The masters crew were to take on Marlow RC in the WMASC8+ Category. The crew came down early on Sunday morning for a pre-race outing, and took the opportunity to practise winding up to race pace. The wind picked up as we came in and then the rain began to bucket! Fortunately the weather cleared up after the break, and we then started the long process of queuing to race. Eventually we made it to the start line…
The crew paddled off at a rate 26 and then built above race pace as we crossed the start line, before settling on a solid 32. We then proceeded to follow our race plan, aiming to maintain technique whilst putting down the wattage! In particular, the rowers responded excellently to calls for suspension and good posture. The crew also had a good wind at the end, crossing the line at rate 36. We rowed our own race and did not need to overtake or give way to other boats – relatively peaceful from coxswain Kitty’s point of view! The crew completed the course in 12:39.72 minutes, with the leading time in our category.
The race was excellent preparation for the upcoming Vets Head, and we look forward to training over the coming weeks.