Living the life, loving the likes
They’re coming from all walks to Twizel for Nationals attention
There’s competition for likes going on at North Shore Rowing Club. Tadhg Farac started the North Shore Apparel insta handle for the club’s Senior Men. Back in the day Mat Jensen created some NSRC notoriety with his coxswains’ boy band. Search them up. They are good.
But this year, hands down most-liked out of the social media stable at the home of the Blue Swan has been a runway, and runaway success, north.shore.couture. A rival to the men’s label, the North Shore women have emerged as the true Divas of Rame Rd.
“I guess they just wanted to share that with their friends and family who don't get to see most of what we get up to every day," says coach Ella Campbell, who’s now in her ninth season of coaching, the last two at North Shore. "So yeah, just a fun way to keep everyone up to date with what we get up to every day.”
As for competition with the boys?
“I don't think the girls spend any time thinking about the men's Instagram,” says Ella. “But I think the men spend a lot of time thinking about the women's Instagram, if I'm being honest.”
They’ve been good on the water in the eight this season too, boosted by the arrival of some top younger athletes. Stevie Mabey, who won a Red Coat in the Premier Eight last season came over the Harbour Bridge after finishing at Epsom Girls’ Grammar, fellow NZ Under 19 rep Olivia Tattersfield and NZ Coastal rep Lily Curnow made the move to Shore from Mt Albert Grammar. Former NZ U19 rep Emma Bagrie and NZ Coastal rep Ella Barr came north out of Wellington. They’ve joined more established Blue Swans Atlanta Bruce (right next door in the Milford ad), Annabelle Knowles and stroke Isabelle Welch.
The North Shore senior women picked up a big pool of top junior rowers from around the country. They finished second to Waikato’s #2 boat at North Island Champs. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
“This is probably the strongest women's eight we've had in a while,” says coach Ella. “They're a very young crew, they'll be the youngest in the field by far.
“I guess when you're up against athletes that have been in this category for years, and have been winning it for years, it's tricky. Like, you're going up against the big Waikato and Avon boats. I would just say don't underestimate them. Because they're pretty gutsy, and I’m pretty excited to see what they can do.
“It's kinda fun to be the underdog. They've all made some awesome technical gains [and] huge gains on the erg, so they're in the best spot they could be in.”
They’re ready. The trailer went before their last row on Thursday, so they had to borrow a Westlake Girls eight and oars. Just enough time afterwards for one last post by the dock for north.shore.couture.
They are all about the fine detail, Stevie photoshopped the Blue Swan on the blades to replace Westlake’s red ones.
It’s more like competition for seats in the big boat at Waikato. The No.2 Women’s Eight beat the No. 1 boat at North Islands by quite a way.
“We did a whole lot of changes since then,” says Steve Wills, who coaches the squad alongside Anna DeLong. “We were trying stuff out and it didn’t work so a bit of radical surgery was needed.”
Steve’s being keeping a pretty close eye on the Performance Hub athletes at the club under Nick Barton and Dick Tonks.
He reckons they did 8 or 9 days down at Whanganui over Christmas/New Year learning the joys of the mighty river. In other words, that it’s really long and you can row on it as many times a day as you like.
Two of the athletes who seemed to come through it pretty well were Veronica Wall and Sophie Egnot-Johnson. Veronica rowed in her Ashburton colours at North Islands, beating Sophie by just over two seconds to win the Premier Single. Shannon Cox was back in the pack that day but won a week later at South Islands.
No Emma Twigg means a new champion will be crowned.
Veronica Wall gets to row in her Ashburton club colours just down the road from the town she grew up in. She arrives at Ruataniwha after winning the Premier Single at North Islands. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
Finn Hamill spent most of the summer on the Wairoa River in the Bay of Plenty, training out of Gary Reid’s boathouse.
Unlike Mr Tonks’ boot camp on the Whanganui, this has been a more relaxed approach to rowing. Their little “informal club” has included Gary, Michael Brake, West End’s Brent Smart, Matt Dunham, Jackie Kiddle and Finn’s partner Karolien Florijn, the Olympic Single Sculls champion.
