RYDE ROWING CLUB CHRISTCHURCH REGATTA. Saturday, 13th May 2023.

RYDE ROWING CLUB CHRISTCHURCH REGATTA. Saturday, 13th May 2023.

Wightlink sponsored Ryde Rowing Club competed at Christchurch Regatta, on the river Stour, on Saturday (13th May 2023).

The two-boat racing format of this Regatta meant that crews had to fight their way through several rounds of competition and with it limited to coxed fours only – with no small boats – so the Ryde entry was restricted to just their two Mens Coastal Junior Crews.

The newly promoted Ryde B Crew of Dan Sanderson, Isaac Gibson, Charlie Watts and Lars Groothuis coxed by Joe Bird held a slight lead over their first-round opponents at the turn, but the crew had an issue at the turn and fell behind and were not able to recover their lead before the race finished on this short course.

The A Crew of Matt Chalmers, Ben Sanderson, Will Hall and Paddy Kearney and coxed by Mai Mackay faced a much larger problem – while warming up for their semi-final they unfortunately collided with a Christchurch Ladies Junior Coastal Four causing the Christchurch boat to capsize and causing injuries in boat boats although their was no damage to the Ryde boat – however the Ryde bowman suffered from bruised ribs forcing the crews withdrawal from the event.