APRIL 2017 NEWS

Above – Success at the National Championships for our under 21 four

News covered below:

• ANZAC Day Service and President’s Luncheon • Masters win at Albert Park Regatta • Bob Lachal at Gallipoli • Greetings from Noel Donaldson • More 1986 history • Mercantile Spotted at… • Hawthorn Bridge in 1890 • John Carr Member Profile Added • Attention now turns to overseas • James Sprigg Member Profile Added • From the archives – 1986 Men’s Fours • Jenny Williams AM • Masters win at Henley-on-Maribyrnong • Rachel Engel named in US athlete group for under-age trials in June • James Rook announced as coxswain of the Australian • Invitations to under-age trials announced • President’s Luncheon 30th April • Day 7 National Championships • Sarah Tait Trophy • Day 6 National Championships • New Mercs tie • Member Profiles

ANZAC Day Service and President’s Luncheon

Published 30th April 2017 Members and their families commemorated those members who failed to return from service for their country in war. The President Mal Batten led the service and members and their guests heard about Norman Johnson who lost his life in WWI in 1917, one hundred years ago. A member profile of Norman Johnson is published on this website.

Members and their guests enjoyed a superb luncheon, an extensive visual presentation from the 2017 National Championships and heard about the Club’s endeavours this year. All those who attended thoroughly enjoyed the day. Above: Some of our senior members and guests Masters win at Albert Park Regatta

Published 29th April 2017 Our masters women’s four won their race at Albert Park today in a ding dong battle with Richmond. Our men’s double won their race easily.

Above: Hugh McVicker, Joanna Adamson and Greg Hansen displaying their medals. Joanna also wearing medals of fellow crew members Pernette Wijnen and Jenny Williams Bob Lachal at Gallipoli

Published 25th April 2017 The following article appeared in The Australian on Monday 24th April 2017 about Club member Bob Lachal.

Well done Bob on making this trip. Greetings from Noel Donaldson

Published 25th April 2017 Your correspondent had the pleasure of catching up with club member Noel Donaldson on the weekend at the Lake Karapiro New Zealand Training Centre. Noel is the Lead Men’s Sweep coach in New Zealand and is doing a superb job for their team. The New Zealanders have a good set up at Lake Karapiro and Noel is well settled in.

With his daughter due to finish high school not long after Tokyo, we might even see him home back in Melbourne not long after.

Above: Noel in the training centre at Lake Karapiro

More 1986 Nationals History

Published 21st April 2017 Such was the reaction to some less important 1986 Nationals photos than those published below and circulated privately, it appears that wider circulation is required.

Despite comments to the contrary that Club events are an innovation to the Nationals program, in 1986, club four and eight races were conducted with the eight won by composite Mercs eight.

Above the winning 1986 Club eight being more like a masters crew. Of interest is that the Club’s sponsor at the time was Carlton and United Breweries and this had to be obliterated from the back of the gear – see the coxswains back. Also of interest was that that they rowed in the Andrew Guerin, named after one of the crew members.

Left to right: Ken Marshall, Peter Philp, Jeff Sykes, Phil Ainsworth, Steve Mollard, Nick Newton, Andrew Guerin, Dick Garrard, George Xouris Mercantile spotted at…

Published 21st April 2017 After many months of absence, this segment has been revived by Andrew Phillips.

Here seen in Rions near Bordeaux, Mercantile has been spotted cycling through the vineyards and medieval hamlets! Rather than what will the natives think, how privileged they are to see evidence of the great Club.

We hope to spot more Mercs gear overseas with Womens’ Henley, and others regattas such as Holland Beker in coming months. Hawthorn Bridge in 1890

Published 17th April 2017 Your correspondent is always on the look out for historical pictures of the Yarra River and surrounds. His latest purchase is a picture of the Hawthorn Bridge which was opened in 1861 and provided the necessary link between Richmond and the growing suburb of Hawthorn, and the farming areas beyond. It is now best known to rowers as the finish line for the Head of the Yarra.

Above: The Hawthorn Bridge in about 1890

John P “Thumbscrew” Carr member profile added

Published 17th April 2017 A member profile of John Carr has been added. Whilst not one of our best oarsmen, he was a key member of the Club who brought great frivolity and fun to the Club. He was a strong thread in the fabric of the Club.

Above: Tony Cordell, Thumbscrew Carr and Paul Harding in 1980 at the Club’s Centenary Dinner

Attention now turns to overseas

Published 15th April 2017 With the senior selections settled and the under age selection at the end of the month, a young rowers attention turns to winter rowing pursuits overseas.

