Rowers from Newport, Shanklin Sandown and Ryde Rowing Clubs delivered strong performances across the BTC Southampton and Woolston Regattas last weekend, securing multiple victories and podium finishes in a highly competitive double-header event.
Newport Rowing Club delivered a strong performance at the double header weekend of Southampton Regattas, securing multiple victories at BTC Regatta on Saturday (26th July) and Woolston Regatta on Sunday (27th July).
Saturday’s racing at BTC started on a high with the J16 mixed quad of Chris Clarke (cox), Fiona Brookes, Freddie Hollis, River Szawiel and Lottie Pettitt (Shanklin) taking the win in the first race of the day. The success continued with an early final in the Junior Status Open four, where Mariana Hare (cox), Boris Hare, Connor Garner, Nathaniel Hamilton and Eric Williams held off a strong challenge from Southampton to claim victory by a length.
The Women’s Novice Crew started strongly but were hindered when one member came off her sliding seat mid-race, leaving them to finish third. Both the Junior Pair and the Open Masters four also secured third-place finishes. Newport’s Open Novice crew of Fiona Brookes (cox), Freddie Hollis, Max Gasper and Vlad Ignatenko earned a deserved win after a string of near misses, dominating their race to win by three lengths. Their victory secured immediate promotion to Junior Status for the following day.
Sunday’s Woolston Regatta saw the Junior crew take on Southampton in a decisive battle for the season’s championship lead. After controlling their heat against BTC and Ryde, Newport once again triumphed over Southampton in the final with a commanding three-length lead. With two races remaining, they now hold a slender one-point advantage over Southampton ahead of next weekend’s Itchen Regatta.
The newly promoted Junior crew made a promising debut at the higher level with a fourth-place finish in their heat. The Women’s Novice crew finished third in their final, while the Masters 50 crew rowed strongly to take second place behind BTC
Victories for Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club…
The standout result came from the Ladies Junior Pair of Anna Scott and Esme Walters, who claimed victory at Woolston Regatta after finishing third at BTC the previous day. Their win came in a rerow following a clash after the initial start. From the restart, the pair took the lead and powered ahead to win by two lengths.
The Ladies Novice Four of Chloe Walker, Theodora Travers, Anna Visser, Rose Collier and cox Esme Walters also impressed, leading the race after a strong buoy turn and extending their advantage to secure a two-length victory. Their success earned them immediate promotion to H&D Junior status.
The Girls J16 Quad, featuring Anna Visser, Summer Marvin (Southampton ARC), Lottie Pettitt and Rose Collier, overcame Lymington ARC to win their event, while the Mixed J14 Quad of Alex Collier, Olivia Mumberson, Martha Eggleton, Digby Ridgwell and cox Paul Gamble also secured a win.
In the J16 sculling races, Rose Collier achieved a close second in the girls’ event, and Digby Ridgwell finished fifth in a field racing athletes two years older, marking his first experience in coastal competition. Esme Walters placed third in the Ladies Novice Sculls, while the Boys J16 Quad of James Travers, Sam Meadowcroft, Fin Diffey, Isaac King and cox Paul Gamble finished fifth.
The Men’s Junior Four, consisting of Huseyin Yolcu, Sam Meadowcroft, Isaac King, Fin Diffey and cox Esme Walters, also took fifth place. This result is considered a strong achievement given their recent promotion from Novice status.
Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club will look to build on this success at upcoming regattas in the H&D series.
The highlight of Saturday’s BTC Regatta for Ryde Rowing Club came in the Men’s Novice Sculls, where Isaac Gibson secured a hard-fought victory in a close race.
Ryde also fielded two Open Junior Senior Four crews, with the “A” crew of Will Hall, Paddy Kearney, Joe Roberts, Charlie Watts and cox Mai Reed finishing second, while the “B” crew of Isaac Gibson, Ben Robotham, Yogi Ashworth, Lars Groothuis and cox Harry Watts took third place.
In other events, the Open Coastal Junior Four of Ben Robotham, Joe Bird, Yogi Ashworth and Lukas Georgiou with cox Mai Reed placed fourth. The Ladies Senior Fours, racing above their status, performed well to finish fourth, while the Women’s Coastal Four of Abi Locke, Fiona Owen, Alexis Owen and Emily Kellerman with cox Ruby Read were narrowly beaten into second place.
There were also solid results in the sculling events, with Ben Sanderson placing fifth in the Open Coastal Junior Sculls and Stella Baisley finishing fourth in the Ladies Novice Sculls final.
At Sunday’s Woolston Regatta, the Open Junior Senior “A” crew repeated their strong form, taking second place with Dale Buckett making his first appearance of the season. The unchanged “B” crew again finished third in their final. The Open Coastal Junior Four, with Ruby Read coxing, secured second place in their heat before finishing fourth in the final.
The Women’s Coastal Four “A” crew placed third in their heat before another second-place finish in the final, while the Women’s Coastal Junior “B” crew of Aby Bird, Demi Cranham-Ede, Eva Gordon and Maggie Sanderson with cox Mai Reed finished fourth in their heat.
In the Men’s Coastal Junior Pair, Joe Bird and Max Locke took fifth place. Isaac Gibson, unable to repeat his win from the previous day, finished third in the Novice Sculls final, while Stella Baisley matched her Saturday performance with another fourth place. Alexis Owen came sixth in the J16 Girls Sculls, and in the J16 Boys Single Sculls Joe Bird secured second with Max Locke in fifth.
Ryde Rowing Club also fielded mixed crews on both days, rounding off a weekend of strong racing and consistent results ahead of the next regatta in the series.
