By Aaron Sims
The students and juniors were out in force for this year’s Durham Regatta. Six crews were racing over the two days with many looking like hopefuls for taking the win. The weather failed to break the pattern of cloud and some sun on Saturday and rain on Sunday which caused everyone to take shelter where they could.
Saturday saw only one crew race in the form of Andy, Tom, Andy, Wilson and special guest cox for the weekend, Ana Yong, enter Novice 4+. The first of four rounds saw the boys racing a local crew from Durham ARC who they dispatched of well with a verdict of two and a half lengths. The second round they were not so fortunate, racing the eventual winners John Snow College, losing by two lengths.
Sunday saw a lot more crews from the club racing. Starting the day saw Matt, Aaron, Andy and Luke enter IM3 4x-. Their first round was against a Northumbria Uni quad who posed no immediate threat with the boys getting an easy win by two and a half lengths after taking the rate down in the latter stages. The final against DUBC was another matter, two of the crew had raced the previous day in Elite 4x- and so were not a crew to be taken lightly. Off the start, DUBC took a slight lead and the JOG boys were able to hold on but the power and evident ability of their opposition saw them begin to pull away and take the victory by two lengths.
The surprise of the day was the outstanding performance from the WIM3 4+ of Caroline, Mary, Annie and Anna with Ana coxing again. The girls had a daunting five rounds to tackle and they went about it admirably. First up, the girls took apart a crew from St Hilde & St Bede College, winning by 3 lengths. Next up was Butler College who the girls took care of by a similar margin and John Snow College was the third to fall, this time by a margin of four lengths. The semi final saw the girls face off against a crew from Durham ARC and gave their all to get across the finish line first, unfortunately DARC appealed to the umpires citing bad steering from the JOG crew, despite Ana taking what can only be deemed a competitive line. This meant the end for the crew who should have made the final but were pleased enough to get as far as they did.
The day closed with Andy, Florian, Wilson and Tom, along with Ana, racing in IM3 4x+ and Laura, Ellie, May and Amy racing in WIM3 4x-. The girls were granted a row over after Leeds RC scratched, they then faced a crew of Durham Uni seniors in the final. The girls gave it a strong attempt and definitely gave the more favoured DUBC crew a run for their money but were unable to catch them. The boys, meanwhile, easily saw off the seemingly veteran Tyne United crew in the straight final to take John O’Gaunt’s only silverware for the weekend. Everyone then made a hasty effort of packing up and getting out of the rain while the boys stayed to pick up their pots at the ceremony, a great end to Florian’s time with the club as he then returned to the motherland.
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