Gloucester Spring Head, March 17th
18th March, 2024
Minerva Men’s 8+, Mixed Masters 4x- and a Single all entered the 5K head race.
Our first win of 2024!
Men’s 8+ Maggie Cooke (cox), David Hardy, Marc Baldwin, Ed Haddon, Andrew Gordon-Brown, Matt Clayton, Charlie Jackson, Ian Townsend, Andy Tyler
Andy Tyler: “The E8+ crew has suffered – as we have all – from a lack of water time since Christmas and it showed as we struggled at times for cohesion in the strong tailwind and bouncy water on the canal. That said, our fitness work paid off, and we still managed to take the course at 32+ with decent run on the boat and finished the day with the fifth fastest time overall, in front of all other masters eights, and beaten only by two Open 8+ and two J18 4x-. Overall, a solid piece in testing conditions and a good platform from which to challenge for the Masters Head.”
Mixed Masters 4x- Robert Farrell, Hils Strickland, Juliet Phillipson, Richard Thomas
Robert Farrell: “At last, a race! I couldn’t stem my excitement at the possibility of finally getting a race – following the cancellation of Weybridge, Henley and Avon. And we would be racing in Valeria, the club’s brand new Hudson! We set off for the 7k paddle up to the start and then had to hang about for two hours. We joshed and chatted with the other crews: Avon County, Mel Brown coxing Monmouth and an ominously chunky-looking City of Bristol crew, our rivals for the medals. From time to time Hills handed round toffees.
“Then we were off and – oh dear, we did not have a good row. A stiff tailwind and rather rough water meant we couldn’t settle, and we were really ‘fighting the boat’ most of the way. City of Bristol hunted us down ruthlessly and were soon gone. Luckily we had plenty of excuses: lack of time on the water, the wind/waves, all that hanging about, and so on. When we got back on land we discovered that we were
not all that tired; you have to be rowing well to empty the tank.
Over sandwiches, we analysed our experiences (looking at the brilliant videos shot by Mark, king of the bicycle-mounted cameramen). Then we de-rigged Valeria, put it on the trailer and set off home. It had been a long day and not successful, but a race is a race. Bring on Vesta!”
Single, Tim Birtwistle
“It was my first head race in a single for eight years and so was daunting, even for a seasoned campaigner who has been sculling for 40 years! Thankfully, it was sunny and ‘warmish’ at the start as the wait dragged on for two hours. But the Sharpness Canal is a challenging stretch with choppy water coming in all directions. The first 1800m wasn’t easy and I was probably holding the blade handles too tightly, as the tension spread all the way through my body. I knew I needed to relax but didn’t want to go swimming!
“The second half was better, more relaxed, even enjoyable – I shot through the middle of a challenging bridge, thinking ‘technique’ – I must look good, what would Arnold think?! (Mark Melbourne was videoing). The finish line came quickly but there was no time to relax, as I immediately paddled back. Here’s to the next time!”
