So its time for my final email newsletter with a regatta report from Oxford. It was a weekend of sunshine, a couple of showers and a few dramas. All of which make the occasion a rich rowing experience.
Oxford City Royal Regatta + Oxford City Sprints
Saturday
Nov 1x Ellie got to the final, by beating Putney Town Easily , then Twickenham in 3/4 length. IM3 4+ A Novice squad Four put in a good performance against Furnivall. IM2 8+ – An Eight with a mix of ladies from Novice, Happy Monday and Intermediate squads. They lost out to Oxford City in the heat, by a mere length. A great performance for a scratch crew in a higher category. Captain in waiting Katy B (Mas.AB.1x) missed out in a very close race against Llandaff by 1/2 length.
Special mention to Nov 2x Kate and Sharon who completed four rounds winning convincingly in each round, getting to the final. An exhausting seven races on the day!
The Eight raced in an exciting two rounds of the 350m sprints, losing out to eventual winners, Green Templeton in the semi.
Sunday
It was time for the sun to come out and 500m racing. Nov 1x Ellie just missing out against Hertford College. We organised a substitute cox and rower from HSBC so the IM3.4+ could row as Suzannah was stranded in Guernsey and Katy B was stuck on the train. Unfortunately we didn’t identify an issue with the steering until after the race, however despite the steering issue and potentially a missing fin, once the crews had untangled they made a great recovery!
Special mention to Ellie who negotiated with Race Control and the W.MasBC 2x opposition to get the race moved whilst we waited for Katy’s delayed train. Katy and I were thrilled to win the semi against (much taller) oppo from Wallingford by 1 and 3/4 lengths. The final was lost against locals Falcon who were given a rather generous 3 sec head start…
In a reciprocal arrangement with HSBC, Katy B coxed and Lucia subbed in the HSBC 350m sprint eights. All very close races which were expertly coxed and won by the composite crew. So BBL kept its tradition and brought back some 2 pint pots! What a great end to a weekend of racing.
And finally…
Its time to pass on my Captain’s email address to Katy B. However, I will still be very much involved in the club as Deputy Captain (shared with Jenny) and Chair of the Boathouse Exec which will keep me busy I’m sure.
Thank you to all of you for your great feedback my leadership of the club over the last two years. It has been challenging, but nevertheless, hugely rewarding.
Sarah