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Blazing success at Brampton
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By Neil Lewis
Talkin Tarn Regatta, Brampton, 1 July 2000
Henley Veterans' Regatta, 1 July 2000
Early July is Henley Royal Regatta time. Waterborne athletes of Hexham Rowing Club know their limits, and on the Saturday of Henley finals day venture west instead, to Talkin Tarn, Brampton. The Tarn Regatta provides 3 lanes of 750m side-by-side racing. Whilst posing well on land in wrap-around sunglasses, our fortunes on the water were mixed, most of us only able to bask in reflected glory.
In rowing, if you have not won a ranking race against three boats, you are classed as a novice. Geoff Boath, lost this status in winning all his rounds of the novice single sculls, mastering the art of the start where races are won and lost. Rowing however can also be a cruel mistress, and with his double sculls partner, Neil Wilkinson (club captain), he was later beaten by two small children from Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham.
She is a real leveller, a sport for the youthful, for old men with great technique, and for old men who can barely remember their youth. Sadly, our two older men's doubles were thimply youthless. The crew of David Brown and Mark Christer rowed in a straight line but lost to schoolboys. Then Geoff Higgins paired with Neil Lewis in a 3-way final gave the crowd a display of watermanship that saw them up a length at the start, four or five up by halfway, and chasing rivals Berwick into the bank before the finish. 'Stop!' cried the crowd as they secretly willed them to crash for the spectacle. And the two boys of Ponteland High School paddled gently in to victory.
HRC have their own boy's double who improve with every outing. James Steel and Michael Palmer unluckily were not racing aged and confused old men, and lost to their season's nemesis, St Leonard's School, Durham. You may perceive us to be amateur, but in our ranks we have a ladies double to take on the best. Alex Berry (a working mother} and Emma Thorpe (a builder), living adverts for the wonders of Lycra, have strength and technique in abundance and gave a flawless display to dispose of Durham ARC in their final.
Hexham's ancient pairing of John Mulholland and Paul Jaconelli saved all their strength for last weekend's Henley Veterans Regatta. In their category they lost in the second round to five-time Henley Royal winners from Frankfurt, but were the second fastest Brits. They also were one of the fastest boats of the day, although their old minds may be playing tricks here. One of the great joys of our sport is to be able to race with the greats, albeit only from behind and at a distance. On the Leander Club steps our guys rubbed shoulders with Pinsent and Redgrave. In September watch Redgrave go for his final Olympic gold. If he finishes his stroke with a curved back and lean to the left, the chances are he copied the ancient Jaconelli technique, honed on the Tyne at Hexham.
Previously published by Hexham Courant
07 Jul 2000
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