They met at Coastal Worlds in Italy in September and she came out for three weeks to take a break from the Dutch winter.
Finn and Matt took North Islands by storm. Gold in the Premier Double and a close second to summer squadders Ben Taylor and Campbell Crouch in the Pair. Finn was also a surprise winner in the Men’s Premier Single. Three big results.
“They were all a bit of a shock,” says Finn. “But the pair was probably the biggest. And the fact that we kind of only got in it the week before racing...we literally had two, maybe three rows in it...I wouldn't say it was the nicest rowing but we made it, we made it work. Now we're kind of like, ‘Oh shit, well actually this is a serious event now for us.’”
He and Matt have even thought about the possibility of winning the double and the pair in the same year at Nationals.
Karolien won’t be there to see it if it does happen, she’ll be back in the Netherlands.
Finn Hamill and Matt Dunham surprised themselves with their form in the Premier Double and Pair. They’re now aiming for an historic win in both boats. Finn’s also got his eyes on the singles title. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
One visitor from there will be at Nationals though.
Tim Winkler is a German who lives in Utrecht. He first came to New Zealand as a four-year-old, then again for a gap year in 2016, where he started rowing for Wellington Rowing Club.
He’s now 27 and just finishing his Masters in Human-Computer Interaction...and back with his friends at WRC, who’ve helped him with wheels and a boat.
“This time around, when I came down here, I thought, you know, ‘Wellington is nice, but there are better places to row’. So the club helped me organise a single, helped me organise a car. After North Islands, I drove down to Twizel and now and I’ve been sticking around for two weeks till the rest of the club comes for Nationals...using that time wisely.”
It was a good call. He pulled off a unique double, winning the Club Single at both the North and South Island Champs.
Since then, he’s been a rowing tourist. First stop Dunstan Arm RC for five days of training with them, then training camp at Tekapo with Brian Smith and his crews from Timaru Boys’ High. He and Brian’s son Hooper are mates from his first stint at Wellington. Then a few days training at Wanaka and then with Wakatipu at Lake Hayes.
He’s obviously aiming for the triple crown in Twizel. Then it’s off for a bit more road tripping, hopefully without the Wintech single on the roof racks – let him know if you’re in the market for a good deal on a boat that can clearly win races.
Oh, and he’s also putting in a plug for his mates at Wellington and Petone, they want to boat a composite Intermediate Eight at Twizel. They’re two short. Let them know if you want an extra row.
Tim Winkler from Wellington Rowing Club has had quite a summer. He’s basically on a rowing road trip from the Netherlands, but pulled off a stunning double to win the Club Single at both the North and South Island Champs. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Waihopai coach Scott Cundall reckons the club’s having its best season in more than a decade. Part of that comes from the performance of dark horse Charlotte Klein, who won gold in the Intermediate Single at South Island Championships (SIC) at the start of the month.
“We always knew she had it in her and I’m pretty sure got more in her to give yet,” says Scott.
Charlotte’s out of Southland Girls’ High School and is in her fourth year of rowing. She’ll row the Intermediate Double with Caitlin Whitaker, who’s studying at Canterbury University.
She was third in the Intermediate Single at SIC, just under five seconds behind Charlotte.
Unfortunately, they don’t see enough of Caitlin down on the Oreti River.
“She can only come down to row for us at regattas,” says Scott. “That’s our big problem here in Southland, we get some good school rowers coming through but they all go away to university and it’s hard to get them to come back.”
After Nationals Scott and fellow coach Danny Young will be trying to put something together so Charlotte can get to Maadi Regatta at Karapiro. Shakira Mirfin was the last Southland Girls’ athlete to win a singles title, when she picked up the Laszlo single for the Under 17s in 2019. Charlotte’s a year too late for that but she’s keen for a shot at the Under 18s.
