October Round up

 

ACTIVE MEMBERS MEETING SUNDAY OCTOBER 30th 10am

Bacon rolls will be available

 

READING SMALL BOATS HEAD 1st October

A 6am start heralded the Reading Small Boats Head foray for a small (or should I say select?) number of Christchurch RC masters rowers - Faye Standley, Jennie Emery, Andy Galloway and Rob Standley. An event free tow up, saw us arrive on time to rig and boat within the allocated timeslot in the first division, with only Andy and Rob competing in the D category double scull (in case you were wondering, ‘D’ stands for “Don’t ask”!). The usual ‘head’ format meant a 4k row down to the assembly area at the start - river conditions were good, but ominous grey clouds were gathering and sure enough a persistent drizzle ensued, persisting for most of the 45minute wait, until at last it was time to turn and paddle towards the start line  and the rain stopped. A strong start saw Andy and Rob make early inroads into the gap between the crew who went off immediately before them and who turned out to be the principal competition in their category; a Lymington crew no less! Toward the middle section they encountered a rowing pair, who were struggling to steer a straight course and made it difficult to pass, eating up precious time - finally Andy navigated a skilful line past and with a feisty ‘push for ten’ the crew were through and back in hot pursuit. The final 1-1.5k of the 3.5k race is more or less straight and seemed to last an age, but the double maintained their 29spm turnover through to the finish, doing their best to preserve length and rhythm. Once on land, the result came in and Lymington had prevailed by 2.4secs.

 

In the spirit of ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join them’; Andy and Rob then partnered up with their nemesis Lymington opposition to race a quad in the next division - a solid race for what was effectively a scratch crew, but unfortunateky with no direct competiion in the MasD category. Nonetheless, rating 31spm for the length of the course, there were some exciting moments whuch once again tested Andy’s renowned steering talents - overtaking 5 other fours of varying classes at one point with 3 boats abreast!

 

Move over the men - the second division also saw our ladies masters get their blades wet with Faye and Jennie racing a MasE double scull. Again, whilst there was a very large entry, they were principally juniors and students and so Faye and Jennie had no direct competition. However enter Lymington once again - immediately following our tenacious ladies were a ladies double, racing at novice, but containing the Hants & Dorset Junior (status) rowing Pairs champions from the coastal season.  Not to be deterred, the Christchurch crew got the bit between their teeth and established a fluid rhythm, using experience and solid technique to push off their opposition. Only in the final 1k straight did the Lymngton girls make any inroad, but at the finish line were still 2 lengths adrift as Faye and Jennie completed a strong race.

 

The sun had come out during the final race, and rain held at bay until on the drive home the heavens opened. We were lucky - all in all a good day!  Rob Standley

Itchen Junior Regatta 8th October

 

Light winds, patchy rain, crowds of wide-eyed first-time competitors and one or two old-hands provided the ingredients for a good day’s racing – and the odd drama – downstream of the 800m long toll-bridge on the lower reaches of the River Itchen.       

     

First-up for CRC was Izzy Langridge contesting the girls’ junior 15 single sculls ‘A’ division.  In effect rowing up a year up as Itchen allows a continuation of last season’s age category.  A quick start and confident performance secured the first win of the day by an impressive margin against a strong opponent from the home club.

Next to line up were Franc Canelas and Sol Hewitt in the junior 15/16 double sculls. This blend of experience and raw enthusiasm produced an impressive turn of speed, too much for first Newport in their heat and then Shanklin in the final.  A creditable performance from this pairing.

The youngsters next in the junior 13 double sculls. A bit of a grudge-match in reality with Will Tate and Tristan Carter taking on a crew from Bournemouth Collegiate School, both previously having rowed for BCS.  Unfortunately, this time, CRC did not come out on top but a good contest none-the-less.

