Wargrave Club Regatta report 2011

Hi All

With success brings further challenges to the squad as they move up through the ranks to race at higher & tougher levels of competition. Does this bother them? Well of course it does, no one likes the thought of an untested new set of opposition & worse still, the increased potential to lose. Will the team rise to the new challenge? Undoubtedly, & they proved it today.

Weather report first; a mixed bag of worms, overcast, a few showers, blustery & a bit of sunshine. Overall pleasant enough not to put a dampener on proceedings.

Now when it comes to rising to the challenge it was great to see two of our juniors, Lilli & Jessica stepping up again to race in the adult races. One of them, Jessica, nervously coxing for the first time, steered not only an excellent course but took her crew through 2 tough heats to their victory in the Gents Novice Doubles. So congratulations to the crew of Stephen Russell, getting a well deserved reward for perseverance against injury this season, Alex Farrell, more on this star later, & beautifully coxed by Jessica Goldstein in what was our 3rd win on the day in 2 min 18 sec & a slim 1/3 of a length.

First pot of many I'm sure Jess ........

Back to race programme order, win number 1 came from the seasoned pair of Dave 'Stretch' Strassburg & Henry Roffey coxed Lesley Russell with her 'boys' who I think she plans to adopt at the end of the season, move over Stephen. As I said it's getting tougher & none more so than this race, won in 2 min 12 secs & by a mere 2 feet. We'll only see this pairing race once more together at the Gents Junior Double level with Henry now up to Junior-Senior & Stretch one point behind him.

Now jack-in-a-box Lesley was in out of boats like no one else, having at one time 5 races on the trot or was it leap, jumping from coxing to skiffing positions successively. So it was great to see that she got her reward in the Ladies Junior Senior Doubles. Yes I did say Junior-Senior, as this was Caroline Matthews & Lesley Russell's debut at this level & they did us proud, coxed in a very controlled manner by Amanda Leach to win in 2 min 30 secs by 3 lengths.

Now I know it's unfair to laugh but the next pair gave the crowd great amusement. We've all been there & everyone on the bank always has great sympathy for those gutsy enough to have a go at singles on a wiggly course, especially with a cross wind adding to the draw of the dreaded bay. Well it's fair to say that the Red Arrows would have been proud of our all skiff club break in formation from the start requiring a wide angle video shot to capture both ladies. Whilst Lesley battled to avoid the draw of the bay, Sangeetha Iengar decided she might have a go at taking out the next race opposition skiffing up the navigation channel to the start. Well that woke them up. Momentarily rejoining formation the two returned to the racing line before charging at various angles to the finish line. From my position it was very difficult to see who had won with the two of them on opposite banks! The final verdict was a win for Sangeetha in 3 min 4 sec by 3 feet ahead but a whole river between & an entry into the end of year skiffing video 'bloopers' award. Well done Ladies.

A more controlled singles win came next with Henry Roffey taking his last win at Gents Novice, having defeated DSPC in his first heat to beat the Wargrave home opposition by 1/3 of a length in 2 min 27 sec & his second win of the day.

Last but by no means least, Caroline Matthews was none too impressed to have her DSPC opposition scratch in what would have been a straight final. So a 'row over' gave her our 6th point for the day in a time of 2 min 41 secs. You've got them running scared Caroline ......

At most regattas there's always someone who stands out in their performance on the day. Sometimes this results in multiple wins but occasionally they miss out by the narrowest of margins. Yesterday there were several of our team that had outstanding performances but my 'hats off award' goes to Alex Farrell who stepped in to fill one too many entries in a packed multiple-heat day. Many thanks to a great team player.

So where does that leave us on Ormiston Points for the day?

SC - 6, WBC - 7, TVSC - 3, DSPC - 2 & WSPC - 1

And oh look where we are at the top of the league ......... 12 points clear.

Can we get to the new Captain's target for the year 100 points?

It's possible, but it's going to take a converted effort to the end, so no easing up. You can rest assured that DSPC will come out fighting at their home regatta.

Onwards & upwards.

Cheers

Rog