Last weekend Vashon Island Rowing Club traveled to Victoria, B.C., where master and junior rowers had a strong showing at two regattas held annually and hosted by the University of Victoria. Vashon placed in 12 races overall, with three first-place wins. The events draw some Northwest teams and numerous Canadian teams.

On Saturday the crews raced in the Head of the Gorge Regatta, a 5k race famous for swirling eddies at the narrows and a tricky course.

The master’s women’s quad came in first with a time of 15:46. Rowers Kim Goforth, Debby Jackson, Marilyn Kleyn and Su DeWalt were thrilled with the win.

The masters men’s eight placed second in a field of four. Third-place finishers were the junior women’s quad, masters men’s single, the women’s open double and  the men’s open double — rowed by Tate Gill and Gus Magnuson, who were the first junior competitors to cross the finish.

The next day the teams converged on Elk Lake to race an 8k course. The master’s women entered two quads, and Goforth’s crew won first again. Rowers Celia Congdan, Lisa Huggenvick, Therese Smith and Jan Peterson, with coxswain Rayna Shinn, took third. Magnuson had another great race in the open men’s varsity single, where he was up against top rowers from clubs, high schools and colleges. He won it 28:19, beating out four Victoria City boats on their own lake. The men’s master’s eight took second again in their event. The junior women’s eight finished third behind two Northwest rival crews.