Despite numerous races around the country cancelled due to Storm Hannah this weekend, Chesterton Rowing Club forged ahead with the Head of the Cam. The race saw a headwind of up to 50mph along the course, making conditions very difficult for some competitors. Most small boats withdrew on safety grounds, meaning that in some cases there was limited opposition.
The Cantabs women enjoyed a suite of good performances, winning several boat classes. The Senior Women’s Squad 8+ was the fastest women’s crew of the day, despite most of them doubling up, racing the 8+ in a division where winds had picked up compared to others. The Senior Women were also the fastest W4+, with that crew beating many eights in the process. The W4x had a good race to finish not only as the fastest quad, but also as the 4th fastest women’s crew of the day despite bow woman Eve Beere being forced to steer her crew to numerous overtakes along the course.
The Cantabs Intermediate Women’s Squad WMas4x also enjoyed a good race, winning their event. The Progression Squad continued to demonstrate their improvements over the last season, winning the WNOV8+ category.
Robert Almqvist of the Junior Performance Squad won the J1x over a minute ahead of the 2nd placed sculler from Rob Roy, an impressive feat in conditions so bad most experienced scullers withdrew. Finally, Cantabs’ Aquaphobes crew won the Mas8+ event, 42 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Lysander, reflecting the good improvements that this squad have made which resulted in them winning the club’s Rowing Improvement award at the Cantabs Annual Dinner.
Thank you to Chesterton for being brave letting the race go ahead, and well done to the crews who took on the challenge! Full results can be found here.
Meanwhile…
On Sunday, a 4x from the Hills Road squad raced at the Scullery Junior Sculling Regatta. Competing in their first ever national sculling race, the crew came 8th out of 16 in the time trial, qualifying for the B final where they were pipped for 3rd place by just 0.3 seconds. A great result for a crew so new to the sport!
If you are interested in finding out more about any of the Cantabs squads mentioned in this report, please visit the squad pages section of our website or contact the men’s or women’s captains for more information.
