The Dicky Beach U19 women’s surfboat crew overpowered the best crews in the nation to win the Australian Surf Rowers League (ASRL) Open in NSW on Sunday.
The crew, called the Dandelions, set up an impressive lead in the final, which was held at Long Beach, south of Ulladulla, after the event was shifted from Mollymook due to dangerous surf conditions.
Long Beach still had a tricky 1.5m shorebreak that created plenty of thrills and spills.
A quick start proved the difference for the Dandelions crew (pictured) of Grace Sunley, Emily Morcom, Cheyenne Usher and Keesha Setchell, who are steered by sweep Rob Flood.
Flood said powerful waves were breaking in very shallow water and there was a strong backwash.
“In the U19s, we had a great start and just kept going. The girls really started to push away on the trip home and even though some of the other crews came at us on a wave, we managed to hang on in a tight finish. It was very exciting.”
The Dandelions had won races in Queensland, but were not expected to figure so prominently at a national level.
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Flood said it was their first medal at state or national level.
Dicky Beach defeated South Port (South Australia), North Cronulla, Noosa Heads, Maroochydore and Avalon in the final.
“The fact we had three Sunshine Coast crews in the national final was amazing and proof of how strong our crews are on the Coast,” Flood said.
“It is going to give our crews plenty of confidence going into the Australian Championships at Maroochydore in late April.”
Dicky Beach’s champion U23 crew, the Tooshies, were one of the favourites for their final, but were smashed by a set wave, which drove them backwards and caused their boat to flip.
They were consoled by a dominant performance in their division of the Interstate Series held earlier in the weekend.
The Noosa Scrub Turkeys claimed a silver medal after an excellent row in the U23 women’s final, while the Maroochydore Force U19 boys also took silver in a photo finish in the U19 men’s final. Clubmates the Maroochydore Meat Trays reached the U23 men’s final, coming 5th.
All crews will now prepare for the Queensland Surf Life Saving Championships at Tugun on March 27-28 and the Aussies at Maroochydore from April 18-24.
