Stormy weather made for some interesting conditions for the Peterborough Regatta. The headwind, straight down the lake, not only caused problems for the organisers but also for some of the competitors with some boats not coping with the conditions and being blown across the lanes.
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| The Chesterton IV nearing victory in the Masters B/C 1000m final (Photo: William Connolly) |
The regatta started well for Chesterton with the IV taking on a 6 second handicap against Oundel Town RC and Star RC to win the Masters B/C 1000m final, quadrupling the number of Chesterton points and winning a nice set of hip flasks in to the bargain. The gusting winds and breaking waves made for an interesting and at times rather damp row but despite the soaking, the crew and a particularly wet cox were very happy with the win and losing their novice status.
The VIII again had to take on a handicap against Cambridge 99 and St Ives in the Masters B/C final but were unable to reel in the disadvantage despite making some gains.
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| The Chesterton VIII making gains on St Ives |
Tethering the boats against the effects of the wind we headed back to Cambridge to dry off and refresh with some isotonic sports beer and replenish our energy and electrolite levels with a few pork based snacks. Unfortunately there was no change in the weather over night and it was in to the teeth of the continuing gale that we would be aiming to chop through once more over the shorter 500m Sunday course. Unfortunately it was a tale of poor starts with the VIII being stunned at the start of the IM3 heat by a lightening quick Clare College 1st boat and never quite finding our rythm to pull it back. The IV also made a bad start in the Masters B final against Rob Roy RC who held on to their lead well despite Chesterton pushing the rating up in to the mid-forties in an effort to make back the deficit off the line.
Over a 500m course a bad start is difficult to recover from as both crews demonstrated in the Sunday races. However every race entered brings more experience to the crew and allows mistakes and weaknesses to be identified and worked on to improve our chances and competitivness for the next race.
Thanks to James T for organising the crews and trailering and thanks to those who helped rigging, driving, de-rigging and providing a vocal support where possible.
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| The winning Masters IV crew - James T (cox), Steven (stroke), James H (3), Tom (2) & Andy (bow) |
