Commercial Rowing Club

If you’ve been wondering “where’s Sami Blanchard?”, she’s in Japan competing at the Beach Rowing Sprint Games Iwami, Tottori! 🇯🇵

This fast-paced, high-energy regatta format features head-to-head elimination races 💪

Sami had an epic couple of days and will return home with some medals:
🥉 Women’s Single (CW1x)
🥉 Mixed Quad Coxed (CMix4x+)
4th - Mixed Double (CMix2x)

Well done, Sami! 🩵💙

This year has seen the proud unveiling of a new CRC blazer - a statement piece with broad and bold blue striping.

Then the archives turned up a surprise: Commercial rowers were already wearing broad, bold striped blazers back in the 1930s.

In those days they wore them on tour to Lismore. Now they wear them on tour to Boston..

Different era. Different destinations. Same pride in wearing Commercial colours.

A great reminder that while the club keeps evolving, some traditions never fade.

Here’s to honouring our past while writing the next chapter.

Go the Mersh! 🩵💙

The Brown Snake held no fears for our masters crews on Saturday. They raced hard and fast in near perfect conditions for the Brisbane River Series Regatta #3. Racing will resume again on 11 July.

Results:

MM8 C 🥉
MM8 E 🥇
MM8 E 🥈
WM8 D 🥈
WM8 F 🥇
MM2x G🥇

Go the Mersh 🩵💙

Our young lads Flynn O’Loughlin and Scott McDonald get their kit for the U19 Australia B rowing team 🇦🇺
Good luck boys!
Go the Mersh! 🩵💙
flynnandscott_aus

Some watched the World Cup upstairs but the real action was happening downstairs as our crews prepared to launch for Regatta #2 of the 2026 Brisbane River Winter Racing Series.They revelled in the sparkling and flowing conditions of the morning with plenty of bling to go around!

Results:

MM8 D 🥇
MM8 C 🥈
MM8 D 🥇
WM8 G 🥇
WM8 D 🥇

Go the Mersh 🩵💙

What a fabulous evening it was last Saturday for our annual Awards to celebrate a stellar year for CRC! 🥳

It was wonderful seeing our youth squad in force, cheering on their crew mates who collected awards 🩵💙

Many thanks to the Italia family for their very generous donation of a new single scull 👏

Guest speaker, Randall Martin, shared his insights into the preparation behind the extraordinary performance by our Queensland King’s Cup ‘Drought-breakers’! 💪

⭐️ Best Youth Oarsman 2026 - William Dalgliesh

⭐️ RU Best Youth Oarsman - Alex Cook
 
⭐️ Best Youth Oarsman Crew - Flynn O’Loughlin & Scott McDonald. 
 
⭐️ Best Youth Oarswoman - Ruby Macleod
 
⭐️ Best Youth Oarswoman Crew - Kat Cook, Ruby Macleod, Audrey Petie, Waverly Palmer, Maggie Rowan, Eva McGeachie, Grace Camuglia, Olivia Alford and Juliette Arthy (cox)
 
⭐️ Best Youth All-Rounder - Cianna Becker
 
⭐️ Best Masters Oarsman - Jeff Peerboom 

⭐️ Best Masters Oarswoman - Barb Hall 

⭐️ Best Masters Crew - HoTY 2026 winners (D category): Eddie Luck (cox), Ben Finemore, Jamie Russell, Greg Brown, Steven Kovac, Glenn Wright, Simon Gardner, Marcus Neil, Michael Malakellis
 
⭐️ Coxswain of the Year - Lauren Robinson
 
⭐️ Coach of the Year - Gary Townsend
 
⭐️ Club Member of the Year - Alecia Thomasson

It was a packed Brisbane River last Saturday to kick-off the popular Winter Racing Series for the local rowing clubs.

Formatted as a time trial, it marks the start of long-distance racing in preparation for the pinnacle Head of the Yarra in November.

It was great to see plenty of boats on the river racing in the blue and blue!

Series #1 results:
🥇MMD8+
🥈MMC8+
🥈MME8+
🥇WMF8+
🥇MMC4-

Go the Mersh! 🩵💙

Meet the Shed Pixies - the volunteer crew quietly keeping CRC afloat.

Every Thursday morning from 9-12, they're at the shed. Penny and Graeme upstairs with Christine and Steve, Greg, Rob, Peter, Louise, Hannes and sometimes Chen downstairs with Jo.

They check the maintenance book, work out what needs doing, and crack on - repairing tents, ergs, tinnie sliders, holes in walls, snapped bows on singles. Whatever the shed throws at them.

The name? Thank Graeme Cannell... When he joined the crew and started bringing home baked goodies with him every Thursday, he dubbed the group the ‘Shed Pixies’. The name stuck. So did the baking! 😋

During COVID, Jo kept the operation running as a one-woman band, sneaking into the shed when she shouldn't to keep our fleet alive 🤫

Without the Pixies, CRC simply couldn't operate as efficiently as it does. This crew is the reason our equipment stays on the water and performs well 🩵💙

New Pixies are welcome! Happy to get your hands dirty? Come along on a Thursday morning.

It was 1996.

Much to the dismay of Brisbane rowers, they were to share their river with City Cats!

The situation was perilous - the presence of rowers and high speed vessels in the low visibility of early mornings was not ideal.

Bruce Greenland, Chair of Rowing Queensland at the time, helped work up a safety plan with the City Council.

“A third, a third, a third!” The City Cats were to stick to the middle third of the river while the rowers occupied the outer thirds.

It was not without risk..

Then a young Adam Bakker arrived on the scene. He was a bit “gung-ho”, preferring to approach washes on the perpendicular at speed rather than quietly on the parallel, and often ahead of the pack and out of the sight of coaches 💪

An accident waiting to happen, and it did, when one morning Adam and his doubles partner were run over! 🫣

They came away with cuts and bruises but survived to row another day... faster than before..

Adam went on to win 🇦🇺
🥉Bronze at Junior World Champs 2014 (2x)
🥉Bronze at Junior World Champs 2015 (1x)
🥇Gold at U23 World Champs 2017 (M4-)
🥇Gold at U23 World Champs 2019 (M4+)
🩵💙

TODAY is our Big Give Day! 💃🏻

Donate $50 or $100 or more to our Future Fund:

⭐️ ASF (tax deductible)
⭐️ Direct debit to:
Commercial Rowing Club
Future Fund Ltd
BSB: 014 141
ACC: 118423826
(Please include your full
name in the deposit
reference)

💰 Donations will be matched by our generous Big Givers!

⏰ 24 hours only.

➡️ www.commercialrowing.com