Charlotte Klein has been building for Nationals after winning the Intermediate Single at South Island Champs. She’s one of around 12 Waihopai athletes heading for Ruataniwha. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
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Living the life, loving the likes
They’re coming from all walks to Twizel for Nationals attention
There’s competition for likes going on at North Shore Rowing Club. Tadhg Farac started the North Shore Apparel insta handle for the club’s Senior Men. Back in the day Mat Jensen created some NSRC notoriety with his coxswains’ boy band. Search them up. They are good.
But this year, hands down most-liked out of the social media stable at the home of the Blue Swan has been a runway, and runaway success, north.shore.couture. A rival to the men’s label, the North Shore women have emerged as the true Divas of Rame Rd.
“I guess they just wanted to share that with their friends and family who don't get to see most of what we get up to every day," says coach Ella Campbell, who’s now in her ninth season of coaching, the last two at North Shore. "So yeah, just a fun way to keep everyone up to date with what we get up to every day.”
As for competition with the boys?
“I don't think the girls spend any time thinking about the men's Instagram,” says Ella. “But I think the men spend a lot of time thinking about the women's Instagram, if I'm being honest.”
They’ve been good on the water in the eight this season too, boosted by the arrival of some top younger athletes. Stevie Mabey, who won a Red Coat in the Premier Eight last season came over the Harbour Bridge after finishing at Epsom Girls’ Grammar, fellow NZ Under 19 rep Olivia Tattersfield and NZ Coastal rep Lily Curnow made the move to Shore from Mt Albert Grammar. Former NZ U19 rep Emma Bagrie and NZ Coastal rep Ella Barr came north out of Wellington. They’ve joined more established Blue Swans Atlanta Bruce (right next door in the Milford ad), Annabelle Knowles and stroke Isabelle Welch.
The North Shore senior women picked up a big pool of top junior rowers from around the country. They finished second to Waikato’s #2 boat at North Island Champs. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
“This is probably the strongest women's eight we've had in a while,” says coach Ella. “They're a very young crew, they'll be the youngest in the field by far.
“I guess when you're up against athletes that have been in this category for years, and have been winning it for years, it's tricky. Like, you're going up against the big Waikato and Avon boats. I would just say don't underestimate them. Because they're pretty gutsy, and I’m pretty excited to see what they can do.
“It's kinda fun to be the underdog. They've all made some awesome technical gains [and] huge gains on the erg, so they're in the best spot they could be in.”
They’re ready. The trailer went before their last row on Thursday, so they had to borrow a Westlake Girls eight and oars. Just enough time afterwards for one last post by the dock for north.shore.couture.
They are all about the fine detail, Stevie photoshopped the Blue Swan on the blades to replace Westlake’s red ones.
It’s more like competition for seats in the big boat at Waikato. The No.2 Women’s Eight beat the No. 1 boat at North Islands by quite a way.
“We did a whole lot of changes since then,” says Steve Wills, who coaches the squad alongside Anna DeLong. “We were trying stuff out and it didn’t work so a bit of radical surgery was needed.”
Steve’s being keeping a pretty close eye on the Performance Hub athletes at the club under Nick Barton and Dick Tonks.
He reckons they did 8 or 9 days down at Whanganui over Christmas/New Year learning the joys of the mighty river. In other words, that it’s really long and you can row on it as many times a day as you like.
Two of the athletes who seemed to come through it pretty well were Veronica Wall and Sophie Egnot-Johnson. Veronica rowed in her Ashburton colours at North Islands, beating Sophie by just over two seconds to win the Premier Single. Shannon Cox was back in the pack that day but won a week later at South Islands.
No Emma Twigg means a new champion will be crowned.
Veronica Wall gets to row in her Ashburton club colours just down the road from the town she grew up in. She arrives at Ruataniwha after winning the Premier Single at North Islands. Photo: Picture Show Ltd.
Finn Hamill spent most of the summer on the Wairoa River in the Bay of Plenty, training out of Gary Reid’s boathouse.
Unlike Mr Tonks’ boot camp on the Whanganui, this has been a more relaxed approach to rowing. Their little “informal club” has included Gary, Michael Brake, West End’s Brent Smart, Matt Dunham, Jackie Kiddle and Finn’s partner Karolien Florijn, the Olympic Single Sculls champion.
