STRATFORD-upon-Avon Boat Club’s masters pair Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden led from start to finish on their way to victory at the Nottingham Regatta.
Radley and Bowden won the MasD2x race in a time of three minutes and 59 seconds at the first regatta of the summer season.
The 4x crew of Emily Sayers, Christine Goodwin, Gina Fusco and Ellie Davis made a composed start in their race and also found a good rhythm at the 500-metre mark.
Stratford’s ladies crew just missed out on second place to local rivals Warwick Boat Club by 0.03 of a second to take third in four mins seven secs.
The masters women’s DVIII settled into a rate of 33 strokes per minute and were ahead of Monmouth after the 100-metre mark.
Broxborough had an eight-second head start due to the older average age of the crew and handicapping system and despite gaining on the leading crew, the gap proved too much to make up over the one kilometre course.
Crew captain, Charlotte Jones, said: “There are plenty of positives and we have more this race to build on now. Thank you to Debs Thompson of Upton Boat Club for coxing.”
Masters vice captain Bowden added: “This was a valuable training race for the squad and I could not have been prouder of the commitment that the crews showed in the race.
“It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we look forward to Worcester Regatta next weekend. Thank you to our supporters on the day, also the coaches and coxes for the training – Alfie, Dan and Sam and to Dan Simkins and Dawson Curnock for towing the boats.”
Elsewhere, at the prestigious Junior Sculling Regatta, held on the iconic Dorney Lake, Stratford’s J16 boys quadruple scull of Theo Richter, Xavier Sissins-Rofey, Seth Vondrak and Ollie Rowlands narrowly missed out on a place in the finals by five seconds in a valiant effort.
And in the J16 women’s singles, Alexandra Francis secured a spot in the final where she finished a commendable fifth in a tough field, following a strong showing at the Junior Inter-Regional regatta.
