A very strong field of 36 boat crews contested the first race of the Wanganui Rowing Association's Winter Series on an overcast but fine Sunday morning, where the Whanganui River threw a couple of obstacles into the equation.
Races are held once a month through the winter and early spring and involve row boats, kayaks and waka ama of all different crew sizes, with the overall placings decided by "prognostic time" - getting the highest percentage of the world record time for each specific class.
Spokeswoman Jacs Rush said while the weather was fine and water flat, there was an "abundance" of logs to negotiate past which, combined with strong incoming tide, caused some issues.
Two crews retired while another was disqualified for going outside the buoyed course.
The prognostic winners were the Under 23 men's crew from Wellington's Star Boating Club, whose 19m 2s finishing time was 80.26 per cent of their class record.
