Long Reef Surf Boat Vets win gold again! Age shall not weary them..
April 13th 2010
Long Reef Surf Boat Vets have won gold in the Australian Masters Surfboat Titles again. The crew made up of Ross Jenkins, Peter Kinsey, Dave Sams, Malcolm McCormick and sweep Bruce Gaal, have an average age of 64 and have rowed together for over 40 yrs. These old guys know a few things about patience and persistence and have collected two gold medals and a silver medal over the last three years.
As you can see the surf was massive and many crews did not even compete. The next day the vets competed against the younger guys in the Reserve Boat Race. Alas they were not so lucky in the surf on this day and they suffered a “backshoot” as shown in the photo’s below. Ross Jenkins was the only casualty with bruised ribs during this incident .
I asked the respective wives if they are fed up with the boys rowing after 40 years of weekends spent on windswept beaches watching their men hang on to their prime. One partner, who wished to remain nameless, remarked ” Are you kidding? We are usually shopping, but these guys are in the their 60’s with the bodies of someone in the 40’s, we love it!”
We at Prohab are really proud of their achievement and look forward to hearing more stories of success from 5 guys in speedo’s making younger men feel tiny! Well done guys.
Never give up, never give in.
