This Is Guernsey

Twodegreesnorth were just two minutes and four seconds outside the hour barrier. (Picture by Tim Prout, 0592261)

WHAT a difference the weather makes.

In the sixth championship race of the year every class record was smashed by rowers who clearly relished some of the calmest waters of the season to date.

Twenty-two crews turned out for the 12km World Challenge race, the longest of the year so far, which took them south from Havelet Bay to Gabrielle then   east to Lower Heads buoy, north to Demi Ferriere and back.

The race originally formed part of the inaugural 2006 World Rowing Coastal Challenge Regatta and proved so popular it has now become a regular fixture for the racing season.

Drama surrounded the beginning of the race, when just seconds into the start the mixed pair FRM was accidentally hit by a Rib as it was unknowingly driven across the path of the racing boats.  Crew member Sam de Kooker narrowly avoided the blades of the outboard motor.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ he said. ‘It nearly had my eye out.’ Hastily trying to escape the situation, the Rib then veered towards women’s pairs Wheeler Developments.

Both crews quickly recovered their composure and attacked the remainder of the course, determined not to let the incident affect their racing.

Clearly, it did not as the FRM pair came in first in the mixed pairs class, smashing the record in a time of 58min. 47sec., beating close rivals Bellot and Pipe by over one minute.

Meanwhile, Wheeler Developments claimed a decisive victory over Ruby 2 in a record time of 1-02.58, scoring maximum points and maintaining their class lead in the overall championship.

In the men’s singles class, Paul Montague once again secured victory over James Briggs in a record time of 1-01.03. Montague has an impressive record as a single oarsman, having dropped only one first place during this season’s championship races.

Outstanding men’s pair DDM Absolute sustained their winning form, coming home first in their class and breaking the record in a time of 50.44.

This time not only secured a class win for the pair, but was also only just outside the winning men’s fours time. Second in the men’s pairs class were Will Dodds and James Murray.

Once again, the men’s four class produced some excellent rowing.

Ably coxed by Jane Menzies, the FRM four made light work of the course, to secure first in a record- breaking time of 49.58.

Julius Baer came home in second place in a slower than expected 51.13.

Cox and coach Lloyd Le Page was quick to explain the performance.

‘The race was in fits and starts for us as we didn’t have our usual crew. We were closer to the Thames River boys than normal, but we still managed to secure second place.’

Thames River produced an excellent time of 51.57 to achieve third place in class.

CMC Sirens smashed the record in the women’s fours class in a time of 1-00.33.

Having trained hard throughout the winter, the Sirens have consistently dominated this summer and have continued their conditioning throughout the season, which has clearly paid dividends.

The precision of their cox, Dan Tall, once again enabled the women to produce a clear lead over challengers Twodegrees-north.

‘We’re so pleased with our result tonight.

‘We’ve trained hard all season and Dan’s lines are always excellent,’ said stroke Louise Martel.

The victory was somewhat bittersweet for stand-in crew member, Kath Tracey, who had set the original record as part of the former all-conquering Geomarine women’s four.

Twodegreesnorth, who have produced solid rowing throughout the season, came second in a time of 1-02.04.

However, it was the battle for third place in the class that produced further excitement.

Rowing a heavier boat than the other women’s fours, Hash Anchorettes took third place in a time of 1-02.59, well ahead of usual close rivals Saffrey Champness, who came in fourth with a time of 1-05.18.

Hash’s stand-in cox for the race, Ed Prow, afterwards praised the women’s efforts.

‘At one point I thought we could have Twodegrees, but then we had a tussle with BTS [men’s pair BTS à Deux] where we clashed oars for about 30 seconds, which might have cost us that second place,’ he said.

Crews are now busy preparing themselves for one of the highlights of the calendar, the Guernsey Offshore Rowing Regatta which takes place this coming weekend.

It attracts crews from the UK, France and Jersey and promises two days of exciting  action.

Article posted on 30th June, 2008 - 2.29pm