INSIDE the Coogee Beach clubhouse, surfboat sweep Beck Hamilton peers through the salt-encrusted windows at the grey skies and pounding waves and says matter-of-factly, "Yeah, we'd still go out in this, maybe not when I first started but now … absolutely."
But this isn't bravado talking. Hamilton is the first to say she puts safety above success when it comes to racing surfboats.
"We have a rule that it's bodies first, boat second," Hamilton said. "I've always said I will not be the one who has to ring someone's mother to tell them that they're hurt."
This is one of several things that distinguish Hamilton from other sweeps. The main is that she's female and in charge of the only all-female crew competing in the under-23 division in Australia.
As a sweep, she is responsible for the rowers on and off the water. She's a coach, nutritionist, fitness trainer, navigator and mentor to her four charges. Hamilton is in her sixth season as a sweep and says, despite how unusual it is for a woman to sweep, she's had great support from the Coogee Surf Club.
"From the minute I said I wanted to do it, there was a bit of [apprehension] but they've never been anything but supportive of me," she said.
The group train together up to six days a week in the boat and on land. Not surprisingly, they see her as much more than just a coach.
"The girls call me Mum actually," she laughs. But at the end of the day my job is to make sure that boat gets out there straight and that I bring the girls home safe."
Surfboat racing is simple: take the boat to the water, row 400 metres out to a buoy and then row back. Uncomplicated in theory, but on the water conditions can play havoc with even the most experienced crews. "It is an extreme sport. All you can do is make sure you protect yourself as much as possible. There's not a lot you can do if something goes really wrong," Hamilton said.
"When the surf is big, it's not the biggest, strongest rowers, it's the smartest rowers. That's always the way I've been taught to sweep. You have to be smart."
Hamilton says she coaches her crews to use what they have, rather than comparing themselves with their competition. "I guess being a female rower is proof you don't have to be the biggest and the strongest," she said.
"My girls are the littlest on the beach by a long way but they'll beat the big girls because they're smart rowers. We are probably more tentative than other [crews]. That's probably the difference between me and the boys - they're quite gung-ho - but sometimes it pays off."
Hamilton's ethos is certainly paying off this season. Last month her crew finished third of 35 boats at the NSW ASRL open in treacherous conditions at Manly. The crew head to Newcastle next weekend to contest the ASRL Australian open.
Rower Sarah Hill says the performances from their crew suggest they will be competitive at the national titles later this year. "We're all working towards the same thing, an Aussie gold medal," Hill said.
"We've got the drive, we've got the potential - a gold medal isn't an unreasonable aim."
For Hamilton, a gold medal at the is her ultimate goal. "I'm not going to give up until I get one," she said. ''Some people chase it for their whole lives. I'm not going to die wondering."
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