Ryde Rowing club were forced to abandon their regatta due to adverse weather conditions after 2 boats were swamped on Saturday (4th June).
The club had not been able to host Championship Regatta for 2 years – 2019 being the last one held – due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the work on the collapsed sewer in and around Appley Park. The club had hoped that this year would see a return to a full regatta.
The conditions on the day were far from ideal with a strong north-easterly wind: the worst possible direction for the Ryde course. Racing had to be abandoned after only 2 events had been completed.
The 2 events that were completed at Ryde were the Ladies Senior Coxed 4s and the Mixed Masters Coxed 4s. In the Masters’ 4s race, 2 of the 4 crews were swamped. This situation – in which 2 experienced crews could not cope with conditions – led to the abandonment of the regatta.
This was the first time in around 30 years that a Ryde Rowing Club Regatta had been lost to the prevailing sea conditions. It is unlikely that the club will be able to find a suitable date to re-run the regatta this season due to tidal constraints and other fixtures. Ryde will therefore have to wait until 2023 to stage a full regatta.
Ryde Rowing Club at Shanklin Regatta …
Ryde Rowing club competed the following day (Sunday 5th June) at the Shanklin Regatta where the wind had subsided, and the wind direction was not an issue.
Ryde took 3rd place for their Men’s Coastal Junior 4 A Crew of Matt Chambers, Ben Sanderson, Joel Smith, and Austin Smith, coxed by Bryony Reeve.
Ryde Novice A crew of Yogi Ashworth, Lars Groothuis, Issac Gibson, and Dan Sanderson, coxed by Mai MacKay, had the best Ryde result of the day finishing a 4th place in the final. A 2nd Novice crew of Harry Jones and Edward Williams, coxed by Otis Ripley, which was put together on the day with 2 Poole rowers, performed well to finish in 6th place.
Ryde J16 Coxed Quad of Yogi Ashworth, Lars Groothuis, Issac Gibson, and Edward Williams, coxed once again by Otis Ripley, raced a quad boat and finished 3rd.
Ben Sanderson sculled in the Men’s Novice Sculls but didn’t make the final. Dan Sanderson sculled in the J16’S and achieved a credible 5th place.
I had a small rowing boat at castle haven in the 50’s it was fitted with small buoyancy tanks and that stopped that sinking feeling