RYDE ROWING CLUB. SWANAGE REGATTA, Saturday, 1st July 2023.
/RYDE ROWING CLUB. SWANAGE REGATTA, Saturday, 1st July 2023.
Ryde Rowing Club, sponsored by Wightlink, took its largest group of Competitors so far this season to Swanage Regatta on Saturday (1st July 2023) with four fours crews, three coxless pairs and four scullers competing.
Once again Swanage proved to be one of the most popular events in the Hants & Dorset ARA fixture list with a near record entry of 168 crews and scullers. The regatta is staged over a 1500m course, with a racing turn, in Swanage Bay. With no Hants & Dorset ARA Club in Swanage the Regatta is organised by volunteers from the Associations Clubs with Ryde playing their part by providing all the packed lunches for the Race Officials and safety boat crews as well as the Regatta coordinator Steve Bull and a Race Official - Mick Jenner.
The Club had two Coastal Junior Fours racing – the A Crew of Matt Chalmers, Ben Sanderson, Will Hall and Paddy Kearney and coxed by Mai Mackay finishing 2nd in their heat to qualify for the final where they finished a slightly disappointing 4th. The B Crew of Bradley Whiting, Isaac Gibson, Charlie Watts, and Lars Groothuis with Lottie Rowland coxing finished 3rd in their heat just failing to make the final.
For the first time this season the club boated a Men’s Novice Four of Joe Bird, Yogi Ashworth, Matthew Groothuis, and Gulley Roughen with Lottie Rowland coxing – and they performed really well to finish 3rd in their heat – and make the final where they finished in 4th place.
The young J16 Coxed Quad of Joe Bird, Isaac Gibson, Charlie Watts, and Lars Groothuis with Harry Watts coxing raced really well against some strong opposition in their straight final finishing in 2nd place.
In the Men’s Coastal Junior Pairs, the A Crew Will Hall and Paddy Kearney finished 2nd in their heat to reach the final where they finished a slightly disappointing 3rd. The B Crew of Dan Sanderson and Matthew Groothuis finished 3rd in their heat failing to make the final.
There was also slight disappointment for the Ladies Coastal Junior Pair of Stella Baisley and Chloe Hughes who impressively won their heat but could only manage 4th place in the final.
The hi-light of the day for Ryde was the performance of their Club Captain, Ben Sanderson, in the Men’s Novice Sculls, who won his heat and went on to win the final with a very impressive scull. This win promotes him to Coastal Junior Sculler. His younger brother Dan also competed in the Coastal Junior Sculls finishing 4th his heat and failing to make the final and a third Ryde Novice Sculler – Bradley Whiting – was winning his heat when he unfortunately crashed into a moored boat and although able to get clear of the boat and complete the course, he to failed to make the final.
Ryde’s final competitor of the day was Stella Baisley in the Novice Ladies Sculls who raced well in her heat to finish 2nd and make the final where she finished in 4th place.
