Marlow Head 2009

Some great results today, despite some awful weather conditions at Dorney Lake. Top of the pile were Tim and I, winning the Vet Doubles but good showing from the other four crews as well. The First Division went off in clear, calm, sunny weather; by Division Two it was torrential rain and gusting winds. It calmed a bit for Division Three with light rain but some vicious squalls.

Womens IM2 4+
A very impressive row in Division 1 from the ladies crew saw them finish in second place in this category, losing by just 1.8 seconds to the CORC first boat. This was a great result, beating some very big names, such as Marlow, Eton Excelsior and a second CORC boat. The losing margin all the more galling as they haven’t been able to train together for several weeks!

Womens IM3 4+
Rowing in the second Division, this was a truly horrible introduction to competition for Andi and Frances with driving rain and high winds. Despite this, the crew put in a really good performance, finishing fourth of seven. A really good start for the two new girls.

Womens Novice 4+
Again, racing in the second division, the Novice crew rowed well to come fourth in the category, despite a couple of boat stopping crabs.

Senior 2-
Nick and Tim’s stated aim was to finish the course! Rowing at Senior level as this was a late entry, they achieved far more than their minimum aim (despite one crab that they thought was going to have them in) and put in a competitive row to finish a really creditable second!

Vet 2x-
Only Tim and my second race but what a cracker. We swapped around with me stroking and Tim steering and this worked much better. Despite strong cross winds and a couple of big squalls we clicked and put in a really strong race to come away with the win in the Vet 2x- category. Actually feel that rowing on Caldecotte Lake gave us an edge here, being used to dealing with seriously nasty conditions.

Overall
Despite a REALLY early start and a lot of doubt about whether the event would go ahead, this was a truly successful day for the club. Coming away from Marlow with a win, two seconds and two fourths shows the progress we are making. Maybe, just maybe, people will stop being surprised at us winning events (the guy handing out medals couldn’t believe it!) and start taking us seriously.

Pretty good event and reasonable marshalling. Just a pity that they handed out pretty tacky medals rather than proper pots to the winners (can’t drink from a medal and at £9 a seat a bit cheap!).

Just be warned – watch out if Guildford are around and hang onto your trestles!!!!!! Just joking and you were good fun, guys! Look forward to seeing you up at MKRC as we hope to be holding our first Regatta next May. Watch this space!

Finally, thanks to Karen for jumping in at the last minute to trailer as the temporary repair to my car failed on Saturday evening.

Photos on-line already at my MKRC photo site.

Results now up on the Marlow RC site

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

Upper Thames Head 2009

Yuk. The only way to describe the conditions for yesterday’s Upper Thames Head. Heavy rain and driving winds for the first division with at least the rain holding off in the second division. This made for a very hard race, with a strong, gusting head/cross wind and a fast stream running.

W.IM1 4+
Although really an IM3 level crew, the ladies put in a strong performance in the worst of the weather in Division 1. Not surprisingly finishing last in their section, it was still a good time.

W.IM2 4+
Swapping Becks and Yemin from rowing to coxing was the only change for the IM2 boat in the second division. Again, still and IM3 crew, they did well to finish sixth of eight crews. Much praise for Becks’ coxing in this one, avoiding the carnage by Temple Island

IM3 2x-
Still gaining experience in the double, Josh and Paul found the rough conditions very hard going, finishing well behind the other IM3 double. They weren’t helped of course by the coming together with another crew…

Vet D 2x-
Despite coming together with another crew (yes, we did clash with Paul and Josh, but only as we were forced over into them by an UTRC double who needed at least half of the river to pass us) Steve and I put in a good row. The rough water allowed us to overhaul Paul and Josh off the start although they then came back at us as we tired and the water calmed by Temple Island. On the final straight, we managed to push past them again as their lack of experience told – in the conditions they had been tensing their arms so much they could hardly feather at the end! We finished well off the UTRC double, although losing time because of the coming together with the other two didn’t help.

Overall, very hard racing in very poor conditions. This one is a real test of endurance and technique.

Must comment on the (lack of) organisation. Firstly, the parking arrangements had cars parked nice and close to the boating area and the trailers parked about half a kilometre away; not fun carrying boats and blades that distance, weaving in between parked cars. Then, the marshalling (especially in division one) was almost non-existent and finally, there was the game of spot the start post! Considering this is one of the most expensive heads and UTC are a “big” club, not impressed. Oh, and the marshall shouting at Paul and Josh to come in from the far bank when we were being pushed across into them; had they done so, we would have had a major collision. I guess there’s no way they are going to yell at one of their own crews…

Photos are already on-line at the MKRC photo site and results are up at the UTRC results page

Pairs Head 2009

It doesn’t sound much, just 4k but it really is a long, long way. Yesterday saw Steve and I haul ourselves down to London again for the annual Pairs (not Paris as some would have…) Head. For those that don’t know it, this is a 4,000 meter course on the Thames, starting at the Boat Race finish post and going downstream to Hammersmith.