Beyond those who will gain selection, there is talk of Women’s Henley, Henley Royal, Holland Beker and Head of the Charles. How will this all settle? We will keep you posted. James Sprigg Member Profile Added

Published 15th April 2017 For those old enough to remember the great James Sprigg, his profile has been added to member profiles.

Above: The Hannaford Portrait Of Jim Sprigg

From the archives

Published 15th April 2017 Your correspondent was trawling through 1986 photos and came across your President when rowing at the Australian Institute of Sport. He hasn’t changed a bit since winning this race at the Nationals! With him is fellow Mercantile members and Peter Tomanovits. Finishing off the four is .

Above: Coxless Four Champions in 1986 – left to right: Mal Batten, Andrew Cooper, James Galloway and Peter Tomanovits

Above: After the presentation

Not to be outdone, the Club won numerous men’s under 23 and open Championships. It was a stellar year for Mercantile at these Championships.

Above: Mercantile wins the Championship and catches the trophy to the relief of all.

Above: The presentation with trophy – left to right, , James Tomkins, Stuart Greenbaum, David Doyle, Ian Belot, Brian Richardson, Martin Aitken, Stephen Hinchy

Jenny Williams AM

Published 12th April 2017 Jenny Williams presented with her Membership of the Order of Australia last Friday. Well done Jenny.

Above: Jenny and Colin Kimpton at Government House

Masters win at Henley on Maribyrnong

Published 12th April 2017 Whilst this news is a little out of date, better late than never.

At the Henley on the Maribyrnong Regatta at Essendon on 26 March, some our Mercs masters raced with success. They raced in two races and collected 2 gold medals in 2 composite crews (Mercs, Caulfield, Args, Richmond & Hamilton/Alexandra College).

Above: FM4+: Jenny Williams, Pernette Wijnen, Stewart (their tall cox), Val, Anthea

Above: X8+: Pernette Wijnen, Anthea, Will, Andrew, Pete, Colin, Jenny Williams, Val Cox: Georgia.

Rachel Engel named in US athlete group for under-age trials in June

Published 10th April 2017 Rowing Australia published the ‘Initial invite list for US-based athletes for Selection Trial #2’. Club member Rachel Engel has been included on this list. We look forward to Rachel racing again for Australia having been a member of the 2016 Australian under 23 eight.

The final invitation list will be refined and released on 5 June with additional Australian based athletes.

Above: Rachel as a member of 2016 Australian under 23 eight pointing out Rotterdam, the venue of the 2016 championships

James Rook named in the senior team

Published 7th May 2017 James Rook has been announced as coxswain of the Australian eight. He will move to Canberra to train out of the Reinhold Batschi National Training Centre. Congratulations to James.

He will join Club member Gus Widdicombe who was previously named in this boat.

Above: Gus and James as members of the Victorian King’s Cup crew

Invitations to Under-age trials announced

Published 7th May 2017 Rowing Australia has announced a small list of invitees to the trials later this month showing that they only wanted to trial those with excellent times. Further the trails will not be extensive with these numbers as the number of rotations will be smaller.

Disappointing is perhaps the complete absence of lightweight sculling. On analysis undertaken by David “Chipper” Colvin, there is an argument that they should also have been invited.

Mercantile has the highest number of athletes invited followed by Queensland University, then Sydney University. For Victoria, it is good to see Melbourne Rowing Club have an invitee but disappointing to see the very low number of Melbourne University members.

Congratulations to all our members who have been invited, it is a great achievement:

• Kirstie Green – under 21 sweep • Ellie Tomanovits – under 21 sweep • Alexis Hancock – under 21 sweep • Alexander Clarke – under 21 sweep • Benjamin Canham – under 21 sweep • Lachlan May – under 21 sweep • Alexander Wolf – under 21 sweep • Amanda Bateman – under 23 sculling • India Dempsey – under 23 sweep • Liam Donald – under 23 sweep • Rob Black – under 23 sweep

Above: Men’s under 21 eight off the start at the Nationals

Above: Our women’s eight off the start President’s Luncheon 30th April

Published 5th April 2017 The April President’s Luncheon and ANZAC Service will be now held on Sunday 30th April 2017 at noon. Details to follow shortly.

Your Captain at work at the Nationals

Published 7th April 2017

Above: Bill Webster recovers from a work trip to Germany by spending eight days umpiring at the National – here aligning. That is one way to get over jet lag!

Day 7 National Championships

Published 5th April 2017 Day 7 was the final day of the championships with Club races, school finals and of the Interstate Championships.

First up for Mercantile was the Men’s Club Double Scull which was won by James Hoban and Hugo Van der Graaf. Other than the first 500 metres, they led for the balance of the race, albeit narrowly.

Above: Approaching the finish

Above: Podium After the Club and School races came the Interstate Championships.

The first Interstate Championship was the Women’s LTA Single Scull with the title going to NSW as follows:

1st New South Wales – Kathleen Murdoch 2nd Tasmania – Emma Jago 3rd Aust Capital Territory – Kathryn Ross 4th Victoria – Kate Lapthorne 5th Queensland – Rebecca Markwell

The next championship went to Queensland in the Men’s LTA Single Scull as follows:

1st Queensland – Mac Russell 2nd New South Wales – Kevin du Toit 3rd Western Australia – Kevin Wall 4th Tasmania – Alistair Chong 5th Victoria – Aaron Skinner 6th Aust Capital Territory – Ian Cooper

Club member Amanda Bateman represented Victoria in the Interstate Women’s Sculling Championships for the Nell Slatter Trophy for the first time and raced well in a tough field.

Above: Maddie receives the Nell Slatter Trophy

In the Interstate Men’s Sculling Championship for the President’s Cup, Cam Girdlestone from NSW was too good for the field leading all the way.

The final placings were:

1st New South Wales – Cameron Girdlestone 2nd Aust Capital Territory – Luke Letcher 3rd Tasmania – Wilson Mure 4th Queensland – Harley Moore 5th Western Australia – Christopher Hayes 6th Victoria – Jordan Smith

Above: Luke Letcher and Wilson Mure recognise winner Cam Girdlestone

In the Interstate Women’s Lightweight Quad Scull for the Victoria Cup, the surprise was the all the way win to Queensland. The Victorian crew containing our own Meghan Hester had to be content with second placing.

The results were:

1st Queensland – Portia Bennett, Amy James, Wallis Russell, Madeleine Williams, Coach: Alex Field 2nd Victoria – Alice Arch, Meghan Hester, Alice McNamara, India McKenzie, Coach: Bert Cocu 3rd New South Wales – Rosie Beasley, Georgina Masters, Sophie Jerapetritis, Georgia Miansarow, Coaches: David Gely, Hally Chapman 4th South Australia – Celia Cowan, Alex Carter, Tahlia Jones, Verayna Zilm, Coach: Brynley Millward 5th Western Australia – Tiffany Brown, Alexandra Utley, Suzannah Gravestock, Ruby Lango, Coaches: Aidan Smith, Jason Tutty

Above: Meghan enjoying the podium In the Interstate Men’s Lightweight four for the Penrith Cup, the Victorian crew had higher aspirations than where they finished in fourth place. The crew contained club members Mick McNamara, Jayden Grey and Red Matthews.

The results were:

1st Western Australia – James Kerr, Mario Lo Presti, Perry Ward, Timothy Widdicombe, Coaches: Jamie Hewlett, Stefano Balosso 2nd Queensland – Jack Armitage, James Doring, Hamish Parry, Jack Price, Coaches: Keiran Dwyer, Brendan Mcgrath 3rd New South Wales – Matthew Curtin, Sean Murphy, Jack Hanley, James Chuter, Coaches: Tim McLaren, Lachlan Carter 4th Victoria – Michael McNamara, Conor Grace, Jayden Grey, Red Matthews, Coaches: David Colvin, Nicholas Mitchell 5th Tasmania – Jacob Crow, Oliver Marsden, Alec Paterson, Matthew Byrne, Coaches: Brett Crow, Paul Newbon, John Driessen 6th South Australia – Jack Tomich, Patrick Ey, D’Artagnan Edwards, Mitchell Reinhard, Coach: Daren Potts

Above: The last stroke of the race for Victoria

The Interstate Women’s Youth Eight for the Bicentennial Trophy was an all the way win for Victoria in a superb race. The crew contained five Mercs members and was raced in the Dr Bibi Colgan.

