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With the demise of Coate Water Regatta we had looked around for a replacement and settled on Thames Ditton. It is many years since the school last went to the regatta, which is perhaps a shame because it has a charm of its own and the breathtaking backdrop of Hampton Court Palace. True to form the senior crews were required to race early in the morning and once again had to set off at first light. By the time the rest of us arrived at nine o’clock they were already getting ready for their second race. Racing at Thames Ditton has an air of uncertainty because the course is narrow at the start and has a bend about a third of the way down. Theoretically there should be a staggered start, but this seemed to be an optional extra depending on the whim of the umpire. Nevertheless, there were some very exciting and close fought races. The J 15 B four had a dramatic crash in the enclosures, accompanied by much ringing of bells and waving of red flags. The commentator suggested that we should “settle scores on dry land” but thankfully the boys did not take him up on this suggestion. The J 14 octuple was lucky to get through its first round as once again a crab resulted in a broken blade. For two thirds of the race we managed to keep ahead of Bryanston, with only seven rowing. In the semi-final there was an excellent race against Dulwich College. They had parked their trailer and set up their tent next to our own rigging area so there was much lusty shouting. In the last few yards it looked as though Dulwich had managed to snatch victory but our final push saw us through to victory by 3 feet. In the final we were against Kingston Grammar School and were leading by about half a length when we were caught out by the bend and the narrow course. We clashed blades and were disqualified. This was a sad end to a gutsy day’s rowing but as the boys trudged back to the minibus they all agreed that they had improved enormously over the last two weeks and had greatly enjoyed the regatta. The seniors had entered Intermediate 3 and Novice eights and had some success in both. We managed to beat St Georges before going down to our tenants at the river, St Johns, in Intermediate three. St Johns were the stronger crew but our cause was not helped by the staggered start disappearing because an official thought that too many crews were winning in one of the lanes. In Novice eights we were able to beat Kingston Rowing Club before meeting Eton in the final. Eton was the better crew and we were only able to hold a lead over them for the first part of the race - our start was marginally faster than theirs. The aim of the day had been to get some practice races before the National Schools’ Regatta and certainly this aim had been achieved.
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This regatta is geared to clubs with modest memberships and expectations and is invariably well run and attended. In the past we have entered a variety of different boat classes but this year I felt that it would take pressure off the club to restrict our entries to quads and fours. By doing this all of our races were in the afternoon which gave us the luxury of being able to sleep beyond dawn. At the junior end of the club many of the 3rd Form boys were involved in Confirmation, so they were not eligible for selection. This gave an opportunity for a motley bunch of J 12 and J 13 St Philip’s House to the race in their place. The regatta always gives free T-shirts to the competitors, and these were latched onto by the boys who proudly wore them as they boated. Sadly, this was not a clever move because in the race the grips on their sculling blades became trapped in the T-shirts making our steering and our progress more erratic than usual. The other crews were more successful and the 15 quad was unlucky not to get through to the final, coming third by a narrow margin in their eliminator race. The J 14s held third place for all but the last three or four strokes of their race when a loss of concentration resulted in a boat stopping crab. At the top end of the club the senior fours were dominating. The second four were in the straight final and they led the rest of the field for the whole race, getting clear water through a well timed push at the end. The first four were able to win their heat and went into their final as the favourite crew. They had a fine tussle against Charterhouse managing to win their event, and The Ball Cup, by a margin of only 3 feet. Once again a photo finish but, unusually, this time we had gone over the line first.
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Bedford regatta is one of the favourites on our circuit. It is invariably highly competitive but at the same time is relaxed and friendly. It is well worth making the effort to travel three hours in order to enjoy what must be one of the most beautiful regatta venues in Britain. I am sure that the senior squad kept reminding themselves of this at five o’clock in the morning prior to departure. They had been given an antisocial time for their first race in Novice eights, against one of the numerous university college crews which tend to emerge at Bedford regatta as some pre-exam ritual. We secured a comfortable victory over Downing College which saw us move to the next level of the regatta where we drew Winchester College. The race against Winchester was a nail biter which once again came down to inches at the line. The First VIII clearly favors photo finishes but once again, as at Nottingham, the verdict went against us. By this stage of the morning the rest of the club had arrived at the regatta and were busy rigging up their boats, except for the J 14s who had thoughtfully placed their riggers into the trailer which was to be used for the Ball Cup Regatta the following day. While I searched for a replacement boat the quad made its way up to the start. In their race they led for the first half but then faded and allowed their opponents to pull away losing by about 3 ½ lengths. Thankfully my searching had been more fruitful and I managed to get Bedford School to lend us one of their boats so we still had the prospect of an octuple race. The J 15s had double entered in an eight and a four. While the latter was competitive, we handed the eight’s race to our opponents through some erratic steering. The First VIII had also double entered and had drawn Abingdon School in Intermediate 3 eights. Their steering was much better than the J 15s, but sadly they too were eliminated. The only crew which remained in the competition was the J 14 octuple. They were up against a rather good crew from Henley Rowing Club who did not have brawn and size, but did have very neat and precise blade work. In the race we predictably lost by 2 ½ lengths but we had sculled fairly well and I was not displeased by our efforts. The day had been a very long one but it also been a very enjoyable one. We had not come away with any silverware but all crews had learnt from the regatta and knew that they had given their best. They also knew that they had another chance to get over the finish line first at the Ball Cup regatta the following day.
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