2007 Season

Deal

Rowers from Herne Bay Amateur Rowing Club took part in Deal Regatta, on a day with a flat sea and sunny sky. The club saw three more of its rowers promoted from Novice to Junior status when they won their second Novice race: Jamie Ross-Cummings, Luke Towner and Will Mihr (pictured below after their first win). John Mihr was also in the winning crew, which was coxed by George Holness. The Novice B crew of William Campbell, Nick Cox, Alex Farant and Simon Mount, coxed by Samantha Epps, came 3rd. Andy Cooper proved his sculling abilities once more at Deal by winning the Men’s Junior Sculls event. The Men’s Senior Four crew of Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps, came second to rivals Bexhill after a collision at the turn lead to a restart. The veteran crew of Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Harry Roberts came third in a very competitive race, narrowly missing out on second place to Bexhill.

Dover and Folkestone

Dover and Folkestone Regattas took place on Saturday 4^th and Sunday 5^th August. Once again HBARC took a strong squad of rowers and saw some good results. Andy Cooper came second in Men’s Junior Sculls on both days, and was joined by Stuart Webb in Men’s Senior Pairs at Dover and by Ashley Epps at Folkestone, coming third on both days. Darren Ingram and Ryan Hosking came second in Men’s Senior Pairs at both Regattas. Both days saw second places for the Men’s Senior Four crew of Darren Ingram (back from injury), Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps. The Veteran crew came second at Folkestone after a disappointing fifth place at Dover, when John Cox had to stand it at the last minute for absent Mark Davies. In the Junior/Senior Fours event, Jamie Ross-Cummings, Ian Baker, Matt Appleby and Will Mihr, three of whom are Junior rowers fresh from the Novice section gave an impressive performance to come third at Folkestone. On the Saturday Baker and Ross-Cummings were joined by Veterans Brown and Roberts and also came third.

Eastbourne

Another long journey to Eastbourne, one of the trickiest destinations to reach from Herne Bay, however many club members made a weekend of it by staying overnight for Shoreham Regatta the next day
Proper coastal weather today with some challenging conditions that made launching (and landing) the boats tricky and a few instances of compromised flotation during racing
Also this weekend our entries (and possible points) were boosted by our friends from Herne Bay's twin town Waltrop who have been in Herne Bay all week to practice for a weekend of coastal racing - rather different to the flat water they are used to.
The problems caused by the conditions were demonstrated by today's senior 4 crew (Ryan Hosking, Mark Symons, Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps coxed by Sam Epps). They took the lead early on but near the turns three successive waves swamped the boat making it impossible to continue the race so they had to be towed ashore and carry the boat back along the beach. There were no complaints from the crew however - it's just an accepted feature of rowing on the sea.
In the senior pairs Harry and Trevor had experienced a similar problem, their boat (borrowed from Dover) had a loose bow canvas and the bow section filled with water by the turn, leaving Harry up to his waist in water, so the safety boat had to take them ashore for the long walk back. It was not a good day for Herne Bay in the Senior Pairs, Mark Symons and Ashley didn't finish the race (they discovered on the start that stroke's foot stretcher wasn't secure), Stuart Webb and Mark Davies did finish following 4 Bexhill pairs across the line. 
Consolation for Harry and Trevor came in the Veteran 4 final where together with Mark D and Stuart and coxed by Sam they achieved the first veteran win this season. In view of the conditions we'd opted for a wooden boat (Jeff Hutton) rather than the plastic and this seemed to pay off as it seems to ride the waves better and ship less water so the automatic bailers could cope - this may be due to the in-line arrangement of the seats in the plastic boat leaving less room for the end sections (and their buoyancy compartments) and more weight in the bows (with the bow oarsman nearer the bows). The debate about the handling of plastic boats in rougher water looks set to continue as a discussion point for a while yet...
In Junior 4s our Ruderverein Waltrop foursome of B Gehre, L Breukner, B Dahmen and S Huseman came a close 2nd further down the field Jamie Ross Cummins, Ian Baker Luke Towner and Will Mihr came 6th and William Campbell, Matti Kaiser, Nicholas Cox and Michael Epps came in behind them.
In Novice 4s there was a second place for the same crew that came 6th in Junior 4 - can't be long before they get that 1st place - when they do it'll be Ian's second Novice win which means he'll no longer be a novice and have to row at Junior or higher. 
In Junior sculls Andy Cooper came 2nd and in Junior Pairs S Huseman and B Dahmen came 2nd and Ian and Jamie came 4th
Senior sculls John Cox finished his first race for some years but Ryan didn't. Junior Senior 4s the Waltrop four finished 2nd and the Veteran 4 with Matti Kaiser instead of Stuart came 5th. 1 place behind were Paul Kelly, Ian, Jamie and Michael Epps.

