Stratford Boat Club’s masters men’s eight of Gary Kinley, Tom Stokes, Mark Kelly, David Vazquez, Dawson Curnock, Paul Collins, David Triggs and Gavin Bliss compete at the Gloucester Spring Head

THE newly-formed Stratford Boat Club’s masters men’s eight of Gary Kinley, Tom Stokes, Mark Kelly, David Vazquez, Dawson Curnock, Paul Collins, David Triggs and Gavin Bliss competed at the Gloucester Spring Head on Sunday.

This is a huge undertaking at this stage of their development as the distance to the start is 7km, the return row includes the 5km race and a further 2km back to the boat house.

The stroke set a good rhythm at a rate of 27 strokes per minute with the boat running nicely. A hold-up at the bridge from a single scull forced the eight to stop and the race time did not reflect the overall progress that the eight made down the course.

Masters’ vice-captain Amanda Bowden said: “The men did incredibly well and gained valuable experience.” David Vazquez, in the number five seat, said: “It was a great team effort and the whole crew felt rightly proud to have been part of Sunday’s race.”

The crew would like to thank Pippa Francis from Evesham, who stepped in to cox the crew at the last minute, and Dawson Curnock for towing the boats.