Cantabs Winter Head 2015

The weather forecast for Saturday 14th November was quite off-putting, but fortunately the reality was less bad than the predictions, with the rain holding off for at least the first three of the five divisions, and the wind remaining blustery, but manageable, until the end of racing. With a record number of visiting crews and the event yet again over-subscribed, Stourbridge Common was busy from first light until after dusk.

In terms of the racing, an eight from Cantabs Senior Women (Claire Nichols, Ellie Darlington, Abbie Lawrence, Georgie Plunkett, Merodie Rose, Lindsey Tate, Hana Lango Allen and Eve Beere, coxed by Esther Momcilovich) had a strong race in the first division, despite only three outings in an VIII post-Fours Head and a last-minute crew-change due to illness. Their time of 9:43 placed them 38th overall, and made them the fastest women’s crew of the day by a margin of 20 seconds ahead of a Kings College London BC senior crew.

Steph, Jackie, Robert and coach Sam

Saki, Emma, Steph, Jacqui, Robert and coach Sam (photo via Rob Roy BC)

The Cantabs Women’s Intermediate Squad’s coxed four were joint winners of W.CRA.IM2.4+, after Robert Nimmo had to temporarily step down from marshalling in order to cox Saki Shinoda, Emma Siragher, Steph Creasey and Jacqui Robinson whilst regular cox Barbara Blacklaws had to was attending A&E with a cut hand sustained at home.  There was also victory for Cantabs’ Rebecca Cicolecchia, Jessica Santos, Anna Huefner and Kai Laing in the novice coxed fours, also enjoying a substitute cox in the form of coach Sam Hardy. The youngest Cantabs racers of the day also tasted success in the coxed quad, winning the W.J14.4x+ category comfortably.

With the Senior Men overseeing start marshalling rather than racing, Cantabs victories in the men’s racing fell to the Hill’s Road Sixth form Boys. The two Hill’s Road Eights came 1st and 2nd in CRA Novice 8 category with the faster eight placing 30th out of 140 eights – a very creditable performance, especially given all but two rowers are from the lower sixth.

The overall fastest crew of the day was a Robs 4x of Toby Rudkin, James Scott, John Hale and Chris Owen. John was on a brief visit back to Cambridge after a busy week during which he notched up a 7th overall in Fours Head (2nd in Elite Lwt 4x-), an overall win at Vet Fours Head and 2nd place in the Wingfield Sculls…clearly winning the Winter Head was the icing on the cake!

A few issues made the clear-up at the end of the day rather more eventful than usual; our sympathies to the visiting crew who lost the key to their locked towing vehicle and had to wait for a replacement to be driven to Cambridge…from Wales.

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