Friday 6 May 2011

Dangar Dory Derby

The Dangar Dory Derby is a race in paradise. Dangar Island in the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney is traffic-free except for emergency vehicles and the garbage truck. When a few golf buggies were brought onto the island a few years ago the uproar forced them to be withdrawn. Everyone uses wheelbarrows to tote stuff about.
The boats are mostly Swift Dories built by John Murray, seen above in red striped blazer and speedos preparing for the race.
Peter Miller has been rowing in the Dangar Dory Derby for years, and sends this report from the 2011 race:
Chris,
I was going to write an entry about the Derby but could not do better than the one here. 18-year-old Asha did the 2.7km in the record time of 15 minutes 42 seconds. That is an average speed of over 10 km/hour. It was a superb demonstration of technique, endurance and local knowledge.
Yours truly did a personal best and came in third.
As usual the day is filled with a competitive but very friendly atmosphere.
Cheers
Peter

One boat sank in the 'Twelve Apostles' race

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