Stratford rowers face choppy Thames conditions for Vesta International

STRATFORD Boat Club were well represented at this year’s Vesta International Eights Head of The River race in London on Sunday.

The race, which is the premier veterans’ rowing event of the year, is held over the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race course.

More than 245 crews set off from Mortlake for the 6.8km timed race down to Putney at ten second intervals which made for some exciting racing over the whole length of the course.

Stratford BC provided the majority share of a composite crew with fellow Midland clubs from Warwick BC and Bridgnorth Rowing Club.

The crew, stroked by Paul Wallis from Bridgnorth, comprised Tom Doherty (Stratford), Richard Nelson (Stratford), Rob Graham (Bridgnorth), Tim Grimsdale (Bridgnorth), Gary Clay (Stratford), Jon Martin (Warwick) and Simon Beard (Stratford) at bow, with Sarah Graham (Bridgnorth) at cox.

The crew raced in the Masters’ E category (55-60 years) and were up against formidable competition, with no less than 34 competitors in their age group.

On the back of a much-improved showing at the North of England Head at Chester the week before, the crew got off to a fast start, taking the rating up to 34 strokes per minute under Chiswick Bridge as they crossed the start, with Bewdley and an international Danish crew starting close behind.

A solid rating push off the start saw the crew open up a significant gap on the two immediate crews behind as they approached Barnes Bridge.

Tricky winds saw the Tideway live up to its reputation as a tough place to row, with some large waves leaving most of the crew and the cox soaked.

However, not to be deterred, the crew settled in to a good rhythm, maintaining 32 strokes per minute for the whole of the remainder of the 6.8km course.

This paid dividends as they proceeded to catch a Broxbourne eight by Chiswick Eyot which led to some lively advice on the merits of considerate steering being exchanged between the crews.

With over half the race completed and the crew going well, a big push saw the crew clear Hammersmith Bridge and its legendary rough water and they proceeded to catch a number of crews as the final few kilometers approached.

This led to some exciting racing as the Stratford composite crew closed past Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage ground, with no less than four crews all line abreast across the river. Holding their own and with some excellent coxing from Sarah Graham, the crew push

ed between Putney Town, Ardingley, Grosvenor and Bradford-on-Avon clubs to inch over the finish line in front, providing good excitement for the crowds of spectators.

Hard racing over the whole course in blustery conditions saw the crew record a time of 22 minutes and seven seconds, finishing 13th out of 35 crews in their Masters’ E event and 107 seconds behind Moseley, the fastest crew of the day.

The crew were 63rd overall out of 245 crews that finished the event.

Stratford’s masters’ vice-captain, Tom Doherty, said: “This was a crew put together in mid-January that has been limited to one training session a week.

“The crew has shown consistent improvement over the weeks from a poor race at Nottingham to record a very good result with our best row to date in tricky conditions on the Thames.”