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Rowers on tour
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By Neil Lewis
Northern Sculling Series, South Hylton, Sunderland 21 October 2000
River Dee Head, Chester 21 October 2000
Wear Head, Durham 28 October 2000
Sometimes you sit at the PC and nothing but the same old words pop up on the screen, it's been that sort of season. Keywords - Christer & Brown, win, Higgins & Lewis, bridge, wallop, women, pots, Thorpe & Berry, and there it is, one article. I'll just flesh it out a little.
Autumn is the time of long distance Head of the River Races against the clock. In this region we have the Northern Sculling Series, raced over six Saturdays on the Tyne, Tweed, Tees, Wansbeck and Wear (twice). If the race is on the Wear at South Hylton and the organisers have the tide times wrong you can be racing a shopping trolley, a log, two fours and a curving swathe of waterborne detritus. You also have the added bonus of spending most of your time on the water wondering whether your car will still be intact on your return. This is not the world of Redgrave and Pinsent - we're tough up here.
So two boats, six blades and one car drove to Sunderland a fortnight ago. Christer and Brown still laidback, but fired up and intensely competitive, won the Senior 3 men's double, providing them with more ammunition for their mickey taking campaign of Higgins and Lewis who, as you may recall, would rather enjoy bridge architecture close up than race. However, the PC is mightier than the oar, and as one of the latter pair I can now tell you that heads races often have over 100 boats competing, but the classes can be small. Senior 3 here was 2 boats, so some race, eh lads? I am not bitter. With Higgins away, Lewis singled for the first time, passed three quads, stayed afloat and rowed a respectable time, finishing second Veteran C (out of 2).
Meanwhile, across the country, a composite 8 consisting of girls from Queen Elizabeth High School and Thorpe, King and Berry from Hexham Rowing Club were racing in the Dee Head at Chester. They won Women's Senior 3 against two Chester 8s who had the advantage of local knowledge. This is part of their build-up to the Rutherford Head at Newburn in December and their ultimate aim to win at Ladies Henley in 2001. They are that good, and you would like to sponsor the boat wouldn't you?
Thorpe and Berry took their power from the Dee to the Durham Head last week and stamped their authority on first, boat selection, and then their category, winning the ladies Senior 3 pot and beating Christer and Brown in the process. I mean guys, really. Always the bridesmaids and never the brides, Lewis and Higgins were probably responsible for the women's speed. Having hit Elvet Bridge (early medieval) as was expected, on recovery they took the hard route out to allow the women to speed through 'easy arch' and then chased them (no really). Thorpe and Berry, petrified at the thought of being caught had to try hard to stay in front and certainly rowed to a faster time, not that anyone would admit it. With Mulholland away, the famous Jaconelli took to the single, avoided the bridge and finished respectably in the top half of the field, but potless. Next week, the Tees Head at Stockton, with four bridges! (Ultimately this race was cancelled due to too much water!)
Previously published by Hexham Courant
10 Nov 2000
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