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

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?

Northampton Head

First race of this year, back to the Northampton Head of the Nene. We had a good turnout today, especially from the womens’ squad, with nine rowers.

In the first division we had a Mens S4 4+ boat (Ray, Will, Nick and Graham with Clarissa coxing). They set a good time and overtook a couple of crews. Next down was a Vet C mens’ quad (Steve L, me, Steve I and Pierre-Yves) – we felt this went really well. This was all in this division – which was rowed into a really strong head wind. At times we felt like we were hardly moving!

The second division had a Womens’ S4 8+ – the first time we’ve put out a womens’ eight for a long, long time. This crew included Kathleen in her first event (the rest being Charlene, Steph, Kathleen, Yemin, Terri, Paula, Clare and Karen with Becks coxing). Despite being the first time they’d rowed together, they put in a neat run and were eventual winners! Thanks to Northampton for loaning us the boat. Next down for us, christening our really nice new HG boat, were Steve L and Pierre-Yves rowing at Vet C. The boat rows well and looks seriously cool.

The final division had a womens’ S4 4x boat (Paula, Steph, Clare and Karen), a womens’ N 4+ (Sadie – in her first race, Yemin, Terri and Charlene, again with Becks coxing), Steve L in his single and making our competitive debut, Will and I in a N 2x. Despite some close encounters of the bank kind, we really enjoyed it! Again, thanks to Northampton RC for loaning us two sets of sculling blades.

Although only the one winning crew, there was plenty of potential on show with some good crew options being suggested. It certainly illustrated the growing strength of the women’ squad and the surge in sculling within the club.