Shoreham

The Regatta of the weekend found us among the cabbages on the beach at Shoreham and at 9.30 the conditions looked good, but by the time of the first race at 10.30 the wind had picked up and conditions were starting to resemble those at Eastbourne yesterday. However, despite some changes to the timetable and a half hour break in racing early on, conditions improved and although challenging, the conditions were "better" than yesterday and we got another full days racing. 
Our crews were pretty much the same as the day before with many having spent the night under canvas - would they be more refreshed by the shorter journey - or had they had much sleep at all?
Today's Senior four had Dan Richie returning at stroke with Ashley Epps, Mark Symons, and Ryan Hosking coxed by Sam Epps - they finished the race but in 3rd place complaining bitterly about being boxed in by Bexhill on the run out to the turns while Deal (with a certain R.Twyman in the crew) took the lead and eventually the race. This result seemed harder to take than not finishing the day before after being swamped. One place behind the A crew were the B crew containing the omitted Andy Cooper at stroke with Stuart Webb, Mark Davies and Matt Appleby. They had their own battle for 4th place with the Folkestone veteran 4 containing Matt's dad. I think we beat them (have to check) which made up for finishing second to them again in the veteran Fours race (vet crew of Harry, Mark D, Stuart and Trevor)
Ryan finished his first Senior sculls race of the season coming second, a similar placing to Andy cooper in the Junior sculls 
Earlier in the day in the Junior Senior Fours race the Waltrop Herne Bay crew stormed to an impressive victory, improving on the previous days second place - winning this race made them ineligible for the Junior race so they later rowed the senior fours race instead as the 3rd Herne Bay crew - their course took them so far out to sea that some observers on the beach thought they were rowing back to Germany. Also in the JS 4s race were Harry, Mark, Matti and Trevor coxed by George
I didn't get the full details of today's novice and Junior crews but the good news is that Jamie Ross Cummins, Ian Baker, Luke Towner and Will Mihr got their win in the Novice Fours - This second win for Ian puts him out of the Novice crew but the other 3 can race again (unless they win Junior in the meantime). 
Harry and Trevor started the Senior Pairs race hoping not to end up in the water again, they did finish but some places behind Mark Symons and Ashley who came 3rd 
No coastal Regattas next weekend (but there is the Nat. Champs in Nottingham at which our senior four may or may not be competing in the coastal event - coastal boats on a lake, sounds like practice for this years South coast Champs).

