Memory card works after five years under water

When Sharleen Murray dropped her camera in Lake Karapiro five years ago she did not expect to ever see it or the photos on it again – until it was found and given back to her, in working order.

This weekend Murray took a walk down memory lane when she returned to Lake Karapiro during the Maadi regatta to pick up the  memory card that was dropped into the lake along with the camera.

The former Whakatane Rowing Club member lost the camera and card at  at a rowing regatta in 2010. “I was on the pontoon helping a mate pull her boat out of the water. As I bent over I heard a plop and looked down to see the splash. Checked my chest pocket of my jersey and the camera was gone.”

Five years later when the lake was lowered, the camera was found, the memory card was checked and incredibly was found to be working.

From the rowing images found on the memory card, rowing officials printed a photo of Murray, and pinned it up in the main tower asking if anyone knew who she was.

Whakatane Rowing Club coach Graham Watt noticed Murray and got in touch with her, and  they organised to meet up at this year’s Maadi Cup regatta.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard about it because it had been underwater for over five  years,” Murray said.

“I wondered what was on the camera.”

When the memory card was handed over on Saturday, the moment also acted as a reunion for Murray and Watt as they shared their rowing memories together along with a catch up about where Murray is now.

On the memory card there were many rowing images, including pictures from the regatta she was at when she lost the camera, and also her seventh form athletics day at Edgecumbe College.

“We all look so young,” she said while going through the photos.

Murray competed in the 2007, 2009 and 2010 Maadi Cup regattas , winning a gold medal in the U17 single.

Being at Lake Karapiro jogged her memory of her rowing days but said it didn’t make her want to get back into a boat.

“It was different being back, its been so long now that I don’t know any of the competitors,” she said.

 Murray plans on saving the memory card along with her many other memory cards as a keepsake to have as a reminder of her golden rowing days.