Lymington Amateur Rowing Club

Lymington continued to lead in two championships as they took vital points at Southsea regatta. Southsea is the first regatta this season where Lymington’s Hants and Dorset region races against the Coastal Amateur Rowing Association.

The Mens Junior Senior crew of Jonathon Prince, Liam Oliver, Geoffrey Fryer, James Phillips and Cox Joe Bull took to the rough conditions with a 3-1 lead in the championship.  The Lymington crew got off to a decent start and kept up with the CARA crews, whereas main opposition Christchurch struggled to get moving.  Lymington held their nerve throughout the course but weren’t quite able to overcome CARA champions Bexhill, eventually finishing a very respectable 2nd.  With Christchurch finishing a long way down the field, it meant Lymington took the H&D point for the championship.

The Senior Pair team of Rob Maltby and Peter Lock also coped with the conditions better than their H&D rivals Poole.  The duo finished nearly two minutes ahead of their closest championship rivals, Poole, but were unable to pick up the win against the CARA crews.  This means that the Lymington team have a 4-3 lead in the championship going into Coalporters regatta.

The most controversial result of the day was the Ladies Junior Pair.  The A crew of Livvi Bull and Lucy Taylor rowed well in the rough conditions and had a hard fought race against Southampton.  In the closing moments, the Lymington girls appeared to row through the Southampton crew.  When the two crews finished the Lymington girls appeared to have won by at least half a length.  However, the judges ruled that the Southampton crew had won by “half a canvas.”  The B crew of Novice rowers Bernadette Smith and Nikki Smithers continue to improve and picked up an excellent 6th place over two Junior crews.

The Veteran Over 50’s and Over 40’s both struggled in the rough conditions.  The 40+ crew were level with BTC as the two crews left the buoy turn but the Lymington boat took a few large waves, causing it to fill up with water.  Despite a sinking boat and horrible conditions the crew battled on and finished the course in third place.  The 50+ crew were the only H&D representatives in the final, but an early boat malfunction let them down.  The crew rowed on and also managed to finish 3rd.

The Mens Novice Four crew of Joe Bull, Sam Aylas, Richard Waddsworth and George Verdon had a tough heat and finished fourth.  The crew improved in the final and were second place out of the turns.  Just as the crew were edging into first, the conditions sadly got the better of them.  The boat took on too much water and the crew finished 4th by half a length.  It was still a very good result for the crew who were only in their third race as a crew.  In the Mens Novice Scull category, Alex Barnes finished 4th in his heat and qualified for the final.  However, in the final, Barnes collided with a Southsea sculler and returned to the shore due to concerns over whether the boat was damaged.  Luckily for Lymington, the boat only took superficial damage to the canvas.