Southsea

Herne Bay rowers and supporters made the long journey to Southsea for some different competition in the form of clubs from Hants and Dorset as well as our regular CARA opponents. With all the recent cancellations in Kent and Sussex would our crews have had enough race experience this season to flourish ? time would tell! 
Southsea Regatta (held at Lumps Fort, Eastney) and for a change at this, only our 3rd Regatta of the season, the sun came out and the wind had dropped to a westerley breeze so things looked promising for a full days racing. However, there was still no racing half an hour after the advertised 10.30am start so it promised to be a long day...... 
In fact the main race of the day took place about 8 hours later (most coastal Regattas finish in 5 hours because of the tide) but it was well worth the wait for Herne Bay's supporters. Following last years 2nd place for the Herne Bay 2nd crew and controversial disqualification of our 1st crew in the Senior 4 race, Herne Bay's 1st crew made no mistake - powering to a convincing victory in both their heat and the final. Congratulations to Ryan Hosking, Ashley Epps, Mark Symons and Dan Richie coxed by Sam Epps for regaining the Portsmouth Grand Challenge Trophy. 
Knocked out in the heats were our 2nd crew Andy Cooper,Trevor Iddenden, John Clay and Darren Ingram coxed by George Holness who only narrowly missed a place in the final and our 3rd crew who were the veteran 4 crew coxed by Will Campbell getting some race practice before their main event. 
There were no Herne Bay ladies crews today, it was apparently too far to travel (which doesn't bode well for Eastbourne next week which starts earlier and takes even longer to get to from Herne Bay) but plenty of entries in the other events including most of the Novices gaining more racing experience. 
Most unfortunate rower of the day was possibly vice captain Andy Cooper who despite winning twice at our home Regatta, was dropped from the senior 4 crew and went for a swim at the start of the Junior Sculls heat. To cap it all in the Senior Pairs race, together with Trevor Iddenden (who at least finished the Junior sculls heat but didn't make the final), he was beaten by 2 old men twice his age from the veteran crew - Mark Davies and Stuart Webb, a few places ahead of them were Mark Symons and Ashley Epps who came 5th 
The full Veteran 4 crew of Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Trevor Brown coxed by George Holness came 4th I think, but it was hard to tell who was ahead from where I was sitting....just need some more practice or would that be fitness ??? Anyway, still on course to make the championships as only one CARA crew beat us - so still in 2nd place. 
In the Junior 4 heat for CARA crews Luke Towner, Pip Churchyard, Nicholas Cox and Will Mihr coxed by George Holness came 4th qualifying for the final, Will Campbell, Alex Farrant, Simon Mount and Michael Epps coxed by Sam were a couple of places behind so did not make the final. Herne Bay did not win the event but it's early days for these crews and the competition was quite tough today. 
In the Novice 4 event both Herne Bay crews qualified for the final Jamie Ross-Cumming, Ian Baker, Simon Mount and Alex Farrant coxed by Sam Epps and Luke Towner, Pip Churchyard, Nicholas Cox and Will Mihr coxed by George Holness. Despite not winning the event they should be pleased that they were the fastest CARA crews especially as some of them have only being rowing a number of weeks and some of the opposition seemed to be quite experienced. 
No sculling success today - I've already mentioned the Junior event, in the senior event Ryan did not finish (but then again the senior fours race was imminent) In the Novice sculls Will Campbell started the race but only got half way back from the turns after some problems with his seat 
In Junior Senior 4s the veteran crew with John Clay instead of Stuart came 4th and further down the large field came Jamie, Ian, Luke, and Michael Epps. 
In the final race of the day - the Junior pairs final Jamie and Ian showed more harmony than after the Novice 4s race when they entertained the onlookers with a frank exchange of views on the beach after the race but did not pick up any silverware. However, considering how lumpy the water was by now and their relative inexperience (Jamie has only been rowing a couple of months) they did well to complete the race (and not come last). 