We boated this year from Tideway Scullers, right next to the start line. Conditions were, as they say, interesting. The wind was reasonably brisk and with a strong tide running, just keeping position before the start was quite an effort. The usual mayhem and chaos took place while waiting – certain London crews obviously DO own the river and believe looking where they are going is up to the others, not themselves. One crew in particular managing to hit at least three other crews while doing a race piece into the on-coming traffic. Add to this the impatient crews determined to get in front – even though their start position is down the field – and a good afternoon’s entertainment had by the bystanders.

The race wasn’t one of our best; starting midway through the Vet D group we were pretty quickly closed down and passed by three other competing boats. After this we settled a bit and paced with the rest of the group, through some very rough water (bit like Caldecotte Lake though!). However, it was an achievement and we didn’t finish last in the Vet D category, so can’t be too disappointed. Overall, we finished 8th (of 9) in Vet D and 261st (of 374 starters).

Rowing back at the end is just sheer Hell. Having done the 4k at racing speed to turn and then go back the whole 4k against the tide isn’t funny. Especially with one double so desperate to go past us (the race is over guys!) that despite several calls to “take a look” they finally hit us. What a pair of total muppets!

Even this wasn’t enough to put a damper on the day though. Hopefully we’ll be back again next year; with any luck with both of us feeling 100% this time.

Photos on-line at the MKRC Fotopic site and race results at The Pairs Head site

Bedford Autumn Fours & Small Boats Head 2009

Bit of a funny day, really. We came away without any wins (unusual) but with most of the crews happy with their rows and no real sense of disappointment. For the Womens’ squad, it was very much a case of mixing and matching, with a total of three IM2 4+ and two IM3 4+ boats going out. It also saw the Vet Quad and Double back in action plus a début for a new pairing of Josh and Paul as a Novice double. After some time out, the Juniors were also present, putting out four boats.

W.IM2 4+
Three crews out in this category, showing the increasing standard and depth of the Womens’ squad. The top placed crew came second, beaten by the St. Neots crew they’d pushed into second the previous week by just eight seconds. The other two boats finished 9th and 10th of the ten entries but still posted very respectable times.

W.IM3 4+
Third and fifth for the two boats at this level, although the winning Cantabs crew were clearly ahead of all of the other crews.

Nov 2x-
First time out for Josh and Paul saw an encouraging performance which put them fourth overall but the highest placed club crew. They even prevented the dominance of Bedford School taking the top four places, despite a couple of close encounters with hard stuff on the edge of the river…

IM3 4x-
Rowing at IM3 rather than Vet C, a good (probably best to date) performance by the Quad put us third of four, although the winning Bedford School crew were streets ahead. The quad sat midway between the two Guildford crews, again showing progress, just three seconds behind the crew in second place. Big plus – we were the fastest MK crew of the day!

Vet D 2x-
Initially disappointed when we looked at the results as we were last of four, but then realised that no handicapping had been applied (and the category was Vet B-D), we were only eight seconds or so behind Paul and Josh AND we beat the juniors, so not so bad after all. Don’t know about Steve but I was absolutely shattered at the end of this one (my second and his third race of the day)

Mixed Vet C 2x-
Only the second outing for Steve and Clare and a reasonable time, finishing second behind St. Ives. No steering dramas today, either!

J18 2x-
Ryan and Tim still learning the ropes, so no surprise that they finished well down, especially after a couple of unscheduled stops. Much more to come from them, I’m sure

J18 1x
Three of the juniors out in this category, with John and Tim showing a big improvement, placing in the middle of the division. Ryan’s put in a good effort but his lack of race experience left him trailing the others

Results, inevitably, on-line almost immediately, are at Bedford RC

My photos from the day now loaded as well at the MKRC Fotopic site

St Neots Head 2009

The first Head race of the winter saw yet another great performance by the ladies, with the WIM2 4+ taking the honours. Despite three of the crew suffering from heavy colds and rowing at IM2 for the first time, their strength and technique was enough to take the win by five seconds over the nearest crew. Considering this was a St Neots boat on their own water that contained some GB Juniors, this was a seriously impressive result. Maybe people will finally take notice and stop being surprised at being beaten by MK?

The other two boats out didn’t fare as well, the second WIM2 4+ boat being a bit off the pace and Steve and Clare making their racing début in a double had a few steering problems that put them well down the field.

