Pair learn from their Spanish trip
STRATFORD Boat Club’s adaptive section were represented at the IMART Regatta in Spain by Paola and Ian Ward who travelled with the rest of the international teams to Orio where the regatta was taking place.
Due to high winds and choppy waters, they were only allowed to go in wide boats to get familiar with the massive River Orio. The next day, the competitors were taken out again but this time for the competition.
Paola and Ian raced in a fine double, sculling against the Armida Club from Italy who proved to be faster than the Stratford crew on this occasion.
Paola said: “We found our boat settings difficult to adjust so our main objective was to avoid a capsize!”
Later, the pair sculled in a coxed wide quad alongside two Italian colleagues only to lose out again to home opposition.
Paola added: “Apart from losing, we had a great time learning a lot and meeting old friends and making new ones. We’ll be back on the Avon this week.”
Several masters crews went to the Ironbridge Regatta over the weekend which was staged in a beautiful setting in the Ironbridge Gorge with lots of sun and some blustery wind.
Rebecca England at stroke and Lucy Scarlett at bow in the women’s 2x were the first of the club’s crews to take to the water. An unusually swift starting sequence unfortunately led to the Stratford crew being slightly askew off the start costing crucial early momentum. Despite this, they refocused, pushed hard and steadily gained ground, nearly drawing level by the final stretch.
While the early deficit proved slightly too much on this occasion, they appreciated the race experience and look forward to building on it over the summer.
Next up, and in their debut regatta, Jack Ingleby (stroke) and Tom Stokes (bow) delivered a strong performance in the open double sculls. Despite a solid row and good pace, they were beaten by a more experienced Pengwern crew but it was a very promising performance to start their racing journey.
In their first race together, the women’s masters B coxed four of Rebecca England, Suzie Radley, Lucy Scarlett, Fiona Schulz and Jenn Cary (cox) were drawn against Huntingdon in their semi-final. The Stratford crew started strongly, winding up the rate and quickly gaining a lead within the first few hundred metres. They maintained a consistent rhythm, extending their lead to two-and-a-half lengths by the finish line to secure their spot in the final.
After a quick turnaround, Stratford took to the river again, this time to face a masters C Bewdley crew. Benefitting from a head start and a bye through to the final, Bewdley took an early lead and although the Stratford crew fought hard and reduced the deficit, they were unable to catch their opponents.
Last of the Stratford crews to race was the quad of Ellie Davies (stroke), Gina Fusco, Christine Goodwin and Ruth Poulten (Bow) in the masters E .The crew put in a solid performance with their best average splits for a race this season but unfortunately it was not good enough to win and they lost by three-quarters of a length to a strong Stourport crew who went on to win the final.
Also on Saturday, the J17/18 girls’ quad of Lucy Sartain, V Vondrak, Scarlett Richardson and Alex Francis raced the time trial for the Bea Langridge Trophy at Henley Women’s Regatta. They raced well, managing to overtake the Molesey crew ahead of them and execute their race plan perfectly. They finished in a respectable joint 21st place out of 41 crews but just missed out on progressing to side by side racing.
In the first event of the day, Poppy Baines took part in the Di Ellis Trophy for junior singles against a highly competitive field of scullers from across the Atlantic.
She secured a place in the side-by-side elimination rounds where she was drawn against the reigning national champion. A strong start saw her take the lead but the Chester sculler slowly chipped away at her lead and knocked her out of the competition after a hard-fought race.