Hastings

After the recent weather and cancelled regattas it was good to arrive at Hastings to bright sunshine, no breeze and flat seas. Ideal conditions for sitting on the beach and also some hard racing. 
Disapointingly there were no HB womens crews today even though they've been training through the winter and seemed to be gearing up for a good season….still , this was only the first regatta and there’s a long way to go. 
In the 1st race of the day the Junior 4 coxed by captain Harry - Luke Towner, William Mihr, Ian Baker, Jamie Ross Cummings in their 1st competitive race came 5th – this was a good warm up for this new crew for their main event the Novice Fours was later in the day. 
In Senior pairs it was a straight final but with not enough boats Harry and Trevor had to scratch. We made good use of our 3 boats with 2nd place for Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps, 3rd place for Ryan Hosking and Dan Richie and 4th for Mark Davies and Stewart Webb. 
In Junior sculls Ashley Epps did not finish but Andy Cooper came 2nd after leading the race until the last 20 strokes. 
The Novice 4 (same crew as Junior 4) coxed by George Holness had a great result crossing the line 3rd but finishing 2nd after a clash on the turn led to another crew’s disqualification. 
Todays Senior 4, coxed by Sam Epps, was comprised of Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Dan Richie and Ryan Hosking. They won their race convincingly but may not race in that combination for a while with Dan heading off to the river for a while. 
If these results were making things seem easy for new captain Harry he was brought down to earth with two grillings from the umpires firstly for the offence of having a green number on a boat and secondly for wrong kit being worn by Ryan. 
The win in the Senior 4 left Harry with an additional problem, Dan’s first Senior win means he is now ineligible to row in the Junior Senior 4, to make up for missing that race Dan entered Novice sculls, his 1st coastal sculling race, having come 3rd in the fours head in a quad scull he was fairly confident of getting a result – however, that result was second place…
The Veteran 4 of Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Trevor Brown coxed by Sam powered off the start into an early lead but couldn’t hold on and finished in 2nd place. In Senior sculls Ryan Hosking also came 2nd. 
Finally the Junior Senior 4 coxed by George (the same crew as veteran 4 but with Ian instead of Stuart) managed a creditable 3rd place.

Herne Bay

The Regatta got underway on time and in good conditions. the overcast sky did not result in (much) rain and the brisk south westerly breeze did not chop the water up too much. 
Taking the results from a Herne Bay point of view [click here for full results] in the order they were raced the very first race - the Junior 16 quad fours saw our newest coastal boat, the Garry Cooper, rigged as a quadruple sculler for the first time in a race. The result was a close one resulting in a close 3rd place for the HB crew of Luke Towner, April Towner, Will Campbell and Nicholas Cox, coxed by George Holnes. This demonstrated the versatility of our latest coastal boat which can be rigged both as a quad sculler and a sweep oared four because of the seats being inline (traditionally they are offset).
In the Ladies Pairs race Helen Bell and Natalie Ingram came 4th. In the Veteran 4 Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Trevor Brown coxed by Sam Epps repeated their Hastings result and came 2nd behind Folkestone. In the Novice sculls final Matt Appleby (whose father had just beaten us rowing for Folkestone) came a close 3rd for Herne Bay.
A good sign for the future is the number of Novice rowers currently training at Herne Bay. In the Ladies Novice 4 race April Towner, Kirstie Langley, Hannah Woods and Amanda Waters had a good 1st race and will surely improve in the races to come.
There were 2 Herne Bay crews in the Mens' Novice 4 race. Jamie Ross-Cumming, Ian Baker, Simon Mount and Will Mihr coxed by George Holness came 3rd and the B crew Will Campbell, Luke Towner, Nicholas Cox and Alex Farant coxed by Natalie Ingram came 6th
At the other end of the scale in the premier event the Senior 4s, Herne Bay maintained their 100% record in this event this season winning for the 2nd time, the crew were Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Mark Symons and Ryan Hosking coxed by Sam Epps .
A few places behind the A crew were the B crew (comprised of same crew that came 2nd in the veteran four race).
In the Junior pairs final Jamie Ross-Cumming and Ian Baker came 3rd, a great result in their first pairs race. In the ladies senior 4 it was good to see a Herne Bay crew after the no-show at Hastings, however things did not go perfectly for Helen Kelly, Emily Heath, Helen Bell and Natalie Ingram coxed by Sam Epps and they came 5th after one of their blades came out during the race.
In the senior pairs final all 3 Herne Bay crews qualified for the final. Mark Symons and Ashley Epps did not finish after clashing with another crew soon after the start. The good news however was that Ryan Hosking and Darren Ingram (despite his recent back problems) came 2nd to Bexhill but as the 1st Kent crew to cross the line retained the Viking Shield. Mark Davies and Stuart Webb were a couple of places behind them.
In Junior 4s Herne Bay crews came 4th and 5th, The crews were firstly Jamie Ross-Cumming, Ian Baker, Simon Mount, Alex Farant coxed by Sam Epps and secondly Tim Carnell-McKean, Philip Churchyard, Nick Cox Will Mihr coxed by George Holness. In Junior Senior 4s we came 4th and 5th Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Paul Kelly and Trevor Brown coxed by George Holness, followed by Jamie Ross-Cumming, Ian Baker, Luke Towner and Mike Epps coxed by Sam Epps.
In the final race of the day, Junior sculls, Andy Cooper won and Trevor Iddenden was 5th.

