Crews from Ryde Rowing Club competed in the final event of the Hants & Dorset Season on Saturday (14th September) – the 67th South Coast Rowing Championships Regatta and the 18th South Coast Junior Regatta, hosted by the Hants & Dorset Rowing Association at the Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, Southampton.
The South Coast Rowing Championships brings together the Champions of the Hants & Dorset ARA, the Coast ARA, and the West of England ARA for the six Championship events, the open events and the Junior Regatta and is the culmination of a long season for the competing clubs. The Championship regatta is staged in a 3-year cycle of the 3 South Coast Rowing Associations and this year it was the turn of the local Rowing Association – the Hants & Dorset ARA – to host the event.
With over 800 competitors involved this year, this was believed to be the largest Coastal Regatta of the year.
Wightlink-sponsored Ryde Rowing Club had four crews competing in the open event and another 3 in the Junior Regatta.
The Open Men’s Junior Senior Four of Dale Buckett, Ben Sanderson, Will Hall, Paddy Kearney, and Harry Watts coxing comfortably won their event – the Club winning this Trophy for the 3rd time in 4 years.
In the Men’s Open Junior Coastal event, the club had 2 crews competing – the A Crew of Lars Groothuis, Isaac Gibson, Joe Roberts, Charlie Watts with Harry Watts coxing once again comfortably won their heat – with the B Crew of Matt Groothuis, Yogi Ashworth, Ben Robotham, Joe Bird and Ruby Read Coxing finishing 3rd in their heat – just failing to make the final. In the final, the A Crew raced really well to finish in 2nd place.
The Ladies Coastal Junior Four of Abi Locke, Alexis Owen, Emily Kellerman, Mai Read, and Ruby Read coxing finished 2nd in their heat to qualify for the finals where they raced well to finish in 4th place.
The Ryde Clubs Men’s Novice Crew of Reuben Rook, Finn Diffey, Lukas Georgiou, Max Locke with Lottie Pettitt coxing also qualified for their final by winning their heat – and finished 3rd in the final.
In the Junior Regatta, raced over the shorter distance of 1000 meters all 3 of the club’s Junior Crews entered reached their respective finals.
The club’s Boys J16 Coxed Quad of Finn Diffey, Lars Groothuis, Isaac Gibson, and Charlie Watts with Harry Watts coxing finished 3rd in their heat to qualify for the final but while in contention they had the misfortune to break a blade which put an end to their race.
In the Girls J16 Coxed Quad the Ryde crew of Lottie Pettitt, Alexis Owen, Emily Kellerman, Mai Read, Ruby Read coxing finished 3rd in their heat to qualify for the final where they finished in 4th place.
The club’s final entry in the Junior Regatta – the Boys J14 Coxed Quad of Dexter Robson, Cameron D’Arcy, Max Locke, Joe Bird and Grace Hill from Poole coxing – racing for the Club for the first time in a J14 event – came 2nd in their heat to qualify for the final where the sculled really well to finish in 2nd place.
