Unfortunately the senior quad suffered a setback when one of the members became sick and training in the quad was restricted. In the end a substitute sat in to race which wasn‘t ideal.

Leaving Bath on the morning in torrential rain, we were not looking forward to the day ahead. However, as we arrived at Wycliffe the weather changed and out came the sun. A welcome sight indeed. The majority of the Monkton crews raced in the morning division which meant a relatively stressful time for coaches and parents getting the crews afloat. The J15 4X was the first boat down and although not looking very powerful were giving it there all and looked pretty technical. Potential to work on. However, there were a few comments from the bank wondering why the cox (Hamish Hay) was bigger than the bow (Matthew Fox) and two (Nathan Taylor) man!! Good question!! This crew managed to take 6th position out of 7 crews.

The J16 2X of Ben Herring and Hans Wu looked together but was lacking the killer instinctŒ.a comment made by the crew after the race. They were passed by 2-3 crews due to there much lower rate. An experience they need to learn at this stage. They finished 7th out of ten crews. The WJ15 2X of Georgina Jones and Vicky Parsons looked the best they had all year but the steering still needs work! A few crashes into the bank and other crews didn‘t help the cause or the time but again an experience that will be learnt from. This crew finished 10th out of 11 crews.

After the race, mulledd wine and mince pies were dished out to keep everyone warm and lift spirits which seemed to work. Thank you to Mr and Mrs Hetreed for coming along and providing the little treats which are always appreciated.

In the afternoon division the boys quad and J15 2X took to the water. The quad, with the new super sub (Andy Taylor from Bradford on Avon RC), took time to find the rhythm and looked untidy as they arrived into the last 300 meters. Not surprising really after the poor last two weeks of training on the water. However, 10th overall and 4th out of 6 crews in senior 3 wasn‘t too bad of a result considering it was the first time the crew had rowed together. The J15 2X again were looking for a win but unfortunately looked tired and came home in 4th position out of 6.

Having looked at the results many would argue that it was a very disappointing day, however, I would suggest not. We don‘t always need to win to be successful. If the crews take on board the mistakes they made and manage not to make that same mistake again then they have been successful. I think it will always be difficult to win a race like this at such a late stage of the term. All the crews and coaches are very tired and this does not produce fantastic results in performance. The crews should take with them not a sense of failure but the experience of racing and knowledge of how to make the boat go faster next time. I look forward to seeing those improvements back at Wycliffe on the 4th February 2006. Let‘s get um guys and girls!

GPR

Dec 2005

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