The Coxswain's Journey - In the sport of rowing!

It's not often we get to chat with a real stalwart of rowing, but in my latest "Casual Convo", I had the incredible opportunity to chat with John B. Stewart, affectionately known as JB. With over half a century of experience in the sport, JB is a true icon in the rowing community. Our conversation delved into the intricacies of planning and structure, and JB shared his invaluable ins...

Nothing speaks more to the rowing community than the annual Winter Sculling Series in Melbourne; good banter, lots of fun (highlighted by Linda's favorite; round 5) some solid racing and some serious competition over numerous events including head racing. 2 km and 800m racing. Today my I'm lucky enough to be joined by Linda Skidmore from Winter Sculling and Rowing Victoria for a "Casu...

Due to popular demand we, The Coxswains Journey, have decided to do another Live Show! This time we covered the 2024 RV State Masters Rowing Championship Regatta. Tune in to hear my co-host, John Perry from Hawthorn Rowing Club and the special guest Mario Laing from Lake Eildon Rowing Club Inc chat about next weeks RV State Masters Championship Regatta, the Lake Eildon Rowing Club, and Rowing in g...

As coxswains, we're often caught in a tug-of-war between the expectations and desires of our rowers, sometimes with limited insight into our role's intricacies. It's a common scenario: rowers offering advice without a full grasp of what it means to be a coxswain. Well I thought it might be time to have a "Casual Convo" with a very experienced Coxswain to discuss this topic; J...

This is a ripper! We had a tough battle against Yarra Yarra and Mercantile. The Mercantile Crew were an A grade (meaning late 20-year-olds...) and we had a big handicap in our favour at the start. The game was to hold the charge off while keeping Yarra Yarra at bay. We always have a great battle with Yarra Yarra, so this was going to be fun from the start. Whilst we didn't "get the bikies...

Join The Coxswain's Journey and RowMann Repairs for an exclusive PREVIEW of the highly anticipated 2024 "Gemini Boat Race". Dive deep into the iconic rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge Universities as we discuss all the thrilling details. Don't miss out on this special event - tune in and be part of the excitement! I had some great guests along with my Co-Host, John Perry from...

The BIG one! The 2024 Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta was held last weekend on the magnificent Barwon River in Geelong. Months of hard work, sweat, and tears and it all comes down to a few short races over a few days in March! This is what it is all about! The conditions for the regatta could not have been better, and the racing was fierce, with some great results and brilliant outcomes for all th...

Tune into the audio from our first LIVE Facebook show, presented by RowMann Repairs and The Coxswains Journey, on the eve of the 2024 Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta. Our panel, including Binky Kfouri, Rowing Tragic, and Alan Crute from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat, will cover off all the things you need to know about this years event. We have some great guests including rowing mum (and row...

What a big weekend of rowing at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat for the 2024 Rowing Victoria State Championships. Beautiful weather on day 1 got things off to a great start! Tune in to hear Alan from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat and Binky Kfouri, our very own "Rowing Tragic" give us the Goss on the racing from the weekend! Not to mention, some possibly concerning news re the Barwon Riv...

Join me live from the "cockpit" for this MM8+ race (MM8+ is Masters 8's, and the + is the coxswain), we raced 2 Melbourne Rowing Club Crews in a tight battle with one of them. The recording is on from pushing off the staging, but if you want to shortcut, we move to the start at 16.30, the race start is 18.10, and race finish is at 22.15. So tune in to hear the action from the Coxswai...

What a weekend! 3 big regattas in Victoria, the crowd favorite; Australian Henley; and in my view one of the big three for school rowing (HoY, HoSG/ HoR and the Australian Henley). Not only that, we had the 2024 RV Junior Girls State Championship Regatta and to finish it off on Sunday was the 2024 BAS Head of the Lake. We are very fortunate to not only have Alan Crutes expertise covering these eve...

Well this one didn't go right to plan, Alan , Binky and myself did a fantastic Regatta Review, we covered all bases, gave some great insights from the course and of course all our other great content! That was until some clown realised he hadn't pressed the record button! Yes, that would have been me. At 50 mins in we were winding up the podcast I had noticed the little "recording&quo...

