Henley Rowing Club Junior boys, girls and Masters squads turned out in force to enjoy both the sunshine and a great day’s racing at Marlow Spring Regatta.
First regatta wins for J13s and outstanding Junior racing by Henley crews
The J13 girls squad entered their first ever regatta where the girls’ first boat was in a division with eight other crews and eventually beat Reading and Weybridge in the final to win by two lengths . The crew of Hannah Hills, Hazel Drury, Georgia Brown, Amber Weller and cox Isobel Peterson won their first event with the second boat of Freya Reid, Freya Jonsson, Phoebe Snowden, Jessica Roberts and cox Tom McLellan unfortunately missing the final.
The boys’ crew of Alex Carr, James Swinburn, Grant Taylor, Sam Beattie and cox Charles Washbourne beat crews from Shiplake Vikings and Great Marlow School by some distance in the straight final of the division despite a near collision at the start of the race.
The J14 boys were entered in two quads, with some doubling up in two doubles. Six out of the ten-strong squad came away with a medal. The quad of Jack Spiers, Oliver Taylor, Tom Crook and Henry Peters with Joe Edwards cox won their division, beating Claire’s Court and Kingston Grammar School in the final. The other boat of Joe Sidgwick, Balthazar Issa, Jake Collins and Connor Brown with Sam Bell cox won their heat to reach their final and despite rowing well narrowly lost their race.
Jack, Tom, Henry, and Connor then raced again in the second ‘wave’ in two doubles. Jack and Tom unfortunately lost their heat but Connor and Henry won through to the final and in an exciting race pulled away from Claire’s Court at the end to win by just over a length.
For the J15 boys, four events leading to three finals was the order of the day unfortunately there were no victories this time. Joe Zolkwer and Bruce Turnell started the day in singles with Joe coming second in his heat after a nervous start and Bruce reaching the final with a spirited scull. The coxed quad of Joe Zolkwer, Bruce Turnell, Cameron Jones and Anthony Howe had their cox Lachlan Reid to thank for some smart steering to reach the final where after a technically good and committed row they were beaten by their old rivals Windsor Boys School. The double of Anthony Howe and Lachlan Reid provided one of the best races to win their heat by a canvas and went on to aggressively attack Marlow on their own stretch of river to narrowly miss out in the final. Cameron Jones rowed up with Sim Sandhu at J16 in a double rowed well but beaten in their heat by Windsor Boys School, the eventual winners.
Older Junior girls squads secured victories in a number of events. The WJ16 and WJ15 8’s, both coxed by Rebecca Lister, triumphed by significant margins in their respective finals. Lauren Kay won her WJ16 single final, as did Mary Wright in the WJ15 category and the quad of Maisie Turner, Hannah Gutteridge, Alicia Redman and Iona McNab claimed a win in the WJ16 quad event. Charlotte Moss and Lottie Orr were outstanding in the WJ15 doubles event, cruising through their heat and winning their final in style. The WJ15 quad of Tilly Lock, Rebecca Lister, Grace Johnson, Issy Jonsson coxed by Freya Reid cruised to win their final despite the bumpy water and the WJ14 coxed quad also celebrated a fine victory in their event with Emeline Warner coxing Livy Petersen, Jessica Arlett, Sophia Hahn and Felicity Parfitt to their win.
Women’s Masters First Medal of the Season
Last but not least, the Women’s Masters quad of Linda Thomas, Helen Turnell, Helen Knowles and Valerie Bennett were delighted to secure a win in their final, rowing strongly down the 1200m course to beat crews from Maidenhead and Marlow.
