A week on from Swanage Regatta and there was polarity in the weather but certainly not the results as Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club came away from a wet and windy Woolston with 3 wins and a second place in the aggregate standings.
The day began with the heats of the Men’s Novice Sculls. The club once again had 3 scullers gunning for the win on the day and it was Henry Mudge and Jamie Gamble taking to the water in heat 1. Henry stayed in the lead for the almost the entirety of the race before slipping to second in the final few hundred metres but still qualifying for the final. There was however despair for Jamie whose lane position was playing havoc with his race as the seemingly worst water on the course prevented him from qualifying for the final.
Joe Robertson went out shortly afterwards in the second heat. Sculling extremely comfortably Joe didn’t seem to break a sweat as he took a second placed finish and joined Henry in the final.
In the final Joe and Henry both had very good starts in the middle of the course and quickly established themselves at the head of the race. As the leaders turned the buoys, Poole moved away from the Shanklin duo, leaving the boys in the blue to battle for second place – with Joe just coming out on top with Henry nicely rounding off 2 podium finishes for the club in third.
In between the Men’s Novice Sculls heat the Ladies Junior Pair had an early final. Hoping to extend their championship lead to 3 points they lined up against a field that didn’t include their closest rivals, Poole. Not leaving anything to chance the young sisters Daisy and Emily Faithfull had an excellent start and quickly took the race by the scruff of the neck. Despite an excellent challenge from a pair from Southsea the Shanklin crew took a convincing victory leave their championship standings at 4-1.
Daisy was then quickly back out on the water in the Ladies Junior Sculls final. In a race combined with the higher status Ladies Senior Sculls final Daisy was forced to keep her foot on the gas throughout the race. This paid its dividends as she came home 4 lengths clear of her nearest rival and was beaten by only one member of the senior sculls field – an excellent achievement.
Harry Miselbach was the next rower afloat in the Men’s Junior Sculls final. Facing a tough opponent in the shape of a fellow islander from Ryde, Harry had a tough race and lost ground on Dale Buckett early on in the race. Despite plugging the gap the distance was never fully recovered and Harry had to settle for a third place finish.
Harry was then back on the water in the Men’s Junior Fours Final with the increasingly rough conditions playing into the hands of Joe Robertson, Jamie Gamble, Matt Miselbach, Harry Miselbach and cox Ethan Walters. A rapid start from the Shanklin crew quickly put them into an usual situation of the being the race leaders. They did not buckle under this pressure and led the race both in and out of the buoy turns, with a 2 length lead on the return leg the championship leaders from Itchen began to eat back into the Shanklin crews lead. Agonisingly, with only 10 strokes to go, the Southampton-based crew proved to have timed their race perfectly, snatching victory from the hands of the boys.
The Men’s Senior Pair also had a frustrating race. Alex Robertson and Joe Evans Murray lined up against a packed field of 10 crews. With a great start leading to the boys level with championship leaders Itchen coming out of the buoys turns, it looked as though the race would be just as close as the previous weeks race at Swanage. A difficult return leg however saw the race slip away from the Shanklin duo who eventually finished third.
The Ladies Junior Four were then afloat for their straight final. A new combination of Mia Phelan, Lisa Robertson, Sophie Atkin, Stella Gamble and cox Alex Robertson were the next Shanklin crew to brave the conditions. Having an excellent race the crew were unable to challenge the race leaders but kept their cool in really difficult conditions.
Following them down the course shortly afterwards was Ethan Walters in the J16 Sculls. In a head to head battle with a Ryde sculler, it was Ethan who fared better in the tough waters to take a five length victory and earn the clubs third win of the day!
In the final race of the day there was a debut for Paul Gamble as he joined Sophie Atkin, Lisa Robertson, Matt Miselbach and Alex Robertson in the mixed fours final. It was something of a baptism of fire for Paul in his first ever race as the continually deteriorating conditions meant the water was truly awful by this point. Despite this the crew had an fantastic row, not allowing the conditions to get the better of them and coming home in eighth place.
Another great day for the club was rounded off at prize giving where it was confirmed the club had only just missed out on winning the overall aggregate for the second this season, finishing second out of the 12 competing clubs on the day.