The results were:

1st Victoria – Sky Froebel, Kirstie Green, Ellie Tomanovits, Jacqueline Hart, Georgie Gleeson, India Dempsey, Annika Hoffmann, Ria Thompson, Cox: Adelaide Cester, Coaches: Brigette Carlile, David Ochert 2nd Queensland – Lily Alton, Hilary Ballinger, Lucy Coleman, Kelly Drenth, Sarah Robinson, Jess Scott, Leukie Smith, Georgia Warmington, Cox: Caitlin Hockings, Coaches: Edward Draydon, David Dancer 3rd Western Australia – Eliza Kelly, Gigi Parker, Jessica Walsh, Kira Vermeersch, Gabi Morris, Giorgia Patten, Siena Zamin, Bronwyn Cox, Cox: Maddy McLauchlan, Coaches: Chris Holliday, Sallie Watson 4th New South Wales – Lauren Lyon, Grace Galloway, Georgia Bradley, Adelaide Scott, Lara Wainwright, Grace Reid, Olivia Bartram, Dyone Bettega, Cox: Talia Barnet, Coaches: Judith Ungemach, Lachlan Allen 5th South Australia – Kyanne Townend, Sophia Nery, Georgia Mee, Peta Terrell, Zoe Molloy, Ella Bramwell, Rosie Barnett, Jessie Molloy, Cox: Alannah Gilsmore, Coaches: Aleco Lanfranco, Simon Lane 6th Tasmania – Hannah Tippett, Lili Wrigley, Lilli Reardon, Romy Keppel, Lauren Conway, Madeline Greenhill, Madeline Tippett, Anneka Reardon, Cox: Alexandra Gruber, Coaches: David Tippett, Neil Stump

Above: The last stroke of the race

The Victorian men were not so lucky in the Interstate Men’s Youth Eight for the Wilkinson Cup with NSW leading all the way to win from the good, all Mercs, Victorian crew.

The results were:

1st New South Wales – Leon Chambers, Jacob Flanagan, Hugh Courts, Matt Murray, Thomas Barnes, Zac Von Appen, Lachlan Miles, Jack O’Brien, Cox: Rebecca Harrisson, Coaches: Jason Baker, Dustyn Butler 2nd Victoria – Jack Robertson, Lennart Schiesswohl, Maximilian Hanna, Lachlan May, Alexander Wolf, Alexander Clarke, Benjamin Canham, Alexander Maycock, Cox: Alexis Hancock, Coaches: John Saunders, Simon Gadsden 3rd South Australia – Oscar McGuinness, James Price, Maxwell Fisher, Angus Dawson, Jack Deans, Matthew Nielsen, David Frigaard, Kane Grant, Cox: Will Preece, Coaches: James Hammond, Renee Chatterton 4th Queensland – Elliott Apel, Morgan Apel, Adam Bakker, Christopher Bunting, Tom Davidson, Tom Franey, Alexander Jeremijenko, Jack Kibble, Cox: Ashleigh Hockings, Coaches: John Bowes, Kane Ramon 5th Western Australia – Ethan Aird, Rohan James, Solomon Holliday, Patrick Boere, Oscar Winter, Tom Norman, Jonathan Ashby, David Latham, Cox: Max Montanari, Coaches: Joseph Tamigi, David Rich 6th Tasmania – Jared Weisse, Lars Gillingham, Carl Doedens, Angus McGlashan, Jack Barrett, Nick Cash, Connor Ryan, Nat Graham, Cox: Samuel Williams, Coaches: Brett Crow, Barry Townsend, Trevor Barrett

Above: A dejected Victorian crew on the podium

The Queen’s Cup was another sensational race and without doubt, the race of the day. Victoria extending its record-breaking run on this event to thirteen consecutive wins. New South Wales went out determined to win and led until the final stages of the race. It was a catch me if you can strategy, and Victoria caught them! There were many Mercs members in this crew.

The results were:

1st Victoria – Hedda Cooper, Addy Dunkley-Smith, Hannah Lewis, Katherine Michelmore, Jess Morrison, Jennifer Cleary, Katrina Werry, , Cox: Sarah Ben-David, Coach: Simon Gadsden 2nd New South Wales – Elizabeth Halsall, Harriet Hudson, Rowena Meredith, Sarah Cook, Fiona Ewing, Genevieve Horton, Leah Saunders, Georgina Gotch, Cox: Kendall Brodie, Coaches: Alfie Young, James Chapman 3rd Queensland – Madeleine Coonan, Caitlin Cronin, Maddie Edmunds, Tyler Ferris, Jessica Hall, Eloise Parker, Ellen Pozzi, Kate Rowan, Cox: Daniella Serra, Coaches: Benjamin Southwell, Courtney Talbot 4th South Australia – Verayna Zilm, Alex Carter, Erica Webb, Sophie Freeman, Peta White, Phoebe Pado, Olympia Aldersey, Mieka Webb, Cox: Indran Mukherjee, Coaches: Ron Mobbs, Catherine McDougall 5th Western Australia – Sarah Steger, Caitlin MacPhail, Jacqueline Nock, Alexis Whelan, Amanda Rukuwai, Annabelle McIntyre, Hannah Vermeersch, , Cox: Lauren Warschauer, Coach: Jack Fischer

