Ryde Rowing Club took its largest group of competitors so far this season to Swanage Regatta on Saturday (1st July 2023).
Altogether, 4 fours crews, 3 coxless pairs and 4 scullers competed for Ryde.
Ryde Rowing Club had 2 Coastal Junior Fours racing – the A Crew of Matt Chalmers, Ben Sanderson, Will Hall and Paddy Kearney and coxed by Mai Mackay – finishing 2nd in their heat to qualify for the final, where they finished a slightly disappointing 4th. The B Crew of Bradley Whiting, Isaac Gibson, Charlie Watts, and Lars Groothuis – with Lottie Rowland coxing – finished 3rd in their heat, just failing to make the final.
For the 1st time this season, the club boated a Men’s Novice Four of Joe Bird, Yogi Ashworth, Matthew Groothuis, and Gulley Roughen with Lottie Rowland coxing – and they performed really well to finish 3rd in their heat – and make the final where they finished in 4th place.
The young J16 Coxed Quad of Joe Bird, Isaac Gibson, Charlie Watts, and Lars Groothuis with Harry Watts coxing raced really well against some strong opposition in their straight final finishing in 2nd place.
In the Men’s Coastal Junior Pairs, the A Crew Will Hall and Paddy Kearney finished 2nd in their heat to reach the final where they finished a slightly disappointing 3rd. The B Crew of Dan Sanderson and Matthew Groothuis finished 3rd in their heat, failing to make the final.
There was also slight disappointment for the Ladies Coastal Junior Pair of Stella Baisley and Chloe Hughes. who impressively won their heat but could only manage 4th place in the final.
The highlight of the day for Ryde was the performance of their Club Captain, Ben Sanderson, in the Men’s Novice Sculls, who won his heat and went on to win the final with a very impressive scull. This win promotes him to Coastal Junior Sculler. His younger brother Dan also competed in the Coastal Junior Sculls, finishing 4th in his heat and failing to make the final. A 3rd Ryde Novice Sculler – Bradley Whiting – was winning his heat when he, unfortunately, crashed into a moored boat and, although able to get clear of the boat and complete the course, he failed to make the final.
Ryde’s final competitor of the day was Stella Baisley in the Novice Ladies Sculls who raced well in her heat to finish 2nd and make the final where she finished in 4th place.
For the 1st time in several years, Newport were able to field 2 Men’s Novice crews at Swanage Regatta last Saturday.
The A crew of Boris Hare, Connor Garner, newcomer Isaac Rice and Artur Rozvodovski, had a tough heat against a very good Lymington crew, and despite Isaac coming off his seat halfway through the race they finished in second place to qualify for the final.
The B crew included Jake Garner in his 1st-ever race, with newcomer Nathaniel Hamilton at stroke, alongside masters rowers Harry Hare and Chris Clarke. They had a convincing win in their heat, winning by several lengths.
In the final, both crews made good starts and the A crew chased Lymington hard to the buoy turn, with the B crew following in 3rd. The A crew had secured 2nd place around the turn and held that position to the finish. The B crew lost ground at the turn but fought hard to keep their 3rd place, coming in 2 lengths ahead of the chasing boats.
Both crews were coxed by Marianna Hare in their heats. The B crew were coxed by Emily Faithfull in the final.
