Commercial Rowing Club

The prologue to Edwina Luck’s story at CRC starts at Rockhampton Grammar School, where a young Eddie was honing her coxing craft. Her efforts worked, as she became a Qld and Australian champion schoolgirl cox in 1980-1981.

Like a lot of us, she had a long break, rediscovering the sport in 2013 when her twin daughters were coxes at St Margaret’s. Eddie joined CRC coxing a Men’s Master’s C crew and reignited her passion for our sport. Over the past 13 years, she’s steered that crew to many winter series and Head of the Brisbane wins. Competing in the D category, they’ve claimed victory at Head of the Yarra 3 years running - looking to make that 4 years in November.

In 2014, she had the opportunity to cox the Qld Queen’s and Qld Masters Women’s 8+. But it was 2015 when her journey back to competitive coxing really stepped up. As coxswain of the Qld Women’s Masters 8+, she helped lead the crew to 6 consecutive Australian Championship titles from 2015-2022 (2020-21 were cancelled due to Covid).

Eddie’s story of that race is vivid:

“The D8+ final seemed to take forever to come around. Having to wait until the end of the day for the interstate D8+ race, I was worried that my crew’s endorphin level would be low. How wrong I was. I was concerned about what calls I would use, would they be the right words? The race plan was solid. There were foreboding blue skies just before the race. Not maroon like the night before. The lane buoys were a blur, only a misty official’s boat 1000m in the distance was all that I could see. Our crew were ready. And race our hearts out we did. We broke the record for the fastest State women’s crew that year, clocking 3.25.55.”

Eddie believes that being a cox is about challenging yourself, striving for excellence and discovering what you and your crew are capable of. It’s about getting athletes to trust her to bring them out of their comfort zone and take them on a journey. She knows the discipline, resilience and trust built through training and racing create lifelong friendships and memories that extend far beyond the finish line. 🩵💙

This particular Get To Know holds a very special place in our club’s heart – Penny Dixon. There’s just so much to say about Penny, but today, it’s about her as one of our greatest coxswains 🥰

Penny joined Commercial in 1981 to learn to row. At her first regatta, a CRC men’s 4+ (led by Bruce Greenland) needed a coxswain. Penny happened to be standing on the bank and was small – so she was it! They won. That was just the beginning.

As a rower, Penny became a champion sculler, winning national and international titles – LW2x at the 1988 Aus Champs with Shelley Murtagh (coached by Noel Langton), 4x with Jenn Brock, Ceinwen Fay and Hennie Shepherd at Aus Masters and World Masters Champs.  She’s also proud to have won 1x, 2x and 4x when she last competed at the Qld Masters in 2019.  

As a coxswain, she knows what she’s after – the feeling of a perfect stroke.

When asked what her biggest coxing achievements are, she mentions:
🏆 coxing CRC crews to win Qld Champs W8s (1981, 1984–1986, 1990–1992, 1995)
🏆 bringing a QLD W8 storming home at Aus Champs 1987 to come within a foot of the favoured AIS crew
🏆 winning 6 HoTY races.

45 years later, Penny is slowly retiring from coxing life 🥺

“It’s getting somewhat painful crammed into a small space, especially for long outings (I’m not 50kgs anymore). But when I’m coaxed out, I always find something to enjoy, and it’s certainly a great way to stay connected with the wonderful people you find at Commercial”, Penny says. 🩵💙

It was 1888.

Meet the gentlemen of the Commercial Rowing Club.  Perhaps they’re admiring their brand new pontoon and staging?

Their previous pontoon had been washed away in the floods just a year earlier.

In its first 11 years, Commercial had already relocated to its 2nd boatshed and installed its 3rd pontoon.

Those early members clearly believed in investing in their sport. At the time, the club was carrying an overdraft that’s equivalent to around $300k today!  😲

Was that willingness to invest in the club’s future, even in the face of financial risk? It’s just one of the reasons Commercial is still going strong 149 years later!

Here’s to the generations who built our great club... and to those who continue the tradition. 

Go the Mersh! 🩵💙

Wearing the green and gold is one thing, but having your story published in the paper is another! 🤩

Under the watchful eye of Head Coach Jacinta Edmunds, we are building the momentum of our youth and high performance programs through a positive and supportive culture so our athletes can chase their dreams 🩵💙


Rowing Australia
State High Rowing

It’s time to meet Lauren Robinson, one of our legendary lady coxswains. Swipe to learn more about the brains behind the boat, her inspirations and how she’s become one of the most sought after coxswains in Queensland 🩵💙

“Watch your line” - every coach every day

The weather is getting colder but the local racing scene is heating up.

It was gold for our masters’ crews who competed in the Brisbane River Winter Racing Series #4 last Saturday.

Results:
🥇MM2x
🥇WM8 +
🥇MM4-

Well done team! 🩵💙

If you’ve been wondering “where’s Sami Blanchard?”, she’s in Japan competing at the Beach Rowing Sprint Games Iwami, Tottori! 🇯🇵

This fast-paced, high-energy regatta format features head-to-head elimination races 💪

Sami had an epic couple of days and will return home with some medals:
🥉 Women’s Single (CW1x)
🥉 Mixed Quad Coxed (CMix4x+)
4th - Mixed Double (CMix2x)

Well done, Sami! 🩵💙

This year has seen the proud unveiling of a new CRC blazer - a statement piece with broad and bold blue striping.

Then the archives turned up a surprise: Commercial rowers were already wearing broad, bold striped blazers back in the 1930s.

In those days they wore them on tour to Lismore. Now they wear them on tour to Boston..

Different era. Different destinations. Same pride in wearing Commercial colours.

A great reminder that while the club keeps evolving, some traditions never fade.

Here’s to honouring our past while writing the next chapter.

Go the Mersh! 🩵💙