Race Report: Masters Men

Stroke: Paul McCalvey
3: Gary Stephenson
2: Steve Dunn
Bow: Kenny Horsham

Bowman Kenny, winkled out of retirement for the race, reports: 

Had a great day out from start to finish. Arrived at Keswick Theatre Car Park around 10.30 and it was bitterly cold but there was a lot of Rowing Club activity going on.

The race briefing was held around 11.30 then our crew were shown the boat we would be racing in. Having not rowed a coxless fine quad ever I think all the crew were a bit “excited” about the prospect.

We boated about 12.30 and I think it would be fair to say it took us all the 3km row to the start to iron out all our small faults as we were not used to such flat water. As we hadn’t practiced our racing starts I was very pleased to find that it was a rolling start so we couldn’t mess that up!

We had quite a good row down the 3km course considering and seemed to hold our own against quite a lot of much younger crews.

It was a pity my steering, ( which I thought was pretty good for most of the race ) seemed to go astray at the penultimate set of buoys and we hit a big yellow one on the wrong side and had to go back around it!

All in all I think everyone from Tynemouth enjoyed it and can’t thank Lakeland Rowing Club enough for their kind hospitality.

Race Report: Masters Open

Stroke: Christopher McGuire

3: Natasha Searson + Kerry Jordan (in spirit)

2: Mark Hyson

Bow: Renae Stefanetti

Another report from the bows:

We had a last-minute and unforeseen change to the crew upon leaving Tynemouth race morning. This meant that Natasha came to the rescue (after already rowing earlier in Division One). Kerry Jordan, although unable to take part, was still part of the crew in spirit!

While it was a bitterly cold day, we were pleased that it was dry and most importantly - the water was calm! Lakeland Rowing Club generously lent us their coxless fine squad boats for the event, which was a novelty for most of the crew. Renae drew the short straw to steer in the bow with the caveat that she had never done this before.

The leisurely row up to the starting line provided an opportunity for the crew to get acquainted with the boat and for Renae to learn to steer (with only one near miss)!  After navigating the boat through to the rolling start, we were off! Chris kept a steady and calm pace throughout the race (average 24 stroke per minute). Although a couple of very speedy boats overtook us, we were pleased to remain on course and collision free!

It was a wonderful opportunity to come together and row in truly beautiful surroundings. The gentle beauty of Derwentwater made it a pleasure to be on the lake. A big thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of the event.

It's not the first time Tynemouth has ventured onto Cumbrian waters - this article, from 1878, describes an exciting Derwentwater regatta with several clubs from the North East racing. Tynemouth might not have come away with a win this time, but it's a great read nevertheless!