Scooping the prize pool
Aussies clean up at RIMPAC sporting comp

CMDR Michael Noonan, CO of Parramatta, is cheered across the finish line for the 5km run held on the Pearl Harbour Naval Base.

Photo: ABPH Brenton Freind

CMDR Mark McIntosh, CO of HMAS Success makes a putt at the Navy-Marine Golf Course, Hawaii.

Photo: ABPH Brenton Freind

By Graham Davis

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Hawaii is the home of surfing and a group of RAN sailor surfers have found themselves right at home in the island chain’s waters.

During the recent RIMPAC 2004 sports program RAN women and men almost “scooped the pool” in surfing events.

HMAS’ Newcastle and Parramatta members, MIDN Trish Williams, Shiela Brooks and LEUT Kathryn McCabe took out first, second and third in the Women’s Surf.

Justin Taliben, also from Newcastle was first in the men’s boogie board event while shipmate Adam Kennedy finished second in the RIMPAC Men’s Surf.

Members of the ship’s company of HMAS Parramatta took to the water in small craft and did well taking first, second and third in the RIMPAC Kayak Challenge.

Parramatta finished third in RIMPAC sailing while the ship’s team also won the tube waterpolo event.

On solid ground, RAN sportsmen and women also did well.

HMAS Parramatta was first in the RIMPAC Aussie Golf Challenge while Kathryn McCabe won the women’s Versa Climb Sprint Challenge. HMAS Newcastle won the Rugby Sevens while Parramatta was runner-up in the RIMPAC 2004 Golf Challenge.

The commanding officer of HMAS Parramatta, CMDR Mike Noonan and Newcastle’s AB Lawler were equal third in the RIMPAC Squash tournament.

The submariners from HMAS Rankin finished third in the Lake Chaplin Golf Challenge.

POPT Vanessa Dickson from HMAS Success was third in the RIMPAC Women’s Bench Press while Success sailors, AB Firkin and AB Adamson were sixth and seventh in the Men’s Bench Press.

In an unusual event Parramatta won the Belly Flop contest.

In the overall results HMAS Parramatta finished seventh in the RIMPAC Cup.

However only 10 points separated fourth and seventh places. Nearly 700 RAN members attended RIMPAC 2004 and hundreds of them participated in a variety of sports.

They faced many of the 18,000 sailors from the six other nations who attended the exercise.

Australians took part in swimming, basketball, softball, indoor volleyball, soccer, sand volleyball, tennis, squash, surfing, boogie board riding, tenpin bowling, inner tube water polo, golf, July 3 Fun Run, rugby, racquetball, sailing, kayaking, skateboarding, bench press, Versa Climber and inline hockey.

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