As we approach the summer months, regattas and rowing races become more frequent. As well as weekly training sessions, the crews have been put through their paces recently at the Bedford Regatta. Many thanks to coach Mr Pete Muhley for the following report of the 2nd VIII’s race:
‘The 2nd VIII made the journey to Bedford high on confidence following their amazing success at BASHER. The 8 were entered for both the IM3 and Second 8’s events and an early start was required to get the boys up to Bedford in time for their first race. After brushing aside two Oxford Colleges in the first two rounds with their notoriously fast start, the VIII faced their bitter rivals Hampton in the semi-final, which the boys won by half a length. Mr Muhley was delighted with this result and also the manner in which the boys raced. This put the 8 into the final of IM3 8’s, where they would race the South African Schools Rowing Association 8, who had clearly made a longer journey than ourselves! In the final, the boys demolished the South African’s off the start and quickly pulled away from their competitors cruising through to a 2 length win. Following this success, the boys had a matter of winning the 2nd VIII’s competition also. Abingdon were their opponents in this final and, despite a very quick start by Abingdon, the Shiplake seconds reeled in Abingdon, and once they had gotten into a rhythm, the result was never in doubt. This was an excellent day out for the crew, racing in total 5 times and winning all their races. Congratulations to Henry Birdsey, Alfie Sheppard, Ben Pogmore, Charlie Rollet Manus, Marcus Colao, Tom Mottram, Austin Burnand, Matt Godwin and Milo Macmillan. Coach Mr Muhley looking forward to seeing what the boys achieve with National Schools fast approaching.’
Thank you to Ethan Calderia for providing the following report of the J15 VIII’s racing efforts from the regatta:
‘Early Saturday morning on Saturday 7 May, the J15A crew arrived in Bedford, ready for the long day ahead. Our first race was in the novice 8 competition and was against a strong J16 Hampton crew. We managed to hold a lead throughout the race, however we were unable to see the lead to the finish line, losing by 3 feet! This then placed us into the draw for the novice plate event. Our next race was in the J15 competition, and was against Bedford School. Having lost our first race we were more determined than ever to cross the line first. Off the start we were strong and kept our composure, and we were able to see our lead through to the line, winning by a length. Next up was a heat in the novice plate, where we raced Bedford Modern School and won by 3 lengths, leaving us with a semi-final against St Paul’s A.
With two semi-final competitions to contend with and only 10 minutes apart from each other, we stocked up on food and water and prepared ourselves for a battle with St Paul’s. The J15 event was always going to be tough, but finishing just over 2 seconds behind a crew we were over a minute behind seven weeks ago was a definite improvement! After a quick turn we headed back to the start for our semi-final of the novice plate event, where this time we raced St Paul’s B. Off the start we were strong and quickly took control of the race, finishing with a comfortable 2 length lead. Onto the final!
Having finished second at Wallingford regatta just a week before, we did not want the same result. Although our competition from Sir William Borlase School was a year older, we went onto lead from the first stroke and hit the rhythm we were looking for. A victory by one length gave us our first medal of the year and shows that hard training does pay off!
I want to thank the rest of my crew for their efforts throughout the day and in particular Luke Tremayne for his excellent coxing skills! I also want to thank all the coaches for the time and effort that they contributed to a successful day.’
