The Rowathon Day
The Flying Doctor Rowathon is an annual one day marathon row held on the Darling and Murray Rivers and hosted by Wentworth District Rowing Club (WDRC) in Wentworth, New South Wales. It is the longest one day marathon rowing regatta in Australia and raises funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In 2024 we again raised funds for their Wellness (Mental Health) Programs in remote communities.
The 2024 Flying Doctor Rowathon.
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The 2024 Rowathon Experience started on Friday afternoon with boat rigging at Apex Park, Mildura and collection of Rowathon information from WDRC.
The traditional informal BBQ dinner hosted by WDRC commenced at approximately 6.00pm. It was an opportunity to relax with crew and enjoy the sunset reflections over the Darling River. There was ample parking by the river and this was also the location for the pre-regatta breakfast on Saturday morning.
The program was as follows:
Breakfast was available at WDRC by the river bank from about 5.30am on Saturday morning. After participants filled their tummies with yummy goodness the first leg crews travelled to Apex Park, Mildura to prepare for the first leg, launched boats and started rowing, making sure the starter recorded their start time.
Full crew instructions including maps of the course were given out in the week before the Rowathon, at the Friday evening BBQ and during breakfast, before the start.
Participants could review the course on the river charts from the "Charts & Maps" menu. The first leg took in chart "Murray below Mildura" and crews rowed approximately 25km down the Murray to Coomealla Golf Course landing - ref "Murray above lock 10". After morning tea, a rest and crew changes, crews rowed approximately 25km down stream to WDRC for lunch and a well earned rest.
After lunch, crews in the third and final leg rowed up the Darling, approximately 12.5 km to a buoy , turned around and rowed back to WDRC to complete the leg. - ref chart "Darling chart 1"
See maps below.....
So the approximate distances were:
1st leg = 25km; 2nd leg = 25km and 3 leg = about 25km
A flat fee payed for breakfast, morning tea, lunch and end of rowing snacks. It was not necessary to take cutlery or crockery to the row, as everything was provided at the meal stops. Nor were you needed to take any money, as you had paid for your meals with your registration.
The day finished with the Survivor's Dinner in the WDRC boat shed where crews could compare great rowing feats, times and sore parts, always with a deal of satisfaction.
The dinner was paid with the entry form. During the evening we auctioned a limited number of special items to raise funds for the RFDS.
We also had a stall near the WDRC boat shed, at the end of the day, selling local produce and donated items, again to raise funds for the RFDS.
The Rowathon is not necessarily a race, but there are some serious records to be broken by those who enjoy a challenge. Crews were timed over the three legs of the course and the aggregates compared for awarding the trophies. If you and your crew wanted it to be less competitive, you could enjoy an extraordinary row at a more leisurely pace along the beauty and grandeur of our nations great rivers.
Generally, crews had rest breaks on the water every 20 - 25 minutes, as well as taking three formal breaks on the riverbank with their Support Crews. Above and below the morning, lunch and afternoon stops there were signs marking the points at which your boat would be timed in and out of each of these two formal breaks. Times do not significantly count for the Jack Joel Trophy but were of great interest to crews which, by rowing the full distance unchanged, vied for the Ian Law Trophy. We also had the Col Rogers Trophy for the "Fastest Boat" over the course with crew changes allowed and the Wentworth Perpetual Trophy for the fastest boat with no changes doing just the half marathon (first leg). So "be in it to win it."
Location Maps for the 2024 Flying Doctor Rowathon including roads to get to the stops.
Maps for 2024.pdf