Ryde Rowing Club competed in their first mainland event of the season in the Christchurch Head of the Stour.
The blustery and cold conditions at Sunday’s event presented several challenges to the crews and scullers competing.
The Christchurch Head of the Stour is a timed head race with crews and scullers starting at intervals. It was raced over 2 miles in 2 divisions, catering for a range of boat types and ages for both men and women.
The Ryde Club suffered from a Boat Trailer brake failure a couple of days before the event, meaning they could not use their trailer. As a result, Ryde were only able to take 2 boats on the roof of their minibus, resulting in some crews having to row coastal fours against River Boats, putting them at a significant disadvantage.
In Division 1, the Men’s Novice Four of Bradley Whiting, Paddy Kearney, Will Hall, Fred Giezma-Pipe and Emily Faithfull (Cox) finished 2nd in their section, a good result considering they were in a Coastal Four while the other crews were in River Boats. This situation also applied to the Boys J16 Coxed Quad of Dan Sanderson, Isaac Gibson, Frankie Leftley, Yogi Ashworth and Mai MacKay (Cox) – making her competitive debut on the mainland for the Club – who still managed to finish 3rd in their section. Ben Sanderson, competing in the Men’s Coastal Novice Sculls, finished 6th in a very strongly contested section.
In Division 2, the Men’s Novice four of Bradley Whiting, Paddy Kearney, Will Hall, Dan Sanderson and Ben Sanderson (Cox) suffered some from steering difficulties and only managed 8th place. The Boys J16 Coastal Quad of Isaac Gibson, Lars Groothuis – again making his competitive debut on the mainland – Frankie Leftley, Yogi Ashworth and Mai MacKay coxing, suffered from a broken blade, however they still won their section against limited opposition. Also winning their section was Niamh Murphy and Stella Baisley, competing in the Women’s Coastal Open double, again against limited opposition. Emily Faithfull competing in the Women’s Coastal Junior Sculls event finished in second place.
