Report: Winter Series – Race 2 - Nagambie Singles – May 31st

Saturday 30th saw me carefully approach the clubhouse, armed with my sanitising spray. Once the coast was clear, I made a dash for the side gate and duly accessed the boat storage to retrieve the beloved “Top Gun” racing TK1, plus my paddle, plus my personal PFD. Why you ask? Because tomorrow would see me competing for FCC in the Nagambie Singles.

On returning home, “Top Gun” was duly washed down with COVID-angry soap suds, dried and lovingly polished to cut flashingly through the Goulburn fed waters of Lake Nagambie. All was in readiness for my return to inter-club racing after a comfortable break of fifteen years.

Early start to the day saw us head North and passed a sign stating “Seymour” but in spite of this advice I couldn’t see ‘anything’ as a heavy mist shrouded all. (Do they know they have a typo on their sign?). Arrived at the township of Nagambie, which seemed very quiet for a race-day, although it was early on a Sunday morning.  Believed I was in the right spot, so unloaded “Top Gun” and set-out on the glassy, mist-shrouded water. Beautiful, so good to be paddling again.

I explored the area and identified some marker buoys which suggested I was in a boat-racing area but still….all on my ownsome. I remembered reading in the FCC archives about some canoe paddlers from yesteryear getting lost, during a race, in the branches of the Goulburn as it entered the lake and I duly became anxious this fate could befall me as well if I ventured too far.

Great relief to see the launching ramp reappear, but still no sign of anybody there, paddlers or otherwise! Then the ‘penny-dropped’. What was this event today called? Yes, “The Nagambie Singles”, I was here first, alone, and thus it was my day to paddle ‘single’ at Nagambie!

Result: FCC full points for the day. Well done “Top Gun” and well done that club. 

Roll-on Event 3 – June 21, INCC Doubles. ( I hope some others turn-up for this race).

                                                                                                                                 Reporter: TK Paddle