Lymington Amateur Rowing Club

Lymington Rowing Clubs fantastic 2011 season continued at Itchen Regatta on Saturday as the club picked up another two victories - both in the increasingly dominant veteran category. Lymington also gained strong results from their Pairs and Sculls.

The Lymington Veteran Over 40 crew were without their full strength crew and had to bring in a rower from Coalporters but still went out in force against opposition from current champions BTC. The Lymington team of Tim Bull, Alan Taylor, Kenny Chalk and Cox Joe Bull won two weeks back at Ryde Regatta over the BTC crew, and were looking to take a second win on the flatter and shorter Southampton course.

The Lymington crew had a strong start in the two boat final as they battled for control of the race. Both crews had their nose in front at some point during the first leg. A strong turn from Cox Joe Bull gave Lymington an excellent chance to take victory - an opportunity the Lymington crew took. They battled hard in the final 500 meters, holding off a strong challenge from the champions, to win the race by just a couple of feet.

The Over 50 crew of Andy Tobin, Brian Oliver, Geoff Oliver and Cox Alex Barnes were joined by a rower from BTC in for the absent Simon Wright, who won with the crew at Woolston the previous week. The final consisted of Lymington and Coalporters - adding another chapter to the already intense rivalry. The Lymington crew got off to a great start, leading Coalporters into and around the turns. The teams early practise session paid off as everyone from the Cox to the bowman knew exactly how to take the turn - giving the crew a three length lead. They then powered down the remainder of the field to take their second win of the season.

While Lymington’s experienced veterans were taking the silverware, the clubs newest and in this case youngest competitors were taking part in their first races. The Ladies Pair team of Bernadette and Nikki are still in the Novice section but raced up in the Ladies Junior Pair category. The girls had an excellent start against the more experienced opposition and kept up until the turning point. Despite a good effort from the girls they slipped behind Southampton and Shanklin, finishing third. Lymington also had an entry in the Boys J16 Fours category in the form of Ryan Chalk, Jack Cox, Adam Selby and Lewis Butchers. The crew were teamed with Cox Tim Bull who did another excellent job of taking a young team on and giving them every chance of having a great row and enjoying themselves. The young team raced against a much older Ryde crew and finished in a respectable second.

Lymington also had three entries in the Sculls division. In the Novice Sculls, Alex Barnes qualified for the semi finals after capitalizing on a mistake by the opposition. Barnes, however, was unable to break his three year trend and was again eliminated in a semi final at Itchen. Tim Bull and Kenny Chalk also competed in the Mens Senior Sculls, finishing third and second respectively.

The Mens Novice Four crew were caught up in some controversy in their heat against close rivals Ryde. The crew put in a fantastic performance but just lost out on a place in the semi finals. The controversy came where Lymington felt that Ryde had gained a large advantage by jumping the start, costing them the race. On the other hand the Umpires didn’t feel that the Ryde crew gained enough of an advantage to justify a re-row. The Lymington crew eventually accepted the decision and avoided any major conflict between themselves and the judges - who are all volunteers from around the region and on the whole do a very good job.