When a visionary and sport collide we often see great change in the winds! I feel we are on the precipice of that happening right now; vision, passion and motivation have all come together. In this "Casual Convo" I am fortunate enough to be joined by the Honorable Mr Patrick McNamara AM to discuss the Nagambie Gold events at this weekends Nagambie Regatta. This event injects unprecedente...

A big weekend in rowing both on the Barwon in Geelong; where the Junior and Intermediate girls had a hit out at the RV Firbank Regatta; but also in NSW at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith for the NSW State Championships. Alan from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat and I are thrilled to be joined by a special guest tonight; A true "Rowing Tragic"; Binky Kfouri who brin...

In this exciting "Casual Convo" we have a great chat with Mario Laing rfom Lake Eildon Rowing Club, the newest Rowing Club in the country! What an exciting journey he has been on as he embraced his amazing location and encompassed his love for rowing into that space. Tune in to hear Mario's story, his motivation, and how it all came about. We don't often get the chance to talk to...

The conditions could not have been better at Lake Wendouree on Saturday for the Ballarat JG King Homes Regatta. The weeks Regatta Review covers the racing from Saturdays racing action and gives us a good look into the season ahead. Of course Alan from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat doesn't miss a beat covering all the action from the schoolgirls racing and gives us some great insights fro...

Welcome to one of my recordings of the Hawthorn Rowing Clubs Female Masters Quads, first and final at the 2024 Barwon Regatta. There's a few takeaways from this recording; firstly these guys were a good crew, and we won this comfortably, so it made keeping the crew motivated and racing more challenging as they were competing with themselves for the most part. So why not back away and take it e...

The Season kicked off in earnest last weekend with the 2024 Barwon Regatta, from Geelong, a certain favorite for all rowers and spectators alike. Saturday was dominated by the school rowers and Sunday saw the clubs and Masters all having a paddle. Tune into this weeks Regatta Review where Alan Crute from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat fills us in on all the Schoolgirls rowing action from that...

In this weeks "Regatta Review" Alan from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat joins me to fill us in on the days racing, with plenty of highlights, from last Saturday for the Ballarat 2km Regatta. As usual Alans expert analysis gives us a great insight as we start to enter the "season proper". While all eyes are on the horizon for the Barwon Regatta next week, the Lake treated u...

Now, typically, my "Casual Convo's" revolve around the seasoned veterans of the rowing world — long-term rowers, coxswains, and the true rowing tragics. But today is different, and it's got me excited. Joining me are Kylie Tavasci and Julie Harrison from the Sale Rowing Club in the heart of Gippsland, Victoria. What makes this chat special is that these two remarkable ladies have...

We are fortunate to have been given access to the live recording from the 2016 Nationals (SG4X+) crew. In this tape we hear the coxswain, Julia Crute, take her crew through the second semi final, achieving a respectable 4th place to gain a spot on the A Finals of the Sydney International Rowing Regatta. Korowa had a solid stint in the Quad during the 2010's making the A final in 2013, 14, 16,...

"A coxswain is an individual entrusted with steering the boat, providing directions to the rowers, ensuring the overall coordination and strategy, while prioritising the safety of the crew during a rowing session or race." In todays "Casual Convo" I'm thrilled to have a special guest, fellow coxswain Jennifer Pollock from North Shore Rowing Club in NSW. I crossed paths with...

Tune into Alan Crute from Rowing Regatta Form Guides and Chat as he fills us in on all the action from Saturday at the 2023 RV Schoolgirls Sacred Heart Regatta down at the Barwon River, Geelong. Alan braved the elements to be able to keep us all informed of the highlights of the day whilst giving us a glimpse into the season ahead.

There is no more iconic 8's race in the southern hemisphere (arguably in the world) than the Head of the Yarra, hosted by Hawthorn Rowing Club (disclaimer, my club..) I say that with pride. The Head of the Yarra was first held in 1957 and with the exception of Covid, and flooding, has been run every year since. There are over 250 eights racing with no weight classes and coxswains are not weigh...

Welcome to today's 'Casual Convo'! In this episode, we're diving into the world of the Victorian Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta, a monumental event hosting the largest single-sex regatta in the Southern hemisphere. With over 2,000 competitors across 50+ events spanning 3 thrilling days, featuring various boat classes, this regatta is a highlight in the world of rowing. Our special...