On Sunday 3 May the 1st VIII and J16 A’s travelled to Eton Dorney Lake, to compete at the Wallingford Regatta. For the majority of the boys, this 2km race heralded the beginning of the regatta season. Henry Cawthorne provided the following report on the action from the day:
‘The day started out as a grisly one; grey skies and persistent rain hailed the arrival of the crews at Dorney Lake. The first race was the Elite 8+ event- the highest possible category to race at Wallingford. The 1st crew placed well, finishing half a length down on Hampton to come second in the heat, and securing a place in the final with a time of 6 minutes and 44 seconds. This firmly set Hampton as the competition to beat! The final took place a little later in the morning, meaning that the heavy headwind had died down to allow the promise of faster times. The 1st crew led out of the blocks, meaning an even closer finish with Hampton, this time finishing just a canvas down. Despite the intense racing, and miserable weather, the result gave all the boys the confidence boost needed for the many races still to come in the regatta season.
The J18+ followed in the early afternoon, with the 1st team racing against KCS and Latymer Upper to a nail-biting finish. The race picked up considerable speed, and the Shiplake crew beat Latymer to finish in second place: hard work and commitment allowed the boys to pull back from being four lengths down, posting a time of 6:14. At this point, however, the weather took a turn for the worst and the repechage heat was cancelled. This meant that the Shiplake firsts made it into the final, beating Radley and Hampton.
The J16’s arrived to race in the early afternoon, and finished in fourth place in their heat. It was an incredibly fast heat, and their finishing time secured them a place in the final.
At this point, the weather depreciated so much so that all the finals were cancelled, leaving Shiplake having placed a strong marker down against other schools. The day proved successful, and gave all the Shiplake teams a fighting start to the regatta season. The sights of the Shiplake students are now set on the nationals in three weeks time, where all boats will be heavy contenders.'
