Tanya Newman is now rowing on the Detroit River - a mighty wide river with an island in the middle, bordering the USA with Canada. Belle Isle is not dissimilar to Albert Park Lake and surrounds: it is a State Park, hosts an Indy Car Race, and has an incredible gabble of Canadian geese that are as equal an annoyance in more ways than one to the black swans. There’s a yacht club too, but no ballooning, instead it’s on a shipping channel, so freighters are quite a frequent sight. The club colors are even very similar!

Detroit Boat Club has an active Masters program which both Tanya and Andrew Carson have become a part of. In the four months they have been a member of the club they have raced numerous times, all on different rivers, and once interstate at Toledo, Ohio. Tanya is already a State Champion having won a Masters 2x and Mixed Eight at the Michigan State Games. The 2x was done in a time of 3.19 (there was a very strong current!). Andrew, too, has won some medals along the way (they generally award medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd). Sat August 22nd was the last “sprint” regatta for the season held in the capital, Lansing. It was a beautiful course, narrow river, and quite “rowable”. Needless to say Tanya came away with 3 gold, one being in the single which was the first time she had raced it, and the second time she’d been in the periwinkle purple coloured privately owned boat she had borrowed. So now, for the Autumn, they prepare for head races, and the Detroit Boat Club hopes to field some entries at the Head of the Charles in Boston.

Rowing Victoria has recently reminded all clubs the importance of boat safety during preparations for the Winter Sculling Series and the coming season.

As training during winter often occurs in the dark, rowers are expected to use 2 boat lights: a white flashing light on the stern and a white constant light on the bow.

Club members can purchase their own lights from Active Lights Australia.

For further information on the club's Safety Rules. these can be found on the Boats, Allocation and Safety page.

Now the summer racing season is drawing to an end, APSM continues racing at the VSA's Winter Sculling Series.

Winter sculling starts with Sprints on the 6^th June racing on the Yarra followed by the Albert Park Grand Prix on the 13th June and then continues every week until the 22nd August.

To register your interest please email Lu Beranek at luburn@gmail.com and register on the VSA Website .

Photo by Roberta Lockyer

The Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club will welcome the return of the Briscoe Trophy at the Albert Park Lake Masters Regatta on Saturday, 2^nd May, 2015. 

The Briscoe Trophy was first awarded to the winner of the Senior Fours, and event for “non Manual Labourer Amateurs” at the 1882 Melbourne Regatta held at Colac on 2^nd December 1882, and was won outright by Albert Park in 1889.

At over a metre high, the trophy has an interesting history.  It was lost and then discovered, dirty and blackened, in a South Melbourne antique shop by Harry Duncan, a former president of Albert Park RC.  It was subsequently donated to the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), who are now donating it back to the Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club.

Club president Cherylann Biegler says, “We are really excited to welcome the Briscoe Trophy home to APSM.  It is a wonderful example of craftsmanship, and of the grand prizes awarded in the late 1800s.”

There will also be an exhibition of club memorabilia called "The Great War and Rowing on Albert Park Lake".

The Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club is located within the Plant-Williamson Rowing Pavilion, Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake near the Lakeside Stadium.  The trophy will be on show from 9am to 1pm.  

More details can be found on our Heritage Projects page.

The Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club will welcome the return of the Briscoe Trophy at the Albert Park Lake Masters Regatta on Saturday, 2^nd May, 2015. 

The Briscoe Trophy was first awarded to the winner of the Senior Fours, and event for “non Manual Labourer Amateurs” at the 1882 Melbourne Regatta held at Colac on 2^nd December 1882, and was won outright by Albert Park in 1889.

At over a metre high, the trophy has an interesting history.  It was lost and then discovered, dirty and blackened, in a South Melbourne antique shop by Harry Duncan, a former president of Albert Park RC.  It was subsequently donated to the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), who are now donating it back to the Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club.

Club president Cherylann Biegler says, “We are really excited to welcome the Briscoe Trophy home to APSM.  It is a wonderful example of craftsmanship, and of the grand prizes awarded in the late 1800s.”

The Albert Park-South Melbourne Rowing Club is located within the Plant-Williamson Rowing Pavilion, Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake near the Lakeside Stadium.  The trophy will be on show from 9am to 1pm. 

The APL Annual Regatta will be held at Albert Park Lake on Saturday May 2^nd.

This regatta is a free event for all APSM Members and the Club encourages all members, new and experienced, to participate.

Now is the time to talk to your fellow club members and start organising crews, boats and training.

If you don’t have a crew to row with and want to take part in your home regatta, please talk to your coach – they will find you a winning crew.

This event can only be successful with the help of volunteers from all Park clubs including APSM Members.

Please feel free to contact Cherylann to volunteer your skills and make this regatta a memorable one for you and the rowing community.

There will also be a list published on the website soon with volunteer roles assigned to all members so please keep a look out for your name and volunteer position.

APSM Rowing Club will be commemorating the ANZAC centenary through a redevelopment of its gallery space and an exhibition on World War One.

The exhibition, entitled 'The Great War and Rowing on Albert Park Lake', explores the experiences of club members from both the Albert Park and South Melbourne clubs, which were separate organizations at the time.  

Including memorabilia from the Club's collection as well as digitized newspapers from Trove, the exhibition will also feature:

• excerpts from the memoir of 1956 Olympic coach Harry Duncan, 
• the story of how Eric Tulloch helped the AIF No 1 crew to win the King's Cup,
  
• Herb Dickinson's first-hand account of sinking the SS Emden

The exhibition opens 30 April.  Entry is free.

On Thursday 26 February, the Club held a farewell party for Tanya Newman who leaving for the United States in a few weeks. Tanya is a long standing member of APSM  having started rowing as a coxswain at the South Melbourne Rowing Club in the 1980's.  Tanya represented Victoria as a single sculler in the 1990's and is a champion rower in the Masters arena. Tanya was a committee member in the early years of APSM and has coached many of our rowers over recent years. It is with great sadness on our behalf but sincere happiness that Tanya, Andrew and the family are spreading their wings to Detroit USA to start another chapter in their lives.  Photos

A master plan is being drafted to set a 20 year vision for Albert Park to guide it through the next stage of its history. The first stage of consultation occurred in 2014 and further stages of consultation will occur in 2015 leading to the development of the plan.

For more information please visit Parks Victoria.

The 2014 World Rowing Masters Regatta has come to a close, but our memories will live on (and our muscles will hurt for a few more days yet).  See all the thrills on Ballarat's Courier website, and find our how our club members fared at Regatta Central.