By Aaron Sims
No-one could have asked for better weather as the crews from Lancaster John O’Gaunt, the Lancaster School’s Rowing Association and the Lancaster University Boat Club amassed at the Skerton Boathouse for the 2011 Red Rose Regatta. With the Lancaster Royal Grammar School failing to send crews for the fourth year in a row, the Ralph Cup would be a row over and the Francis Russell Trophy would be settled between JOG and LUBC.
12 crews took part in the event.
JOG sent 4 crews:
- ‘JOG 2x A’ consisting of Matt and Aaron
- ‘JOG 2x B’ with Oliver and Drew
- ‘JOG 4x-‘ with Florian, Steve, Wilson and Tom
- ‘JOG 4x+’ with Phil, Martin, Phil, Glenn and Dylan.
LSRA’s 5 crews were:
- ‘LSRA W4x-‘ with Laura, May, Ellie and Amy
- ‘LSRA 1x’ with Luke
- ‘LSRA 2x A’ with Ben and Kieran
- ‘LSRA W4x+’ with Rhianne, Chloe, Jess, Hannah and guest cox Anna
- ‘LSRA 2x B’ with Paul and Oliver
LUBC sent:
- ‘LUBC 4+’ with Owen, Dan, Stu, Alex and Ruth
- ‘LUBC 8+’ with John, Ash, Matt, Seb, Greengay, Mark, Simon, Michael and Liz
- ‘LUBC W4+ B’ with Kirsty, Alex, Debs, Jess and Ollie
- ‘LUBC W4+ A’ were unfortunately forced to scratch as Lydia was suffering with a back injury preventing the crew from competing.
The template of the event would involve a processional time trial for each crew down the 800m course from the aqueduct to the boathouse adjacent finish line. The 12 crews met above the start line and after a rolling start presided over by Alice and Jenny, Sarah and Jess recorded the times at the start and Annie at the finish. Steve then processed the times to give both handicaps and an order of racing. The top 8 crews would then proceed to Division 1 and a knock out tournament to race for the ‘Cup’ while the bottom 4 would proceed to Division B to race for the ‘Plate’. Racing the time trial saw Deb’s from LUBC hurt her already injured wrist, thus Jenny from the W4+ A agreed to sub in.
First up was the JOG 2x A vs. the JOG 4x-. The double set off with a 8.4 second lead and, after a quick start, extended their lead to a strong finish. Next was the JOG 2x B vs. the LUBC 8+, a very close race with the 8+ closing in on the 2x after a 20.4 second head start. The double held their own however to cross the line first. Luke’s LSRA 1x was next to race with a 17.6 second head start over the LUBC 4+ and managed to hold on to a close win. The final race of the first round saw the LSRA W4x- race the LUBC W4x- B who had a 4.2 second lead. The 4x- moved through the 4+ midway through the course to take the win.
In the first round of division 2, the two LSRA 2xs raced head to head and after a quick start, the aptly named ‘A’ crew beat the ‘B’ crew to progress to the Plate final. Meanwhile the JOG 4x+ managed to overcome the 22.4 second start that the LSRA 4x+ had to meet the 2x in the final.
The second round of division A saw a couple of grudge matches take place. With potential over the summer of a crew involving Aaron, Matt, Drew and Olly; the JOG doubles race was a fierce contest which would suggest the pecking order over summer. The starts were close and there was an overlap until around halfway through the course where Matt and Aaron took it up a gear to win by 3 lengths. Next LSRA faced off against LSRA as the 1x raced the W4x-. With Luke getting a 2.4 second head start, he was able to hold off the girls for most of the course but when they took the rate up for the finish, he was unable to respond and conceded defeat. The JOG 4x- was next up racing the LUBC 8+. One of the closest races of the day saw the 4x- clutch onto the win by the smallest of margins as the bow balls were fighting for the lead in the last few strokes of the course. The last of the semi-finals saw the LUBC 4+ and W4+ face off and despite a strong row and a 22.4 second head start, the guys managed to move through the girls swiftly to win.
The finals of division B were up next with the LSRA 2x racing the JOG 4x+. An exceptionally close finish with a blade clash crossing the line allowing Kieran and Ben to take the vets by a bow ball. Separating the crews was a different matter. The LSRA 4x+ faced the LSRA 2x B in their final race and managed to row to a comfortable win, settling the finish order for the division.
Due to mix ups in break times to load up on the BBQ and buffet on offer in the clubhouse and people wanting to watch some racing as well as competing, the event took a little longer than expected. Combined with the club order being conclusive at this point led to LUBC heading back early and the last race of the day was the first place final between JOG 2x A and LSRA W4x-. The girls got a 10.6 second head start and were snappy off the line. Matt and Aaron shot off the line in hot pursuit, coming level with the quad with 200 metres to go. Disaster struck as a loose collar on Matt’s sternside blade caused him to nearly lose the oar altogether, he managed to hold on as the 2x took a 2 length lead to win the event.
By the time all crews were off the water, the BBQ and buffet had been stripped bare (much to Aaron’s annoyance who didn’t get a single bite of it). The event however proved a success with the format proving worthy to adapt for the future and the Francis Russell being retained by John O’Gaunt for another year. With all 3 clubs set to race at Durham Regatta next weekend, it is hoped the race experience will prove useful and as much silverware as possible returns to the Lune based clubs.
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