Above: The beautiful final strokes of the race

The King’s Cup was a similar story except that Victoria could not quite claw back the lead established by New South Wales in the first 500 metres. The two second gap in the first 500 metres taken by NSW was too much despite a heroic attempt by Victoria in the last 500 meters.

The results were:

1st New South Wales – Edward White, Peter Koster, , Alexander Lloyd, , Hamish Playfair, , Alex Purnell, Cox: William Raven, Coaches: Donovan Cech, Nick Garratt 2nd Victoria – Tom Hunt, Simon Keenan, Ben Coombs, Angus Widdicombe, Liam Donald, Josh Dunkley-Smith, Tim Masters, Joshua Booth, Cox: James Rook, Coach: Christian Ryan 3rd South Australia – Jack Korcz, Drew Clements, Hugo Langsford, Christopher Morgan, James McRae, Nathan Bowden, Bryn Coudraye, , Cox: Georgia Litt, Coaches: Brenton Terrell, Jason Lane 4th Queensland – Nathan Goldstone, William Johnston, Curtis McLeod, Harley Moore, Nick Pettigrew, Oliver Smith, Kegan Viviers, Darcy Wruck, Cox: Stephanie Long, Coaches: Zoltan Shepherd, Paul Pettigrew 5th Western Australia – Hugh Wolgamot, Willis Armstrong, Fraser Pensini, Sam Marsh, Sam Hughes, Matthew Cochran, Christopher Hayes, , Cox: Andrew Le, Coach: Paul Bolton

Above: Podium with the Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove and wife

Sarah Tait Trophy

Published 1st April 2017 This week at the National Championships, a magnificent new perpetual trophy was presented – the Sarah Tait Trophy for Women’s Pairs. Mercantile’s crew of Addy Dunkley Smith and Kat Werry narrowly missed out on winning the inaugural winning of it and were very disappointed as a result.

Above: The Sarah Tait Trophy

Rowing Australia reported the event as follows

The trophy, dedicated to the life and achievements of Olympic rowing silver medallist Sarah Tait, was presented by Sarah’s parents, Barbara and Simon Outhwaite, and also Sarah’s husband Bill Tait, to the winning crew of the Open Women’s . Tait noted that there could not have been a more fitting way for Sarah Hawe (Huon) and Meaghan Volker (Buckingham Rowing Club) to win this thrilling race, which came down to the final stroke between three competitive crews.

“In London (2012 Olympics), Kate Hornsey and Sarah loved the step to the finish line, and Sarah would have been thrilled to see this race… you couldn’t pick a winner with five strokes to go, it’s almost like a perfect finish,” said Bill.

Sarah tragically lost her life in 2016 after a valiant and long battle with cervical cancer. Simon and Barbara described how honoured they were that Rowing Australia had decided to dedicate the trophy to their daughter.

“We are very grateful that Rowing Australia corresponded with us about coming over… we are privileged to be here,” remarked Simon.

As for the trophy itself, it is definitely far from ordinary. The large silver swan caught the eye immediately as it glistened in the rain, and Bill believes that its exactly what Sarah would have wanted.

“She liked quirky things so we thought that a standard sort of trophy might not do her justice,” explained Bill.

Barbara was also elated with the way the design worked out.

“I loved it because I think the swan reflected the race, it’s beautiful and graceful like the girls in the boat but underneath they’re paddling as fast as they can.

“It’s a fantastic trophy and hopefully it will be an inspiration for women’s pair rowers in the future, to inspire them to fight it out to be the winner,” said Barbara.

Although this morning’s racing at SIRR included some electrifying small boat finals, with some great Australian rowing talent, it was without a doubt that Open Women’s Pair race was the one that everyone at the course really wanted to see, spectators and fellow competitors alike.

“To see a couple of my girls narrowly pipped at the line today in a ruthless race is pretty exciting, and to think that there is maybe some spirit in that inspired by Sarah, that’s really cool,” said Bill, Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) Head Coach, referencing second place-finishers Addy Dunkley-Smith and Katrina Werry from Mercantile/VIS.

