By Aaron Sims
For a change in scenery and to enjoy the end of the regatta season as much as possible, nine members of the club saddled up and headed down south for the bank holiday weekend. A mixture of JOG crews in size, competition and experience littered the course in order to see how the southern competition fared.
Gloucester’s 750m regatta on the perfectly straight stretch of canal by their boathouse was the first to be faced and the first crew from Lancaster to tackle it was the Mixed IM3 Coxless Quad of Rich, Laura, Becky and Steve Holmes. This being Rich’s first sculling race and the first race altogether for Laura and Becky, it would be interesting to see how they would get on against their competition, fellow north-westerners Liverpool Victoria. Despite a fault in the steering leading to a hazardous start that saw the quad veer into the other lane and almost hit the bank, the crew composed themselves again and took after their competition, hacking away at their early lead with each stroke. This valiant effort was unfortunately not enough and the crew’s racing was over for the weekend.
Following this, Rich got back on the water with Drew in the IM3 Double to race a crew from Twickenham. A strong race ensued considering the limited time the boys had together in the boat and a push to the line meant the result was never obvious but they didn’t manage to overcome their opposition and another crew was done for the day. Drew then got straight back on the water for his IM3 Single head, once again against Twickenham. Another strong push saw Drew come so close to avenging the double result but it was too late.
Next up was the first sculling race for Seb and Matt, two new members from LUBC, joining the club over the summer. Having had a couple of weeks sculling, no-one knew what to expect of these boys and hopes were high as they took to the water against Burton Leander (albeit taking to the water taking a while with Matt not wanting to get in the boat for some reason). The boys worked hard and gave a good effort but were unfortunately no match for the opposition who sculled to an easily victory.
With all crews but one having raced, it was up to Aaron and Matt to try and earn something shiny for the club. Having entered both IM1 and IM2 Doubles, the former saw no other entries and thus the boys had only one event for the day. The draw meant that JOG had a bye to the final to face the winners of Walbrook and Liverpool Victoria, a crew that Aaron and Matt had raced before and knew to be strong competition. Surprisingly, the Vics boys were beaten by a couple of lengths and thus the JOG crew were worried that their ‘Unbeaten in the North but unsuccessful in the South’ streak would continue. The crews lined up at the start and took off…straight into each other. In order to avoid assorted obstacles that lie on each side of the course near the start, both crews had the same idea of steering towards the middle and ten strokes in saw a blade clash. Lancaster composed themselves quickly and managed to find a good rhythm within a couple of strokes, pushing away to a two length lead which they held to the finish despite a strong push from Walbrook resulting in Aaron and Matt’s first win in the South. A great end to the day for them, especially as it was Matt’s birthday.
Following this, the JOG troupe packed up and headed down the road to Ross-on-Wye for the next instalment of racing. Having set up the tents, the group then headed to town for a pub dinner and began to enjoy the festivities that were taking place in and around the club with some deciding to go for a night out in town, returning through the early hours of the morning in dribs and drabs.
Drew, having had a good night’s sleep, was the first race of the day in his IM3 Single. Having got himself ready and ensured he was good to go, he tore down the 750m course, hell bent on making up for the day before. He was a good three lengths up on his opposition from Evesham with less than 100m to go when disaster struck,. His blade caught a buoy marking the two lanes and the shock and power with which he caught it caused him to lose the blade altogether, sending him in the drink and give him a bath to accompany his earlier shower as the other single paddled past. Matt and Aaron who had been watching from the bank were speechless watching the whole thing happen as it was so quick and unexpected. Drew climbed back in the boat and rowed over the line.
Drew then had another shot at glory, once again in the IM3 Double with Rich (who, for the record, had only got in from his night at a reported 6am and was most likely still drunk). The crew raced against a double from Wiltshire Scullers and despite their current ailments and racing in the more difficult inside lane, Drippy and Boozy only succumbed to defeat by a mere two lengths. Rich then went back to bed.
Matt and Aaron took to the water, also against Wiltshire Scullers, for the first of a possible three rounds in the IM2 Doubles. Despite the other crew’s considerable size, the Lancaster double cruised to a three length victory, progressing to the semi final against Evesham. In this race, the JOG boys were pressed hard through the first stages of the race, facing a strong start from their opposition. They stretched out their rowing and began to push away in the last 200m when the Evesham crew’s steering went awry and they began encroaching into Aaron and Matt’s lane forcing a blade clash and their subsequent disqualification.
Following this race, Aaron and Matt had the daunting task of the IM1 Double final against an intimidating composite crew from Oxford Brookes and Henley, the former of whom, it had been made aware, had won IM1 Doubles at this years Metropolitan Regatta, thus this crew came with both the name and the calibre. Aaron and Matt felt they were done for. They took to the water, lined up and the race began.
To their surprise, the Lancaster crew lost no ground following the starts and were seemingly starting to move away, this was unexpected and so the boys pressed on. To Aaron and Matt’s great annoyance, two mixed eights were rowing up the course to the start and failed to stop and let the race pass as the marshal was calling for them to. This sent waves of wash that only affected the JOG crew and set them back a little. Despite this, Lancaster still had their noses in front as they passed the crowds of spectators who sensed the close battle ensuing on the water and were cheering loudly. With 200m to go, both crews took up the rate for a final push and the composite crew got the better of it, crossing the finish line no more than one canvas ahead of Lancaster. A truly fantastic race and the second ever defeat for Aaron and Matt in the double.
Next up was Seb and Matt. The boys had been psyching themselves up all day and, having had a bye through to the final, felt ready to take on their opposition from Exeter. The boys looked strong paddling up to the start but as they were lining themselves up, the start marshal began the race and Exeter, who were ready, took off leaving the unprepared Lancaster to panic into a start. They were unable to catch the crew who had amassed a substantial lead and cruised to the finish line. If anything this will prove to be some valuable race experience for the boys in that they will approach the start with more efficiency next time.
Once again, the last race of the day for Lancaster was Aaron and Matt in the IM2 Doubles final. The crew were racing against a double from Wycliffe College in Stroud who had seen off a double from Gloucester in their semi to progress. This crew was familiar as Wycliffe’s head coach Jonny who was in the crew, is a friend of Aaron’s and thus he knew it would be a fun race however it turned out. It so happened that Aaron and Matt delivered some of their best rowing of the weekend, opening up a lead of two lengths from the start, sitting on the opposition to hold that lead right to the end.
The weekend proved to be successful for the club and a great bank holiday getaway for all the members who attended, getting some experience of southern racing and relaxing in the sunshine. With Aaron leaving Lancaster in two weeks time, it was also a fantastic way to end his last regatta season with the club, rounding off a very successful track record in one of Lancaster’s most successful crews of the season.
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