. Normally we get 160 to 170 but we had 200 competitors.
‘‘Hats off to the local community as well. I was really happy with how the local boaties gave us space and we had great support from the SES as well.’’
Despite some poor weather in the lead-up to the event, paddlers were greeted by perfect conditions on Saturday morning.
‘‘We had some inclement weather beforehand but it was spectacular on the day,’’ Dawson said.
‘‘We had a few nervous people before the event thinking it was going to be cancelled but it was just perfect.’’
The next round of the series will be held at Penrith on July 4.
