The Victorian Downriver Classic race was held from Homestead Road car park to Wittons Reserve on Sunday 20th September. The race is just over 4 km. There had been a bit of rain earlier in the week and on Thursday the level on the Warrandyte gauge was 0.8m which looked encouraging for the event. Unfortunately the river level dropped quickly by about 0.1 m per day and by Saturday it was a very boney 0.65m. Groups of paddlers did exploratory runs with mixed results and some injured boats. There was a party of nine that got down unscathed (and they all paddled the next day). The level had dropped further (0.61m at 9.00 pm) and there were visions of a really low level run and adjusting lines to make up for the lower conditions.
Imagine the surprise when checking the level in the morning to see the level back up at 0.82 m. On Monday when there was a lot of rain the gauge at Yarra Glen had gone up a lot and that plug of water had finally arrived at Warrandyte. The extra water made the event much more enjoyable and everyone had a good race. Some enjoyed it so much they went back for seconds.
Thanks to the event organisers and the start (Angie) and finish (Dean).
Competitors at the medal presentation at Wittons Reserve.