A more up-beat and cheerful crew you couldn’t hope to find. Emma Radford, Josie Cutler, Anna Turner and Fleur Horowitz coxed by Louie Callaghan tried their hand at sculling in the Junior 15 coxed quad division.  This time losing out to a more experienced Poole crew but picking up valuable race experience along the way.  A twist in the tale here though in the form of Izzy Langridge helping out in the Poole crew by subbing for a missing crew member,  therefore representing Christchurch in another winning boat and picking up a well deserved second pot.

The next race and Sol Hewitt back for another crack, this time at junior 14 single sculls. Same result; a very tidy and determined performance getting the better of a good Ryde sculler on this occasion. Two pots for Sol on the day and he should be very proud of himself.

Junior 14 single sculls B division next and quite a daunting prospect for Louie Callaghan taking to the water in a single scull for a first race with only a few months experience behind him.  But for the odd ‘crab’ at inopportune moments Louie would probably have walked away with a win here, in the end losing by only about half a length. Well done Louie.

And now to the blue-riband event, junior 16 single sculls. Five heats here so a lot of work to do to make the final.  CRC ably represented by Franc Canelas.  Two hard races and Franc found himself in the final but now perhaps what was to prove the fatal error.  The format at Itchen is that on winning a race you immediately make your way back to the start for the next round. Franc was in the second semi-final and on coming through a hard-fought contest felt obliged to race back to the start where his relatively rested opponent was waiting on the line. The start official showed no compassion and set the finalists off without delay.  Franc looked a little fatigued in the last round but fought very hard, losing out by about 2 lengths in the end. To take nothing away from the Westover sculler who took a deserved win though.

The J13 boys back again next for the single sculls event. Will Tate and Tristan Carter drawn in separate heats. Not quite the boys’ day though but again both made a good contest of it and will have taken away good experience from this.

Not quite the finale but perhaps one of the most exciting contests of the day, Connor Marshall and Morgan Durward taking up the challenge of the junior 14 double sculls. A couple of minutes on the bank debating who should take bow and who should take stroke probably giving away the level of experience here but the determination to have a good go in their first race could not be faulted.  

Morgan and Connor  – on the left – Leading out the Junior 14 Double Sculls

With about half the race down the boys found themselves leading the pack, between two Ryde crews but, as inevitably happens in such situations, the temptation to try just a little too hard resulted in a couple of ‘crabs’ allowing one of the Ryde boats to edge past.  A spot of wayward steering from Ryde and a resurgence from CRC brought about a collision 150 metres from the line.  An act of ‘kindness’ that should have won Morgan and Connor the ‘Most Courteous Crew of the Day’ award – allowing their opponents a generous couple of lengths re-start before setting of in pursuit – creating a gap that was just too much to close up.  And so a second place by a small margin but well clear of third. Well done to this pair on a great effort but please, not quite so much consideration towards the competition next time!

And so to the final event, the girls’ J15 coxed fours with Emma Radford, Josie Cutler, Anna Turner and Fleur Horowitz (Libby Perry of Westover as coxswain) in their favoured ‘sweep’ event.  By now the wind was beginning to pick-up providing more challenging conditions.  Sadly it was not to be for the girls this time but no lack of enthusiasm and effort to finish strongly with a performance to be proud of.

Well done to all competitors and many thanks to family and friends for providing invaluable support and assistance on the day.  Thanks also to Morgan Durward for sending in his report for inclusion.

ACTIVE MEMBERS MEETING SUNDAY 30th OCTOBER 10am

Yes a 2nd reminder in the same newsletter as it's that important.

Bacon Rolls will be available, all actively rowing or involved in CRC should attend

Weybridge Preview Saturday 22nd October:

The club has a lot of entries for Weybridge this weekend:

Division 1: 10am  WJ18 1x

Division 2: 12pm MasD2x, WMasE 2x, Mas F1x, and 4 WJ161x  

Division 3: 2pm MasF 1x, WIM3 1x, and 3 WJ15 1x

We wish them all luck and race reports and photos!! to follow

Christchurch Rowing Club, Christchurch, BH23 1HU
01202 484964

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