Saturday 09.05.15 started nice & early with an 0515hrs departure for Mr Captain and his Wingman (Kieran). A problem free journey had us arriving in Bedford by 0700hrs to undertake some rather special trailer maneuvering (over a very narrow bridge) and then managing to get the trailer into a good place next to the river (I refuse to mention that I asked for help reversing the trailer).
We had 3 crews entered all of whom had some very stiff competition which is exactly what you expect from a regatta in Bedford. The WJ15 4x+ (Hannah Ford, Beth Cassidy, Lauren Eccles, Tilly Holmes coxed by Olivia Webb) were the first to race over the 1200m course and won, beating Great Marlow School BC by 4 lengths in a time of 4:30. Their next race was against a crew from Lady Elanor Holles BC and despite finishing in a time of 4:25 our girls were beaten by a very, very strong crew.
Next to attack the course were the J184x- (Alex Reay, John Dransfield, Kieran Fuller & Tom Kelsey) who were to race a crew representing the South African Schools Rowing Union. Despite a decent time of 3:45 the boys lost by 4 lengths with some unusual steering and a definite loss of technique in the final 500m not helping the situation.
Our final crew were the WJ16 4x- (Niamh Lightowler, Ellie Baumber, Lizzy Dyer & Lucy Newbutt) racing against Bedford Girls School BC. Sadly, a time of 4:22 was not enough to win the race but the girls still managed a strong final 500m.
Well done to all of our crews and let’s go one better at Peterborough.
