An inclement weather forecast for Berwick wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of the Hexagogo crew on Sunday 3rd May! After a lovely scenic drive up to Berwick courtesy of Ant’s taxis, the crew were pleased to see that the four changes of clothes might not be needed after all as it remained dry throughout the day (although maybe not for newcomer Tracy, who was in Bow aka the splash zone!).
Hexagogo were drawn against the gentlemen of Talking out of Tarn for their first race, and after a few first race jitters at the start they got into their stride by about 150m, looking as though they may actually have it in the bag. Alas, the considerable experience of the other crew won out, and they were just pipped to the post.
After a bit of race order re-jigging due to a cox shortage for another crew, Hexagogo were up against Cambois’s Splashington Dashers for their second race. Unfortunately nerves got the better of Hexagogo’s Stroke at the start and both Stroke and No.3 found that they had forgotten to disable the ‘crab attachment’ function of their blades. Once said crabs had been released, the crew were able to be more co-ordinated but not enough to overcome the less than ideal start, with Cambois the clear winners of the race.
Fortified by several cups of fancy herbal tea and some cracking lemon drizzle cake, the crew had re-grouped to face Prime Tyne for their third race. After an unfortunate slip on some Fucus whilst attempting to embark, Hexagogo’s cox managed to rally the crew to a much better start. Hexagogo’s pace and rhythm were good but Prime Tyne’s crew were able to push harder for a win, despite the added distraction tactic of our No. 2’s jazzy leggings.
As Berwick had been super efficient in their organisation, it had been decided that all crews would be able to get a fourth race in before the long journey home. Buoyed up by an improved performance in the previous race, Hexagogo were now facing a home crew, Berwick Bears. Hexagogo had a great start and really gave it their all, upping the pace to their absolute limit. The crew thought that they may just have a chance of winning this one, but it wasn’t to be, and they lost their 4th race. Lots of lessons learned, and a definite improvement as the day went on for a crew who had not raced together before.