20th October 2007

The junior squad had their first race of the season; and for many either their first head race, their first race in a single, or in the case of Harry Davis, both!

The Twickenham crews went off in divisions three and four, allowing them to learn from the many boats in the earlier divisions who ploughed into Walton bridge.

First up for Twickenham were Colette and Grace in WJ16 doubles (div 3). They started at the back of their class and pulled comfortably away from the LEH WJ15 double, which set off just behind them. Grace took a good line through the bridge in spite of the worrying call of “on red…. No I mean Green!” A good first head result, which saw them finish 8th out of 11. Well done!

Then there were the single sculls, first through was Harry, entered in the very difficult J18 category (basically racing boys that have been rowing about 5 years longer than him). Harry achieved his goal: he stayed on top of the water, got through the bridge and was knackered at the end, well done Harry!

In WJ16 singles, Kate and Phoebe were neck and neck at Walton bridge. Unfortunately for Kate, she listened to her coach’s advice too much (which I doubt she will ever do again) and found herself tangled in a bush, which probably cost her about 30 seconds. Phoebe managed a good line through the bridge, only to have a steering issue herself later on (but that one had nothing to do with the coaches). An excellent performance by both girls, with Kate finishing 6th and Phoebe 10th out of 14.

Finally, Laura in the WJ15 singles, again put in a good performance to finish 14th out of 17 amongst strong opposition.

A good day’s racing overall, so bring on the next one (that’s Kingston Small Boats Head, 24th November, if you’re interested).