STRONG northerly winds forced the Guernsey Rowing Club to change its race from the open-water Round Jethou to the much more manageable and inshore Burbridge Handicap. This five-kilometre race comprised three laps of Havelet Bay, with the slower crews starting first.

Ship and Crown, a novice women’s fours crew, was first to start, closely followed by their class rivals, The Roll Bar Scullery Maids, 15 seconds later.

The two crews tussled hard, with the Roll Bar eventually getting the upper hand midway through the second lap.

Once in the clear, the Roll Bar had a traffic-free run, polishing off the remainder of the 11 corners on their own terms.

They proceeded ultimately to take the overall race honours, crossing the finish line first.

Despite this setback, Ship and Crown refused to lie down and finished a creditable third.

Thanks to their consistency over the series so far, both crews now share the top of the handicap leader board with 77 points.

They are closely followed by Karl Guille. Despite nearly crashing with the stainless steel boat as it was starting and he was just completing his first lap, Guille managed to overhaul the Ship and Crown boat and earn a very valuable second place.

There were more serious crashes in this notoriously aggressive race with its 11 tightly-buoyed corners.

On the first, Grammar School teacher Paul Montague attempted to overtake, on the inside, a fours boat rowed by his own students.

Unfortunately for Montague, Grammar cox Georges Pirouet was in no mood to let his teacher through and refused to give way. The boats tangled and the resulting snarl-up lost both teams valuable time.

This allowed club captain Joe Paul, rowing a singles, to nip past with little difficulty. Paul went on to finish fifth overall, one place behind his class rival, Steve Desmond. In the process he broke the class record by completing the course in 25min. 06sec.

His female counterpart, Paula Evemy, also broke the women’s singles record by finishing in 28min. 40sec.

They now lie in third and fourth place respectively in the handicap series.

Skips ‘R’ Us, a men’s fours, were the sixth boat across the line.

Courtesy of their cool-headed but very vocal cox, Alison Jefferies, they overtook nine boats on their way around the congested course.

Geomarine’s mixed fours were the only crew to overtake more boats. They managed to pass no fewer than 10 on their way to recording the fastest time of the day, breaking the class record with a time of 22min. 56sec. Not for the first time this season, all the men’s fours were eclipsed by a mixed team.

Rob Harnish, chaplain at Elizabeth College, had his first outing in local waters, coxing a fours crew comprising staff and students.

Brian Aplin, more used to kayaking around the island’s shores, rowed for the first time in years and was justifiably pleased with his performance and that of his students.

With the London-to-Paris Challenge taking 17 rowers out of circulation – for hopefully less than 90 hours – the next club race is not until Saturday 12 June, the re-scheduled 11-kilometre Around Jethou.