Reports from Ron on the URC entries at Nottingham Masters:

The crews who raced at Nottingham had to cope with very challenging conditions. There was a strong and blustery cross/headwind which also made the water very lumpy, particularly in the lower-numbered lanes which was usually where our crews were drawn. These conditions eventually caused the organisers to cancel racing altogether for some of the junior crews.

Upton recorded one victory – Jules and Tabs won the Mixed Mas D 2x. A strong City of Oxford crew led the field from the start, but Jules and Tabs caught them by the half way mark then pulled gradually away for the remainder of the race to win by a length (Photo Left). Jules also came close in the Mas E 1x, where his main rival was Gwilliam of Stourport, who is the reigning British champion in this category. With Gwilliam in lane 6 and Jules in lane 2 this was always going to be a tall order. In the end, Gwilliam held on by about a length (Photo Right), with all the other scullers trailing at least 100 metres behind.

The women’s Mas E 4x of Linda, Liz, Jo and Maggie also found themselves in lane 2 but battled well into the wind and maintained contact throughout the race (Photo Right) – they lost out in the closing stages but still finished ahead of a Norwich crew in lane 5.

Earlier, Jo and Linda had a good row in Mas E 2x, but from lane 2 (again) finished at the back of the four-boat field (Photo Left).

Andrew and Jeremy (lane 2 – need you ask?) had a similar fate in Mas F 2x (Photo Below Right)

 

Debbie and Sally were one of the few Upton crews not to be in lane 2 (hooray!). Unfortunately they were in lane 1 (even worse – boo!), but they still managed to finish second in a field of three (Photo Below Left).

 

So a tough day for everyone, and I only spotted one group who didn’t seem bothered by the weather (Photo Below Right). But it was a good rehearsal for the British Masters Championships on the same course next month, and let’s hope the wind has died down by then.

Ron.