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Americans best Canadians at International Dory RacesJun 20, 2010 (Gloucester Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- With rowers from Nova Scotia taking three of the five races last year, the Americans held their ground in 2010 winning four of the five races on Saturday morning. It was a day for new champions as not only did the Americans take four of the five races, but all four teams were first-time winners. The event was headlined by Men's Division winners Mick Cote and John Swift. Not only did the two New Jersey natives best Canada's Ken MacDonald and Tim Mair by 19 seconds (9:46-10:05), but the two became the first team to win an International Dory race and are not from either Gloucester or Nova Scotia. "It was an honor," Cote said. "I didn't know how much of a big deal this was until (Saturday) morning and I have to say it was an impressive event. The guys from Gloucester were very tough and so weren't the Canadians. It was a great experience and definitely worth the seven-hour trip." Cote, who rows fiber glass beach dories on the beaches of South Jersey, first came to Gloucester in 2008 to race the Blackburn Challenge, a grueling open water race around Cape Ann that spans over 20 miles. Two years later Cote and Swift made another trek up to Cape Ann, this time to race in a Grand Banks Dory in the International Dory Races. While Cote and Swift are used to racing fiber glass dories through the surf of New Jersey beaches, they had little trouble adjusting to the wooden Grand Banks dories. After beating out a stacked field of competitors in the elimination round, Cote and Swift bested their Canadian counterparts with a wire-to-wire victory. The team from South Jersey opened up a small lead at the start of the mile race and extended it to more than two boat lengths by the time the crews turned the flag, which stands a half-mile from the start line. The American team then opened their lead up to six boats after the turn and cruised home for the win. "It was a nice clean race," Cote said. "Our course was good and so wasn't our turn." The Master's (0ver 40) Division team of John Scola and Mike Harmon picked up their first International Dory championship together besting Canada's Rob Hulbert and Angus Atkinson 6:24-7:08 in a half-mile race. Scola and Harmon have been competing as a tandem for the last four years, and unlike most crews who come up short, the pair stayed together until they brought home an International Dory title. "Most teams split up after they lose," Scola said. "But Mike and I didn't want to. We have been good friends since we were kids and we do this to have a great time. But it was an honor to represent both your home town and your country." Much like the Men's Division Race, Scola and Harmon got off to a strong start and extended it throughout for the most lopsided win of the morning. "We just laid back and rowed our race," Scola said. "There was a strong head wind making it tough to stay on course but Mike kept us perfectly on point." The American teams also got victories from the mixed doubles brother/sister tandem of Christina Carpenter and Len Robertson, who beat Canada's Nicole Jones and Hulbert by five seconds (6:26-6:31). The American pair avenged last year's loss to Jones, who beat them with a different partner. The junior team of LJ Robertson and Randy Parisi did not have a Canadian opponent, but they raced anyway and with a time of 6:16, finishing the half-mile race course faster than any other crew. For the third year in a row, sisters Natalie and Nicole Jones of Canada won the women's division besting Carpenter and Amy Robertson 6:43-6:54. Robertson and Carpenter were rowing as a team for the first time. To see more of the Gloucester Daily Times or to subscribe, go to http://www.gloucestertimes.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, Gloucester Daily Times, Mass. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |