Veteran Fours Head 2009

And I thought the Pairs Head was a long way! Out on the Tideway again today, for the Veteran Fours Head in the Quad, rowing at Vet C. Really nice as we started at number 7 so didn’t have to wait around too long for the start.

In stark contrast to yesterday, the weather was clear, bright and sunny and virtually calm (the Fours Head yesterday was cancelled because of high winds and heavy rain). There was a very strong stream running (with lots of alarming sized debris) which made keeping station at the start “fun”. Although we’d had to rejig the crew yesterday, with Tim coming in for an unwell Simon, the race went very smoothly. Results now up and we came 5th of eight in Vet C, and a creditable 61st overall. Really pleased, especially as two of the crews in front of us were composites and three were Tideway clubs.

We did lose some time as two boats (London and Thames, who should know better) left us nowhere to go coming off of Hammersmith bridge, causing us to virtually stop, to avoid ramming the marshal. Otherwise, no mistakes and a clean row.

Rowing back is sheer hell though. Four and a bit miles at race pace, then the same back again, this time against the tide. Must be mad but despite this really enjoyed it (although the alcohol now is numbing the pain) and we’re already talking about the Eight’s Head!

Photos on-line at the MKRC Photo site, with race results now up at the Vet Fours Website

Abingdon Head 2009

Another successful day for the Women’s IM3 4+ crew saw them winning their category at our second visit to Abingdon. Showing real, solid progress as a club since last year (see last year’s entry) we entered twice as many crews and posted some very good results as well as the ladies second win in a row.

Division 1 saw the J18 2x double of Sal and John post a reasonable time in their first outing together (although see the adjusted times guys – you won’t be happy!). Steve and I were in the Vet C/D/E 2x class, rowing as Vet D. We had a really good row, with Steve steering a great line that saw us in an early lead, beating some respectable crews (Canterbury Pilgrims, Upper Thames). We finished second overall after the handicapping was applied, falling to a Vet E double from Upper Thames – we were the fastest Vet D crew of the day though, a really massive improvement from our first go last year. Really pleased!

Up in Division 2 were the two Women’s IM3 4+ boats. Mixed fortunes here, with the Charlene/Jo/Lindy/Steph boat storming away and posting a time of 8:57 – 21 seconds ahead of the second IM3 crew and a time that puts them in the mix for IM2. The other boat of Helen/Paula/Becks/Clare had an unfortunate close encounter of the barge kind and this pushed them down the field to finish 4th in 9:45 – still ahead of two other crews, despite losing probably half a minute.

Division 3 saw me back in rowing action (having coxed the winning women in the last division). This time a Vet C quad, with Simon making his MKRC competitive debut. A good solid row saw finish last of the four crews on handicap but a very encouraging start. Our other boat out in this division was a J18 quad, another first as this was a composite crew with Hollowell. Sadly, this crew also had a close encounter, this time with the bank and this clobbered their time.

The final division had me coxing again, the victims on this occasion being a Women’s Novice 4+. First time that this crew (Jo/Lou/Terri/Yemin) had raced together and they pulled out a good row to finish 4th equal, beating many other big names. Only Lou’s second race, too. John showed his continuing progress, to finish second in J16 1x.

Overall, a very satisfying day out for the club and me in particular (first coxing pot!). The weather was great – although chilly at first it turned into a really hot sunny day (having to explain tan at work today) and the location really nice. The course is a good one too; a mix of some really nice wide straights and some very challenging corners. Although the boat handling was every bit as good as last year, the marshalling at the start could have been better. To be fair, the marshals weren’t helped by the total ineptness of some crews. Some of my favourites were the two crews desperate to get to the front of our division – only to then block the river when the division started as they were out of order, the school crew who were across the river aimed at another boat when the cox called for “whole crew, normal rowing” (fortunately, the crew ignored him) and the cox determined to fit his four in a space not big enough for a single. Then there were the J14/J15 quads….

Results

Crew	Position
Vet C/D/E 2x	2nd of 7
Vet C/D/E 4x-	3rd of 3
W.IM3 4+	1st of 7
W.IM3 4+	4th of 7
W.NOV 4+	4th= of 10
J16 1x	2nd of 4
J18 2x	3rd of 3
J18 4x-	No competition

The results are now online at Abingdon RC Results

My photos are now on-line at MKRC fotopic site, with others from Big Blade

Training at last!

For the first time in what seems (and actually is) ages, we got out on the water this morning. Although a bit cold at first, there was no wind, no ice and no fog – we’ve lost sessions to all of those so far this year. This was only our second water session this year (plus the races at Northampton).

Encouragingly, we had quite a lot of traffic out on the lake. First session saw no less than five different fours/quads plus a pair and a single (plus the juniors). Nice to see several new or, in the case of Ed, returning faces. Gregg and Andrea had their first taste of a fine boat in a 4+ and Simon went out with us in the quad for his first ever try at sculling. All of them did really well. The second session saw Will braving a single – rather him than me with the water temperature still just off freezing.

Some really good work-outs but boy, the time off showed itself with the number of blisters!!

Now to start practicing for the next event – this will be Bedford Small Boats in April. Really missing the competitions, having had Bedford 4s and 8s canceled because of the flooding on the Ouse and having had to miss Henley as we were snowbound (even if Henley wasn’t).

Wasn’t terribly impressed by Henley – one of the biggest (and probably richest) clubs around and yet no consideration for smaller clubs unable to get to the event. They may be able to write off entry fees if they can’t make an event but that really hurts us. Given that around a third of the entries scratched, I would have thought someone would have had the decency to offer refunds….

Club captain Steve Lawson - ergo in the snow

More of this lunacy on YouTube

Northampton Head 2009

So, to the first event of the New Year. Another good day out for us at Northampton, with the club taking three wins out of seven boats entered. Update: Shows nobody reads this – we actually won FOUR events!! I missed the Mens S3 4+ crew off – sorry guys.

As usual, the event was friendly and boating really well managed – some problems with Division 2 being delayed but this was down to certain crews boating way too late. The “shoe boxes” were a great idea – full marks to whoever thought that one up.

Division 1 started off in nice calm conditions, bright sunshine although very cold. The flat water led to some good rows, with the three winning boats all coming in this division. These were the S3 4x-, the WS3 4+ and, on their first competitive outing, the “handicapped pair” as they were referred to by race control (Paul and Nick in the S3 2-).

By the time Division 2 got underway, the wind had picked up and the river was getting pretty choppy. In this division we had two more women’s fours, one at S3 the other at S4. The S3 boat went off, followed immediately by the S4 crew. The two crews chased each other down the course, with the (younger) S4 boat finally overtaking the S3 ladies after 1200m or so. This despite the great line taken by the outstanding cox in the S3 boat (OK, it was me…).

Only one crew in Division 3, the Men’s S3 4+ boat. For a scratch crew, the performance was pretty good and opens up other possibilities for the rest of the season. And they won!

The Fourth and final division again saw two boats out. These were the Women’s S4 4x- (another scratch crew) and Steve and I in the Vet D 2x-. The Ladies quad went well (better than they expected) but I think the lack of water time caught up with Steve and I (certainly with me!) and our row was disappointing, being overhauled by the following Vet E boat (who had a 13 second handicap advantage) for Guildford. Having seen the results though, it wasn’t quite so bad.

Some good results and performances with some new combinations out. Nice to see another debut today as well, with Lou in her first race in the second WS3 4+ crew.

Summary of results

Crew	Position
S3 4+	1st of 2
S3 4x	1st of 2
WS3 4+	1st of 3
WS3 4+	2nd of 3
WS4 4+	2nd of 4
S3 2-	1st of 7
VetD 2x	2nd of 3
WS4 4x	2nd of 2
WS3 4+	2nd of 3

Splosh!

Training again tonight, again quite good weather. Just as well, as Alex now knows that when told to “hold the boat” while your partner gets in to a double, he means hold it HARD. Not doing so results in a rapid capsize; still, it was warm so we just got on with it. Didn’t do too badly considering it was only Alex’s second time sculling and first time in a double. We even got up to both of us sculling.

The ladies were out in a coxed four, with Oliver coxing for the first time, the senior guys getting in more time in the coxless and a couple of singles.

Finished off with loading the boats for Saturday – nice to see three singles being loaded! These are for the juniors (Curt, Luke and Kieran), so a good turn out for them.

Sunny and no wind – this can’t be a rowing night, surely

What a great evening for training last night. Really bright and sunny (and hot) and virtually a flat calm. It’s amazing how the conditions make you more up for a good training session. We had quite a busy lake, with some serious work being done out there.

There was the Mens’ Coxless Four, carrying on their hard training, gearing up for Henley, the Womens’ Coxed Four that will be racing at Star this week-end, a Novice Eight a double and myself in a single. The Women were certainly pushed through their paces by Clarissa; she’s sussed the crews’ tactics of keeping her chatting at the end of a length, allowing them to drift halfway back. She now makes them back down to get in a full run if she realises what they’re up to. This crew includes Lindy – hard to believe she’s only been rowing three months or so. She already looks the part and is clearly up for the race on Saturday.

The Novice Eight is coming along as well, with five new guys in it. It’s really nice seeing so many new faces (just wonder what’s happened to some of the “old hands” though?).

Jo was out in the double with one of the juniors (“Twin 1″ while “Twin 2″ coxed the Eight) but the heat and being back at school full time after exams exacted its toll…

It was such a nice evening I just enjoyed myself sculling. My hands (and back and legs) are telling me all about it this morning though. Still, all good practice ahead of the week-end.

On that subject, it’s sad to see another local club struggle with their event. After Northampton had to cancel their Regatta due to lack of interest (I believe MKRC were the only club to put in an entry), seeing Star have to cut their event from two days to one is both a shame and quite worrying. Does this show a decline in interest in rowing, people being priced out of events or (worst of all) growing snobbery of clubs not wanting to complete in “small” events? Let me know your thoughts?

Another windy day

What is it with the weather at the moment? We did get out on the lake this morning but it gave us a pretty good idea of what coastal rowing must be like. The shortage of men continues, with only the top four getting out in the new coxless plus yours truly. I tried (briefly) going out in the single but after being blown back onto the bank then into pontoon (after nearly capsizing twice) I figured that an ergo was a better bet. The women got out, again in the eight, including a newcomer, Lindy. She did incredibly well, especially considering the conditions.

The crazy thing is that Thursday night was so calm we were able to get out then, despite it being a bit dark. Will and I were definitely cheating though, practicing in the double – this means we will have some water time ahead of Abingdon Head! It went pretty well, despite a (very) close encounter with a buoy on the last run. The girls got out in the coxless quad but after an even closed encounter with the dam wall, decided to come in. Martin then did some coaching with them until they froze. Still, a good evening, and much, much better than circuits!