Saturday 8th March saw 18 senior club members heading West to the Derwentwater Head, hosted by Lakeland Rowing Club in Keswick, Cumbria.
Derwentwater, whilst beautiful, is exposed to the elements, so in 2024 the race was cancelled due to high wind. Thankfully that was not the case this year, with a light breeze, full sunshine and temperatures in the mid-teens it was tropical and a perfect day for racing 🙂
The crews assembled in the lakeside carpark in the mid-morning, rigged the three quads and readied themselves for two of the three racing divisions (Division 1 would have been a very early start so we decided to opt for the latter two divisions).
In Division 2 we fielded two crews; the Womens Masters Coxless Quad in age category A/C and the Open Masters Coxless Quad in category E. Using the East course (chosen due to wind direction) the 3,000m paddle down to the start was into the wind and against the chop, so took a bit of effort, but it was more than rewarded by the spectacular views of Swinside, Cat Bells and Bleaberry Fell.
After a very efficient starting process the crews were off, heading back up the Lake with the wind behind them, following the red buoys all the way back to Derwent Isle and the finish line. The men completed the course in 11mins 40secs, missing out on a win by nine seconds but with some impressive overtaking, however the women stormed through in 11mins 7secs taking their win by a significant margin!
In Division 3 we had three quads out on the Lake; two women’s crews (Category E & F) and a mixed quad including two recent Learn to Row graduates (this being Ant’s first ever race!) in category C/D. All three crews did a fantastic job, battling the chop on the way to the start and posting brilliant times back up the course. The women’s crews rowed brilliantly gaining valuable race experience and the steers coping well with locating the buoys on the lake which is very different to following a river bank! Huge congratulations go to our mixed quad, placing second in their category – a fantastic result for Ant and Angus, our recent graduates and Ana and Elizabeth who provided support and had a great time rowing.
So, with a win and some fantastic crew performances to show for the day, we returned happily to Hexham – vowing to be back in Keswick in 2026 for what must be the most beautiful rowing race in the world!
Thank you to the event organisers, and Michael and Pam for towing the trailer. Full results here: https://oar-online.uk/derwentwater25/timingcombined/
Photo credits: Pretty much everyone and thank you Clive for the group shot!
