The story of the addition of 13 new boats to the Jeppe Rowing fleet began with 5 eager Jeppe representatives sitting on an auction site in November 2020, bidding on pre-selected boats.

Still basking in the success of having purchased the new Swift Carbon Elite for the 1^st VIII, the opportunity of acquiring a fleet of smaller boats in one sitting was a dream come true. With the help of the school, the dream became a reality and we walked away with 3 x 4+’s, 4 Pairs, 6 Skulls and their blades for R220k.  This was a bittersweet moment, as Jeppe Boats and Blades, we had accomplished a 5 + year plan in 1 day but it came at the expense of Bishop Bavin and its Rowing Club having to close their doors.

This Decision Tree reveals the path to ultimate happiness and in many ways should be seen as the mantra for Jeppe Old Boy Rowers.

Evidence of the impact that these boats have already made is that many of them contributed to the points tally at the 2022 SA Schools Rowing Championships that saw Jeppe come 2^nd overall.  Take a minute to let that sink in… YES, a government school beat all but 1 school in the country in the most expensive school sport.  And YES, your support helped make this possible.

This achievement in itself is staggering, but this is not the whole story. Reflecting on what Jeppe Boats and Blades and the wider Jeppe Rowing Community has achieved in the last 2 years, in the midst of a global pandemic and challenging times, beggars belief.  Here are some notable achievements:

Purchased a new Swift Carbon Elite – R500k

Acquired 14 other boats (13 on auction and 1 gifted by an Old Boy) – R222K

Helped 3 Jeppe boys compete at events – 2 of them at international level – R45k

Launched the ‘Jeppe Rowing’ coffee table book with the crew of ‘64Established 2 Social Media forums for Jeppe Old Boy Rowers to re-connect and engage with the school and the sport that we all love (WhatsApp and Facebook).

This speaks volumes about who we are, and the school Motto ‘Forti nihil difficilius’ is as true for an Old Boy as it is for those wearing the black and white now. I for one am a proud Jeppe Old Boy Rower.

Greg