Following a successful Summer time trials series, Isle of Wight rowing clubs once again combined to establish close, competitive racing on the River Medina.
Over 40 crews took part in breezy conditions on Saturday 30th October, with competitors ranging from 11 to 60 years of age, in this first race of the Winter series.
For some, this represented their first taste of competition – over a challenging 2000 metre course.
The fastest crew of the day and winners of Division 1 were the Shanklin J16 Quadruple sculls of Ashton Shuttleworth, Arlo Adds, Carter Horrix and Ollie Hatch (Stroke), with the Shanklin Double scull of Yas Wright and Kayleigh Batchelor winning the second division.
However, there were plenty more fine performances across the board, notably when boat type was taken into account to ensure fairer comparisons. Single scullers Joel Smith, Dan Sanderson, Kayleigh Batchelor and Rachael Debenham put in some particularly impressive times.
Masters racing becomes increasingly competitive with some great racing from all Island clubs in the river double sculls, with Shanklin’s Gary Burch and Kev Faithfull coming out on top on this occasion.
The series aims to give opportunities to all ages and experiences and continues to build in size and popularity. A special mention to sculler Boris Hare of Newport who coped admirably with the conditions and length of course, in his first race.
