Paddle power: CQ outriggers strike gold in Sydney

‘Everyone’s ecstatic. You can’t wipe the smile off our faces.’

'EVERYONE’S ECSTATIC': The gold-medal winning CAPROC crew - Kyelee Stanley, Emma Chambers, Adam King, Darren Kiely, Kathy Barsby and Mick Barsby. Picture: Contributed

OUTRIGGING: Six Central Queensland paddlers are celebrating after claiming a hard-earned victory in the Sydney Harbour Challenge.

Emma Chambers, Kyelee Stanley, Darren Keily, Adam King, Kathy Barsby and Mick Barsby won gold in the Master Mixed event and took line honours in the overall mixed race, which attracted 46 crews.

The paddlers are from the Capricorn Coast and Rocky outrigger canoe clubs and competed as CAPROC.

Another CAPROC crew (Samantha Price-Rees, Andrew Crozier, Kat Groves, Daron Kalff, Chris Chambers and Kim Morris) was third in the Master mixed, while the combined Senior Master Mixed crew of Annita Mennel, Denise Ryan, Harley Edwards, Roly Humphries, Lelia Oliver and Ray Pomfrett was fourth in its division.

CAPROC’s Kim Morris, Kat Groves, Sam Price-Rees, Chris Chambers, Daron Kalff and Andrew Crozier brought home bronze. Picture: Contributed

The Sydney Harbour Challenge is Australia’s most prestigious six-man outrigger canoe race, and attracts more than 800 competitors, some from across the globe.

Rockhampton’s Kathy Barsby was in the golden crew.

“Everyone’s ecstatic. You can’t wipe the smile off our faces,” she said.

“We’ve been training very hard specifically for this race for the last three months.

“We made a massive commitment. Our goal was to come home with the gold and with line honours and we’ve managed to do that.

“We came second last year, third the year before that and fourth the year before that.

“Finally, in our fourth year competing down here, we’ve managed to win it and it feels amazing.”

Barsby said the crew faced some challenging conditions and a relentless opponent in reigning champions, Northern Beaches.

The combined CAPROC crews prepare for their respective races.

“We were neck and neck with them for the best part of the race,” she said.

“It was only in the last 2km of the race that we managed to pass them and then hold them off.

“There was no way we were going to let them get the lead back.

“Everybody in the crew was working so hard for each other and for our clubs back home.”

Barsby said the 22km race started at Manly Wharf, went across Sydney Heads and into the harbour, with crews passing iconic landmarks.

“During the race we had massive cruise liners going past the Manly Ferry, yachts and the water police. The traffic on the harbour was just incredible,” she said.

“We got to go under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and passed Luna Park, Kirribilli House and the Sydney Opera House.

“It was a spectacular route from a spectator’s point of view but we didn’t get to take it all in. We were just focused on the race and achieving our goal.”

Barsby, who won gold with the Australian Masters women’s team at the World Distance Championships last year, said the weekend’s result was “right up there”.

“It’s been a fantastic 12 months for me but this is just as exciting as my other achievements, probably because it’s an event we’ve been coming down to for a few years and really wanted to win,” she said.