Tough Canoeists to Battle Port Stephens Island Race This Weekend - Spectator Boat Available for Public to Broughton Is and Back

Some of NSW's fittest outrigger canoeists will converge on Port Stephens this weekend for two days of competition including the gruelling 38km race from Shoal Bay to Broughton Island and back this Saturday, April 11, 2015.

Organised by the Port Stephens Outrigger Canoe Club, the 'Country Club Broughton Bash' will see more than 150 canoeists from across NSW race to Broughton Island, 19km off the coast of Port Stephens, before heading back in the six-person canoes. Some paddlers will change over at the island – the largest island off NSW- while others will complete the whole 38km distance.

The marathon ocean race starts on the Shoal Bay foreshore at 9am this Saturday, April 11, returning mid-afternoon. There will also be race events this Sunday and a presentation and prize event for competitors only in the Sandyfoot Café and Bar at the Country Club Hotel in Shoal Bay this Saturday night.

* The public is invited to join in the action aboard a spectator boat that will follow the racegoers from Shoal Bay to Broughton Island and back, offering spectacular scenery and possible sightings of Port Stephens' famous dolphins along the way. The 30m catamaran, Moonshadow Explorer, will sail from the Nelson Bay marina at 8am this Saturday, April 11, and return around 2.30pm. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for children under 12.

To book tickets on the spectator boat, contact Jean Brown from the Port Stephens Outrigger Canoe Club on nelsonbaybrowns@bigpond.com or call Jean Brown on 02 4981 0686.