Paddlers covered themselves in glory as the Woronora River hosted round two of the 2019 Paddle NSW Marathon Series last weekend.
Organiser from Sutherland Shire Canoe Club hosted 173 paddlers in 142 craft in perfect weather for what has become one of the most popular rounds of the series.
Competitors came from SSCC and Cronulla Sutherland Kayak Club as well as other clubs across Sydney, Illawarra, ACT, Central Coast and Hunter Valley.
The long marathon distance was 20km, or two laps of a 10km course that started near the Bonnet Bay boat ramp and ran to a turn 5kms upstream, just short of 'the Needles'.
There was also a 5km loop and paddlers who didn't want to tackle 20km had the option of racing over their choice of 15km, 10km or 5km.
"It was a very successful day, for us as a club and for all the competitors," said club president John Denyer.
"We had a large turnout of paddlers, great weather and good tides. The tide was at its highest at midday so it was an enormous help to the 20km competitors as they worked their way up the river from Bonnet Bay towards the Needles and then back again.
"Everything ran smoothly and that's a credit to the work of our members, as well as the PaddleNSW team and the SES. We would like to pass on a special thank you to the SES because we really couldn't do it without their help."
Best local bragging rights for SSCC for the day were Mark Moro and Adrian Di Cesare taking first place in the 20km race in divisions five and seven respectively, while Louise Vandergraaf was second in division six over the same distance.
In the 10km event, Gary Forrest was second in division 10 and Carl Vandergraaf third in division 11, while Ben O'Farrell, George De Vos and Brant Burrow grabbed the full podium for division 12.
Club legend Bert Laurendet, 86, came home fourth in division 13 in the 5km sprint, while 10-year-old Hayley Dunbar from Northern Beaches came ninth in the same class.
There were a record 31 paddlers from the host club this year, including 10 of the newest members. Several posted solid results, most notably Vandergraaf mother and son, as did many of the club's long-term members including Andrew Giardini, Gareth Stokes, Steve and Kate Dawson, Deb and Jeff Buchan, Ross Bingle and Denyer.
From Cronulla Sutherland Kayak Club, bragging rights went to John Lee, third in division two over 20km, while Rafferty Sheather took the honours over the 10km distance in division 11. Other members logging good results included Franz Lauenstein, Julia Ong, Darren Lee and Kevin Nettle.
