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Lure of the water still there after 78 years

Nelly Brandsma was captivated by the grace and power of rowing as a schoolgirl.

Now, some 78 years later, the lure of the water remains strong and the sheer joy was there again at the weekend as she took to the river to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Mrs Brandsma started rowing in 1937 at the age of 12 in her native Netherlands, where the technique required became ingrained.

It came with her when she moved to WA with her husband Arjen in 1950, and surfaced when she took up rowing again in 1975.

Within a few years Mrs Brandsma was in a champion State crew at the age of 53, along with teammates in their 20s. In the 1990s she began competing at world masters events.

At Vienna in 2009 Mrs Brandsma was a member of four winning crews and was awarded a trophy for being the world's oldest woman rower.

And although the grind of travel has meant she has since retired from the world events, she happily joined former crew mates at the Swan River Rowing Club and other veterans for a special row on Saturday.

And the attraction? "Once you are in the boat, you get the feeling, the team spirit, and the boat is running, it is exhilarating," Mrs Brandsma said.