Dorney Lake Championships

The 51st South Coast Champs was held (controversially for some) on the flat water of Dorney Lake but in Coastal Boats. At least there was less risk of the event being cancelled due to the weather but the debate will continue as to whether river boats should have been used to make the most of the ideal conditions even though it was the turn for coastal boats this year. Next year we could be rowing river boats in sinking conditions.... As well as the 6 championship races there was a full regatta program including a Junior Regatta - no tide so it would be a long day with the 1st race at 10.00am and the last at ten past 6. 
On Saturday 8th July, rowers from Herne Bay AR represented the Coast Amateur Rowing Association (Kent & Sussex) at the South Coast Championships. This year the event was held at the future Olympic regatta centre at Dorney Lake, Eton. The conditions were good, if a little chilly for the many spectators who travelled from Herne Bay to support their crews. 
The day started with sculling events for the under 16s, in which crews rowed a 1000 metre course. The under 16 crew of Carlo Monticolombi, William Campbell, Michael Epps and Nicholas Cox, coxed by George Holness, came third in the coastal boat event, but didn’t have such luck in the river boat event. 
It then was up to the girls under 14 crew of April Towner, Amanda Waters, Phobe Shilling and Samantha Epps, coxed by George Holness, to show the other associations what Herne Bay can do. They won over Poole by approximately 200 metres. Their coach Andy Turner from Kings School will be very pleased with that result after all the time he put in over the weeks leading up to the regatta. The girls were privileged to be the first crew to race in the club’s newest boat the ‘Dave Evans’. Mr Evans, a long-standing member of the club, was very honoured to have a boat named after him and was very there to see their victory. 
Herne Bay’s veteran crew of Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Harry Roberts (Captain), coxed by George Holness, represented CARA in the Veteran Championship race but were disappointed to come 5th on the day. 
In the Men’s Senior Championship event, aka ‘The Bowl’, Herne Bay had high hopes for Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps. In an exciting race the Herne Bay crew did all they could to win the coveted prize, but were beaten by four other crews. There was a small cheer, however, when Herne Bay lad Lewis Iddenden crossed the line in second place in the BCT crew. Ryde won the race. 
In the open events only the men’s senior crew of Darren Ingram, Andy Cooper, Matt Appleby and Trevor Iddenden, qualified for the final. In a very close race the crew was with the leaders until the halfway point but were eventually pipped to fifth place. Although the event was well supported by the junior and novice rowers from club, none of them were able to qualify. 

Dinner and Dance

2005 Season

Medway Head

The first competitive event of the year for Herne Bay took place on the River Medway in Maidstone on a sunny 3rd day of April 2005.
Herne Bay only had 2 fours and 2 pairs entered in this pre-season warm up event. Entries were quite low in this re-scheduled fixture but there were a fair number of coastal clubs represented. We'll have to wait for Viking Shield in a month's time for a more accurate test of who crews to beat will be this season, but well done to Bexhill anyway for coming first overall in a time of 10:05
With limited space on river and a time trial format racing was split into 3 divisions. In first at 10 O'clock our new boat 'Dave and Debby' had it's first taste of competition. Seniors Ryan Hosking and Darren Ingram were joined by Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps from Junior Senior crew and coxed by William Campbell. They finished 9th in a time of 10:48 and were 3rd Coastal Senior Four, but it is still a mystery who will be rowing with Ryan and Darren in their Senior Four this summer, numerous permutations having already been proposed.
Later at 11 O'clock eternally optimistic elderly juniors (Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown also coxed by William Campbell) took to water recording lowest Herne Bay time of 11:29 in 28th place but, more importantly, - they were FASTEST Coastal Junior Four.
Further success was achieved in this division by pairings of Seniors Ryan/Darren and Junior Seniors Andy/Ashley. Despite borrowing a Kings School River Pair, Andy and Ashley were beaten by Ryan and Darren by 1 second, they were however fastest Senior 3 pair in a time of 11:12 and Ryan and Darren were fastest pair in event and won Coastal Pair category rowing in 'Johnny Heil'.

