Rowing: Silver medals won by Bay crews

TALENTED TRIO: Jessica Norris, left, has finals to come and Morgan Davies and Stephen Vanderpeet have won medals at the nationals in Twizel. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay Rowing Club officials were last night toasting one red coat and three silver medals at the national championships in Twizel.

"We haven't got a gold medal yet but we got close in some stunning finals," club captain Ross Webb said after yesterday's second day of finals at Lake Ruataniwha.

"There's two days of finals to come and Jessica has qualified for three finals so there's still a chance of gold," Webb said referring to North Island women's club and senior single sculls champion Jessica Norris.

Red coats are awarded to premier title winners and Hawke's Bay club member and former New Zealand junior representative Giacomo Thomas was a member of the Auckland Regional Performance Centre's premier men's coxless quad crew which won gold. Thomas joins the likes of Hawke's Bay Olympians Emma Twigg and Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell as red coat holders.

The Bay's "Jock and Doc crew" the senior men's club coxed eight of Jack Stone, Joel Engelke, Fergus Ritchie, Pat Nichol, Morgan Davies, Stephen Vanderpeet, Duncan McCrory, James Brott and cox Toby Aspden won silver in their final when they were beaten by Canterbury club Avon. The "Jock and Doc crew" label refers to their coaches former New Zealand rep Jock Mackintosh and Doc McDonald who was last month made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rowing.

Engelke, Nichol, Michael Harrison and Ed Laver won silver in their senior men's coxless four final when they were pipped by Avon. McDonald and Mackintosh coach this crew also.
The North Island championship-winning women's novice coxed quad of Brooklyn Bayly, Harriet Williams, Danika Wilson, Hannah Lawson and cox Katherine Ebbett won silver in their final. This crew, which is coached by Bayly's grandfather, club stalwart Cedric Bayly, also won bronze in their novice four final.

Havelock North High School's Williams and Wilson finished fourth in their novice double final.

Brott, who is in his first season with the Bay club after transferring from Gisborne, and Davies won bronze in their men's premier lightweight final. Webb said this pair beat some high performance centre crews on the way to bronze in what was their first outing in this class.

"While we are happy with what our club members have achieved to date we are equally as delighted with the successes recorded by former club members including Andrew Potter and Hannah Bailey," Webb added.