Results on line here, and photos now up at MKRC Fotopic site

No other boats today as no competition for the Quad or Steve and I. Closest I got to racing was coxing the second ladies boat; now I know why my kids get so grumpy when they’re not competing but just watching…

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

Bedford Spring Fours & Small Boats Head 2009

A bit of a mixed day over at Bedford yesterday, for the Spring Fours and Small Boats Head. Somehow, Bedford RC managed to conjure up a really nice spring day, bright and sunny and virtually no wind. The river conditions were pretty near perfect, flat with very little stream running.

We put in a gratifyingly large entry, no less than sixteen crews being entered. These came from all the squads and had a good mix of sweep and scull, singles, doubles, pairs and fours.

Top results of the day came in the Women’s Intermediate 3 Coxed 4s. Not only did we win the category, but also came second, sixth and eighth (out of ten entries). Really good stuff, illustrating the strength of the ladies squad. The other results were:

IM2 4+ 6th (of 11)
J18 4x 5th (of 5)
J16 2x 4th (of 6)
IM2 2- 3rd (of 4)
J18 2x 4th (of 4)
VetD 2x 3rd (of 5)
J16 1x 5th and 7th (of 11)
VetD 1x 3rd (of 4)
J18 1x 8th and 9th (of 9)
Nov 2x oh dear….

Overall, pretty good and showing some good progress by the various crews. The Junior results look a bit disappointing in some events, but these crews included a couple of guys in their first ever events, so not unexpected. The IM2 4+ crew may have rowed together once before but I wouldn’t swear to it; certainly Rick hadn’t been in any boat for about six weeks, so their row (which they described as “chunky”) was pretty impressive.

The Novice 2x of Will and I failed to finish the course. In fact, we didn’t get past the first bridge… and found out the hard way that a bridge is an awful lot harder than our boat. I managed to get the line all wrong and we hit a pillar at race speed; this resulted in a very interesting new shape for my bowside rigger and left us limping back to Bedford Rowing Club to get out and carry the boat back to the trailer park. Not a good race. And on my birthday too.

Double rigger after losing argument with bridge

A special mention for Jo – having put in two hard races she then stepped in for a third when Terri was unable to row through injury.

As usual, Will Everitt at Bedford has excelled himself and the full results are already online here. My photos are also now on line at mkrc.fotopic.net and for the juniors at mkrowing-juniors.fotopic.net

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

Cambridge Head2Head/Regatta

Our first time out at this event saw a couple of wins and some very interesting racing in the Regatta. It was a long, long day, leaving the club house at 6:00 a.m. to get to Cambridge in time to boat for Division 1 at 8:30. The first crew off was the Women’s S3 8+ crew in the Head2Head – a mere 2.6km paddle down the Cam. Trouble is, you then turn round and do it again in reverse. Some of those corners are seriously wicked as well. The next crew out was the coxless quad; this started out as a Vet B crew but as one of us had to drop out we shifted to a S3 4x and added our nominal vet male (actually, a 17 year old female…). Still, it worked as we posted the fastest time for a quad!!! OK, we were the ONLY quad, but it still sounds good.

On to the regatta in the afternoon. We had a prime view, boating from Pembroke College BC (courtesy of knowing the VC!), of the sheer mayhem at the start. Side by side racing here is not for the faint hearted, with the first half dozen races resulting in as many clashes, with large numbers of enforced crabs. Still, great fun if you were watching.

Our first crew in the regatta was the Women’s Novice 4, who won their first round against CCRC. Having watched previous races, our ladies were ready when the inevitable happened and the two crews clashed blades almost straight off the start. They held on well and were sure of the win when CCRC crabbed near the end. This race and the exertions of the Head2Head caught up with them in the final, when they lost out to Cambridge 99’s.

Next up were the S3 Quad – thanks to the Rob Roy crew who agreed to the status change from Vet. This was a really hard race but our crew finally ran out winners by 1/3 length. Not bad for a crew that hadn’t rowed together before and had one crewman in his first ever sculling race.

Last crew of the day were Steve and I as Men’s Vet C 2x. Not a good race, with me losing count of the number of crabs and fluffed strokes over the 400m course.

It was certainly an interesting, event packed day. First off, I’d told Graham the wrong time to meet at the club house, so he had to drive over, having got to a deserted club house an hour after we’d gone. Then Terri and Charlene arrived late, having waited for the trailer (which was in front of them). Next drama was putting the eight in the river, when Karen noticed a rather large amount of water coming in through the join – those wing nuts seemed like a good idea at the time, but you can’t tighten them enough.

Later on, when going to rig the four, we found we’d remembered the boats and blades, but there was a marked shortage of riggers. Real thanks to Champions of the Thames for loaning us a boat, allowing the girls to race (cueing great celebrations from Charlene when she found it was stroke rigged instead of our usual bow rigging, meaning she didn’t need to stroke).

We even made the local press as well in the LBO
and the MK Citizen