66th SOUTH COAST ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Folkestone, Saturday, 16th September 2023.

66th SOUTH COAST ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Folkestone, Saturday, 16th September 2023.

Wightlink sponsored Ryde Rowing Club competed in the final event of the Coastal Championship season on Saturday (16th September 2023) – the South Coast Rowing Championships, held at Folkestone and organised by the Coast Amateur Rowing Association and Folkestone Rowing Club. At the Championship Regatta each Association nominates two – and sometimes three – representative crews to compete for the six Championship events – other crews racing in the Open and Invitation events and in the Junior Regatta.

Ryde’s Men’s Coastal Junior Four of Charlie Watts, Ben Sanderson, Will Hall and Paddy Kearney with Mai Mackay coxing, were selected to represent their Association – the Hants & Dorset Amateur Rowing Association – in the Championship event– the forty-third time the Club has been asked to provide a representative crew for the Association – where they have gone on to win nineteen South Coast Championships. Unfortunately, they were unable to add a twentieth win – finishing 2nd by the narrowest of margins – less than a canvas – in the closest race of the day, to the Association Champions from Southampton – a one, two for the Association which helped the Association win the aggregate Trophy for the Championship races.

In the Open events the Men’s Junior Senior Four of Dan Sanderson, Isaac Gibson, Matt Chalmers, Gully Roughan, and Coxed by Lottie Rowland finished 3rd in the Final a fine achievement considering they were rowing above their status and one member of the crew was a Novice Oarsman.

Also racing in the Open events were Ryde’s young Men’s Novice Coxed four of Lukas Georgiou, Joe Bird, Gully Rhogan and Yogi Ashworth – coxed once again by Lottie Rowland, who exceeded expectations by finishing 2nd in their heat to qualify for the final where they finished 4th.

In the Junior events Ryde had a Boys J16 Quad competing of Lukas Georgiou, Isaac Gibson, Joe Bird, Yogi Ashworth with Harry Watts coxing, and they too exceeded expectations finishing 3rd in heat qualifying for the final where the finished 5th.

Finally, the Club has a composite Girls Under 14 Quad crew with two girls from Bexhill – Lottie Roland and Mai Mackay representing Ryde along with cox Dan Sanderson, who sculled really well to finish 2nd in their final.