Masters secure regatta victory
THE women’s masters C VIII, coxed by Jen Carey with Amanda Bowden, Suzie Radley, Rebecca England, Jeannette Caldicot, Katie Burman, Fiona Schultz, Lucy Scarlett and Gina Fusco, had a fantastic row at Stourport Regatta at the weekend, reports Chris Best.
They faced Avon County in the final and, after taking advantage of the staggered start, pulled away around the outside of the bend with their opponents unable to respond.
Following this race, four of the women split into a smaller boat class and raced twice more in a coxed four. Despite being a masters’ crew, they were racing at senior level with rowers aged between 19 and 27.
They beat Furnival B crew easily in the semi-final before narrowly losing to Furnival A by a foot in the final.
Caldicot said: “It was a really solid row. We were neck and neck for the first half of the race then Furnival pulled away. We came back on them and believe we were close to coming through at the finish.”
The first masters’ race of the day, in drizzly conditions saw the low CRI men’s VIII, stroked by David Phillips followed by Thomas Garner, David Vazquez, Tim Hayter, Gary Kinley, Dave Edwards, Andrew Lear, Richard Forrest and coxed by Jen Carey, take on Bewdley. The crew had a strong start at a rate 37 strokes per minute, led by the stern pair of Phillips and Garner. The crews were level to the 500m bend but at a settled rate of 34 strokes per minute, Bewdley used their inside line to creep forward and out of the bend the bows were level.
Into the last 250m, the Bewdley push to the line proved too much for Stratford who lost by a canvas.
Amanda Bowden, Stratford’s masters’ vice-captain, said: “It was a well-rowed 1000m by Stratford. This crew is making good progress. Maybe next time.”
On Sunday, Stratford raced again in the 500m sprint races. The mixed double of Fiona Schultz and David Phillips raced hard, demonstrating boat winning speeds. In a borrowed boat, they lead the semi-final all the way but were unfortunately overtaken in the last stages by Derwent Rowing Club.
