Head of the River Race and Vesta International Masters Head of The River Race

Henley Rowing Club enjoyed a triumphant weekend on the Tideway, securing two major wins at back-to-back head races in London.

On Saturday, the club retained its title in the Masters C category at the Head of the River Race. The crew was Robbie McGow, James Harris, Tom Jost, Dan Watson, James Padmore, Nick Friend, John Gelling, Elliot Cole, and cox Avery Penna.

At the prize-giving, the crew reminded everyone that age is just a number – impressively forming a human pyramid to celebrate their win. It was noted, with some amusement, that a number of younger crews opted for the comfort of chairs instead.

The winning momentum continued on Sunday at the Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race, where Henley fielded its largest entry in over a decade, sending three men’s quads and three women’s quads to compete against more than 240 crews from across the UK and abroad.

Victory came again in the Masters B 4x- category, with Mike Lambourne, Jack Barrett, Nick Friend, and Rich Ellera taking the honours. They were the fastest quad of the day, executing a dramatic finish by overtaking a strong Tideway Scullers crew right on the line.

Racing in MASC4X-, for some of the crew of Chris Leppard (bow), Mike Reddy, Ken Fitzgibbon and Andrew Garnett, it was their first experience of racing the Masters Head and they put in an assured performance, finishing in a time of 22.47.94.

Within the MASD4X- category, the crew of Shaun Paice, Mark Gray, Matt Peachey and Jan Wildenhain, it was a return to the Tideway for most, resulting in a time of 22.12.9.

For the women, all three crews were racing within a banded category of WMASEFGH4X- with the WMASE4X- crew of Sarah Girling (bow), Helen Turnell, Louisa Clarke and Victoria Morgan finishing second behind a strong UTRC crew (the race winners) with a time of 23.30.56. After times were adjusted to allow for the handicaps within the age range, this put the crew back to fourth place.

The other Henley women’s crews put in strong performances, particularly as for Aoife Scott, bow woman for the WMASF crew (with Laura Johnson, Judy Walker and Miriam O’Leary), it was her first time steering the Tideway course. The crew finished in a time of 25.29.38.

The wives of two of the men’s squad were racing in the other WMASE4X- crew, Nicole Peachey and Jo Paice were joined with Ros Pilcher (stroke) and Jane Ashby. They rowed a gutsy race, finishing in a time of 24.35.

Having completed the flagship event in the Head Race season, the Masters squad are looking forward to racing shorter distances as we enter Regatta season.