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The Alkmaar AA Race 2004. |
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21e Akersloot – Alkmaar Race |
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Andy Hamilton (Club Captain - Holland branch only) was tasked with finding the ultimate crew/s to win back the shield after 3 failed attempts. It seemed like a mission impossible, but the search began. First stop was Andy Wallis' training squad, which after many winter months of Circuits and Ergos were hardened and ready for battle. Unfortunately only a few were prepared to put their training to the test, second stop was to the Minerva veterans retirement home. It was here that a plot to recover the shield was hatched. So with crews selected, we booked passage with EasyJet and set off for Holland. Men's Veteran 8 : Mike Ashman, William Wadsworth, Chris (Apollo) Fry, Mark Smith, Tony Gray, Colin Williams, Mark (Eros) Melbourne and Guy Troup - coxed by Andy (I only weigh 14 stone!) Ursell Ladies Veteran 4 : Judith(Doc) Fox, Kate Flint, Wendy Lloyd and Erica-ca-ca-ca Flood - coxed by Anne? Friday 30th April: (Queens Day) With the Flight booked for 7:20 it was an early start, which thankfully everyone made. After a smooth flight we arrived at Schipol on time. After a previous bad experience of travelling on Queens Day we decided to make our way directly by train to Alkmaar, we would save Amsterdam for our return journey. Andy Ham was again elected as WedgeMaster and took control of our budget for the weekend, big mistake that was! We arrived at Alkmaar Central station to be greeted by our hosts and our transport (Bicycles) for the weekend. As it was Queens day we decided to join in with the celebrations by enjoying a few beers. For those of you who have yet to experience a Queens Day, it is a cross between a car boot sale/country fair/pub crawl. Basically good fun for everyone. We finished the evening with Fred in his luxury apartment drinking Cognac watching the sun go down. By the end of the evening we had drunk enough beer to last a week and spent approximately £800!!!!!!! Chris, Andy and Tony finished their night off with a Hawaiian burger and a GroenteKroket? Best you don't ask. Saturday 1st May All feeling slightly the worst for wear we met at 10:00 for our practice outing. Due to Kate, Guy, Erica and Steve not arriving until later that morning we are one short in each crew. With typical Dutch ingenuity they appear with a Triple Scull, unfortunately they couldn't come up with a Seven. So with great hesitancy we decide to promote Andy Ham into the crew, with Eros switching to stroke side. Surprisingly the Eight went really well, it just goes to show that our meticulous preparations the week before were paying dividends. The same can't be said for the Ladies, the Triple seemed to have a mind of its own and spent a considerable amount of time in the reeds. Due to a technical hitch at Bristol, couldn't shut the door! the rest of the party arrive slightly late, but still in time to catch the Alkmaar rondvaart. As previous visitors will recall this is very dangerous and not to be taken if drunk, as you are likely to lose your head. The rondvaart (Boat trip) takes you under the lowest bridges in Alkmaar and requires the passengers to get closer than is comfortable. Thankfully we survived intact and imbued with the history of Alkmaar and the Spanish cannonball? The evening was spent at the Taormona, an Italian taverna that we have visited many times before. The food was fantastic and as always the company divine. With an early start on race day we decide to have an early night, Midnight! Andy, Tony and Dorine go home to watch the Dutch Pop Idol result. Gloucester beat Wasps. Sunday 2nd May - Race Day We are asked to be at the club by 10:00, again we have been asked to help out with some of the race tasks. Andy Ham - Finish Stopwatch, Andy Ursell - Safety Launch and Chris Fry - Corner Buoy Marshall. The rest of the party cycle to the start, unfortunately Commander Gray, navigator of the high seas leads them to the wrong side of the course. With race time approaching Guy decided to hold a warm up and stretch routine outside the Ladies toilets, a number of Dutch girls were heard to make complimentary comments about the routine, our egos were soon to be dashed, when translated it turned out they were talking about Haydock, saddles and horses asses. Once stretched we boated and had an uneventful trip to the start. Our Ladies 4 soon realised that lack of practice was going to be an issue, they decided to row only as hard as was comfortable, to stop halfway for a beer though was taking the P***. Commendably they did finish 2nd with a time of 25:36 @ a speed of 11.72 km/h. The Men, with a far harder task finished 3rd with a very
tidy row, it just lacked the flow that would have won the event. The eventual
finish time was 24:24 @ a speed of 15.98km/h. The question everyone was asking
"Was it fast enough to win the Shield" Andy Ham and Jaap had earlier
decided on a complicated handicap system to make the competition for the Shield
fairer. The Alkmaar Boys who included some of the awesome De Kwackels, posted a
very respectable time of 23:40, After a few beers at the rowing club, we showered and made our way to La Coubanita Tapas Bar for the farewell dinner. With over 40 people wanting to come it was very cosy. The meal consisted of many small but tasty dishes and large jugs of Sangria with twelve three foot straws, the idea being that everyone drinks together. Good idea, but not when your sitting next to Wendy who has the strongest suck in history. In practice the jug was empty in 3 seconds, this required the jug to be filled many times Hic!. I think the concept of a menu costing €30 for as much as you can eat and drink is fine, but not when Minerva come to town. The time had come for the result of the Challenge shield to be announced, the system used to calculate the result is so complicated to explain. It basically involved differences in age, collar size, birth weight and ability to drink cider etc. To cut a very long story short, WE WON, and by over 6 seconds. At last after many years of trying the shield is coming home. One thing with winning is that you have to celebrate, it has become customary on the last night to drink ourselves silly. We depart the restaurant and head for the nearest bar, which is empty when we arrive. Within seconds the music is on and the beer is flowing. This is the point that Andy Ham comes into his element, keeping the Minerva/Alkmaar party in beer is a pastime he has perfected, unfortunately it comes at a price. It soon becomes apparent that the music is attracting punters from far and wide, the news that 3 Gods are in town was too much for the local Dutch girls, the place was heaving. A number of the party decided to cement our twinning relationship still further, and embarked on a hearts and minds exercise. On both accounts they were successful. As the night drew to a close we departed, a number of people mysteriously got lost and appeared at alternative lodgings and in one case spent 2 hours cycling around Alkmaar looking for his hosts house. He was very lucky that a young attractive Dutch girl took pity on him and escorted him home to bed, she didn't want to come in for coffee preferring a bite of his sausage, well that's what he said! All in all the night was a great success and finished the weekend off perfectly. The pictures tell a thousand stories 3rd May - The Journey Home HANGOVERS?, no surprisingly everyone felt fine. We met at the Central station for coffee before saying our goodbyes and headed for the bright lights of Amsterdam. After stowing our bags we followed Andy Ham into the centre of town, surprisingly we headed for a canal side bar, fed and watered we headed off for a magical Hamilton mystery tour, I can't recall exactly where we went but it was very exciting. Some bright spark then came up with the idea of a boat trip! it was the most boring trip in history and resulted in most of us falling asleep. Refreshed, we head for the red light district, Wendy had a particular interest in the contents of the window displays and was disappointed that no one would go in with her. Tired we made our way to Schipol for an uneventful flight back to Bristol, arriving home at 11:00pm. I can honestly say that this weekend was the best yet. Thanks to Andy Ham for co-ordinating the weekend and spending the wedge with such aplomb. And finally special thanks to our hosts Dorine, Wim & Janneke, Nicolien, Jos & Jane, Martin, Ellen, Fred, Japp & Gabriel, Liesbeth and the Alkmaar Boys for making us feel so welcome. A special special thanks to Dorine for her magical Ham and Eggs. Needless to say we are all looking forward to their visit later this year and a return visit next year. THE EDITOR |