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Of fathers, sons, heads, ladders and ladies
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By Neil Lewis
Durham Veterans and Juniors Regatta, Durham 17 September 2000
Nithsdale Sprints Regatta, Dumfries, Scotland 16 September 2000
Berwick RC Head of the Tweed, Berwick 6 October 2000
Thanks to the heroic success of the nation's Olympic rowers over the last few weeks, rowing is firmly in the media spotlight and this bodes well for the sport at grass roots level (or river bank weed level if you prefer). Hexham Rowing Club is already noticing the groundswell of people wishing to become active. It has attracted a group of enthusiastic women from the Tynedale sporting initiative What's on for Women. The aim of HRC's coaching staff is to teach them to scull in a coxed quad (four people, two oars each and a small person shouting at them), whilst revealing the sheer pleasure of the sport. This all happens on a Sunday morning from 0930. Come along if you are a lady or small and like shouting. Before you know it the husbands will be flexing their muscles and not wishing to be outdone…
Rowing is a family sport as was shown by the club's entry in the recent Durham Veterans and Juniors Regatta. The Mulhollands, John and Charlie, won the father and son event, and to celebrate Charlie dyed his hair blonde. John also formed the other half of Hexham's ageing but successful veteran double with Paul Jaconelli. There was little in it on the line when they won their final, but then they have just gone up an age category and are amongst the best in the country.
At the other end of HRC's sporting spectrum is the veteran novice pair of Geoff Higgins and Neil Lewis. Sick of carrying a portfolio of excuses with them to races to cover the inevitable failure, they have taken to secretly driving away with a boat to foreign regattas, confident in being able to keep any disaster a secret. Their latest effort, the Nithsdale Sprints in Dumfries, Scotland saw them lead off the start in their final and flat out hit a bridge they hadn't seen. On the re-run taking the other station they became wedged in the bankside bullrushes. At Durham the following week, the Mulhollands were told by an official "I'm surprised that boat's still intact". Secret out!
Over the weekend of Redgrave's and the eight's successes, HRC ran its inaugural single sculling time trial for all members to then enable ladder racing to be run through the winter season. This saw John Mulholland victorious over the 750m course having watched wind and water until the conditions were just right before shouting "OK everyone, it's my turn now". Although winning, he was startled to see that his closest rival, a second behind, was our ladies powerhouse, Alex Berry. We can't wait to see Alex challenge John on the ladder. (For more on the Ladder and its rules see its own page)
As well as racing ladders it's now the season of racing heads. This began with the Berwick RC Head of the Tweed Race last Saturday. This starts in Scotland and ends in England and the river has that mobile hazard, swans. Being so wide, the Tweed enables that unusual sight, not open to us on the Tyne at Hexham, of three crews rowing abreast. In so doing, a couple of us were lucky not to harpoon some of the gigantic birds as they ran into their lumbering take-off mode. No lumbering take-off for our veteran stars. Monotonously, Mulholland and Jaconelli proved to be the fastest boat on the river and won yet another trophy, although they didn't win the toss of the coin for boat choice and just had to make do. The double of Christer and Brown, returning to the scene of their summer regatta triumph were 24 seconds faster than Higgins and Lewis who simply couldn't believe it. "The timing must be wrong, they must have been given a start, who do they think they are anyway?" Rowing in his first head as a single scull, Geoff Boath acquitted himself well but realised that the stamina required over 5000 metres is different to the sprint burst of a 750m regatta course. But Geoff's power is awesome, and helped by 35,000 metres of land training on a rowing machine each week, his stamina can only improve. Watch this space; or come down to the boat club any Saturday at 1400 or Sunday at 0930 to meet these local heroes in person. After a little light training you may even beat a couple of them.
Previously published by Hexham Courant
12 Sep 2000
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