“Talking to a few of the girls afterwards that missed out on winning it, they were really disappointed because they really wanted to win, and I’d like to think in future years it’ll be a reason why there’s a fierce step to the line… Sarah really loved that stuff, the competitive edge,” continued Bill.

Barbara was equally delighted to see two Tasmanian women be crowned Australian champions. “Sarah obviously rowed for Mercantile, when she lived in Victoria, but on the other hand I was happy it was two Tasmanian clubs that won the first trophy, as it was a tribute to Kate Hornsey too [Sarah’s Olympic pairs partner, who hails from Tasmania].”

Apart from the Sarah Tait Memorial Trophy, Barbara and Simon continue to be involved in the sport of rowing by offering up their time and care to current athletes training for World Championships, World Cups and the like.

Living in Perth, they are always more than happy to take in rowers who are based there for training. This was the case last year with Rob Black and Luke Letcher, two members of Australia’s U23 World Championships winning Men’s Quad.

“To have Rob and Luke over was great, and really for them to win the World Championships was icing on the cake,” reported Simon.

If this year’s inaugural race for the trophy was anything to go by, then this boat class will no doubt be a standout feature on the SIRR program for many years to come.

Day 6 National Championships

Published 1st April 2017 The Club raced again for more National Championships on Saturday.

Our first representative was Meghan Hester in a composite crew competing in the under 23 lightweight quad scull. Meghan’s crew finished third.

Above: Meghan’s crew approaching the finish

Above: Meghan on the podium

Next up was our under 21 quad scull of Clare Ward, Gemma Sibillin, Kathleen Hanson and Michaella Ballas who finished fifth in the final.

Above: Our crew approaching the finish.

Next up was our under 23 women’s eight of Ellie Tomanovits, Annie Anezakis, Kate Duggan, Georgia Stewart, Emma Fessey (UTS), Kirstie Green, Georgie Gleeson, India Dempsey and coxed Adelaide Cester who won silver. Congratulations to a full club crew, unlike their competitors.

Above: Approaching the line

Above: Podium

Next Mercs crews were in the men’s under 23 coxed eight with the composite crew finishing third and the full Mercs crew finishing fourth. The crews were:

Composite: Hugo Van der Graaf, Angus Maloney, Andrew Burke, James McCann (MUBC), Jack Lawrence, Henry Youl (Tamar), Liam Donald and coxed by James Rook.

Mercs crew: Jack Robertson, Lenny Schiesswohl, Max Hanna, Lachie May, Alex Wolf, Alex Clarke, Ben Canham, Alex Maycock and coxed by Alexis Hancock.

Above: Composite crew

Above: Full Mercs crew as they cross the line

Above Podium

Next crew to race was our open women’s eight who finished second. The crew comprised Hannah Lewis, Olivia Sibillin, Maddy Thomas, Amanda Bateman, Jess Morrison, Jen Cleary, Katrina Werry, Addy Dunkley Smith and coxed by Roy Zhang. The winning crew won only by a short distance and was a crew of nine different clubs. Perhaps more of a selection win rather than the development of the sport. Congratulations to Mercs and Sydney University which boated club crews.

Above: Approaching the finish

Above: Podium

Last crew for the morning was the Mercs Club double of Hugo Van der Graaf and James Hoban who strolled through the semi-final in second place.

Above: The finishing stages of their race.

New Mercantile Ties Available Republished 1st April 2017

Jenny Fraumano has arranged for the creation of new Mercs ties – see below. The ties are silk and are only $35 each. A perfect Christmas present for any Mercs member who wears a tie. Jenny is only too please to sell you one – [email protected].

Above: The new Mercs tie

Member Profiles Updated 1st April 2017

The number of member profiles has now well exceeded 100. The first 100 down the next 1,000 to go. We wish to record profiles of all current and past members so please submit others to [email protected]. Subject to editorial review, they will be published with the author’s name and date.

Thursday Masters Nights Republished 1st April 2017 Reminder that all masters rowers are welcome for a row on Thursday nights followed by a sausage sizzle and refreshments. Row at 6pm and sausage sizzle at 7.30pm. All welcome. Please call Andrew Guerin on 0417 554799 to get put on the weekly email.

Thursday nights after the row

Saturday Morning Breakfasts

Republished 1st April 2017 The breakfast Mums are always looking for new people to assist them on a Saturday. Any volunteers would be most welcome and should call Jenny Fraumano on 0438 324307.

Mercantile Mums at work

Above: Breakfast on Melbourne Head day