They met at Coastal Worlds in Italy in September and she came out for three weeks to take a break from the Dutch winter.
Finn and Matt took North Islands by storm. Gold in the Premier Double and a close second to summer squadders Ben Taylor and Campbell Crouch in the Pair. Finn was also a surprise winner in the Men’s Premier Single. Three big results.
“They were all a bit of a shock,” says Finn. “But the pair was probably the biggest. And the fact that we kind of only got in it the week before racing...we literally had two, maybe three rows in it...I wouldn't say it was the nicest rowing but we made it, we made it work. Now we're kind of like, ‘Oh shit, well actually this is a serious event now for us.’”
He and Matt have even thought about the possibility of winning the double and the pair in the same year at Nationals.
Karolien won’t be there to see it if it does happen, she’ll be back in the Netherlands.
Finn Hamill and Matt Dunham surprised themselves with their form in the Premier Double and Pair. They’re now aiming for an historic win in both boats. Finn’s also got his eyes on the singles title. Photo: Picture Show Ltd
One visitor from there will be at Nationals though.
Tim Winkler is a German who lives in Utrecht. He first came to New Zealand as a four-year-old, then again for a gap year in 2016, where he started rowing for Wellington Rowing Club.
He’s now 27 and just finishing his Masters in Human-Computer Interaction...and back with his friends at WRC, who’ve helped him with wheels and a boat.
“This time around, when I came down here, I thought, you know, ‘Wellington is nice, but there are better places to row’. So the club helped me organise a single, helped me organise a car. After North Islands, I drove down to Twizel and now and I’ve been sticking around for two weeks till the rest of the club comes for Nationals...using that time wisely.”
It was a good call. He pulled off a unique double, winning the Club Single at both the North and South Island Champs.
Since then, he’s been a rowing tourist. First stop Dunstan Arm RC for five days of training with them, then training camp at Tekapo with Brian Smith and his crews from Timaru Boys’ High. He and Brian’s son Hooper are mates from his first stint at Wellington. Then a few days training at Wanaka and then with Wakatipu at Lake Hayes.
He’s obviously aiming for the triple crown in Twizel. Then it’s off for a bit more road tripping, hopefully without the Wintech single on the roof racks – let him know if you’re in the market for a good deal on a boat that can clearly win races.
Oh, and he’s also putting in a plug for his mates at Wellington and Petone, they want to boat a composite Intermediate Eight at Twizel. They’re two short. Let them know if you want an extra row.
Tim Winkler from Wellington Rowing Club has had quite a summer. He’s basically on a rowing road trip from the Netherlands, but pulled off a stunning double to win the Club Single at both the North and South Island Champs. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Waihopai coach Scott Cundall reckons the club’s having its best season in more than a decade. Part of that comes from the performance of dark horse Charlotte Klein, who won gold in the Intermediate Single at South Island Championships (SIC) at the start of the month.
“We always knew she had it in her and I’m pretty sure got more in her to give yet,” says Scott.
Charlotte’s out of Southland Girls’ High School and is in her fourth year of rowing. She’ll row the Intermediate Double with Caitlin Whitaker, who’s studying at Canterbury University.
She was third in the Intermediate Single at SIC, just under five seconds behind Charlotte.
Unfortunately, they don’t see enough of Caitlin down on the Oreti River.
“She can only come down to row for us at regattas,” says Scott. “That’s our big problem here in Southland, we get some good school rowers coming through but they all go away to university and it’s hard to get them to come back.”
After Nationals Scott and fellow coach Danny Young will be trying to put something together so Charlotte can get to Maadi Regatta at Karapiro. Shakira Mirfin was the last Southland Girls’ athlete to win a singles title, when she picked up the Laszlo single for the Under 17s in 2019. Charlotte’s a year too late for that but she’s keen for a shot at the Under 18s.
Charlotte Klein has been building for Nationals after winning the Intermediate Single at South Island Champs. She’s one of around 12 Waihopai athletes heading for Ruataniwha. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and rowing coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