Herne Bay

The racing conditions at Herne Bay can sometimes be challenging, especially when the wind is northerly as it was today. However in the end only the novice sculls and doubles races were cancelled due to the conditions.

The Junior Ladies were again victorious with Helen Bannister instead of an injured Hannah Rourke joining Helen Bell, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram. This win means they are now CARA champions for 2005. Ryan Hosking also sealed his position as CARA Junior sculls champion with his win today. Congratulations to all of them. The JS 4 who had already booked their place at he South Coast Championships continued their unbeaten run. The Senior Four (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Mark Symons and Richard Twyman)also won again and still lead the points needing only a few more to also be confirmed as league champions

The Viking Shield race (delayed from earlier in the year) was contested and retained by Darren and Ryan even though they came second in the Senior Pairs race. This is because the winners, Bexhill (who now have an unbeatable lead in the CARA league), are not from Kent and the Viking Shield is contested between the Kent clubs who showed hospitality to 2 Scandinavians in the 1920s after they had rowed across the North Sea on a visit to our shores.

In the Junior Pairs Harry and Trevor beat Mark and Andy for the first time. Then the Junior 4 of Harry, Andy, Dan and Trevor had their best row of the season narrowly missing out on 2nd place.

As it was the Home Regatta as many crews as possible were entered including some Coastal novices from Ali's adaptive river crew. Alan joined Stewart Webb and Marks Ormiston and Davies in the veteran Four who started well but finished fifth. He also rowed in Novice and Junior Fours and resolve to tell his river rowing friends how tough it is on the coast

 Folkestone

Things had warmed up by 2.00pm for the Senior 4 final when Herne Bay 'A' (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Mark Symons and Richard Twyman coxed by Will Campbell) were again narrowly denied 1st place by Bexhill, even with the new blades - freshly painted and gleaming in the sunshine that waited until this race to come out. 
Earlier in the the day, in the Junior Senior 4 final there was another convincing victory for the Herne Bay A crew (Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Lewis Iddenden, and Trevor Iddenden coxed by Will Campbell). This makes it 2 wins out of 2 for the winners of the Open Junior event at last years South Coast Championships. The same crew also acquitted themselves well in the Senior 4s race coxed by Rhys.
More success for Herne Bay in the Final of Junior Ladies 4s. The A crew (Helen Bell, Hannah Rourke, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram) did one better than at Worthing, this time coming First. After a shaky start they led into the turns, had a bit of a wobble just after but were so far ahead by then not to lose their position. This crew had also raced in the Senior ladies race which must have provided a good warm up. The B crew (Helen Bannister and 3 others in their first days racing) also raced for the first time in this event.
In the Junior 4 final the field was split with a leading pack and a trailing pack. Somewhere in the gap between the two were Herne Bay A (Harry Roberts, Paul Kelly, Mark Davies and Andy Harris).
In the Veteran 4 the 3 Marks (Symonds, Davies & Ormiston) together with Harry made up the latest permutation and came in 5th for their efforts. A comfortable row by all accounts with plenty of room for improvement considering it was a first for this combination.
In the Novice 4 s race both the men's crew (John Atkinson, Michael Epps, Paul Kelly and Dan) and the ladies A crew (Helen Bell, Hannah Rourke, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram) qualified for the final.

Turning to the Pairs events, in Senior pairs there were 3 HB crews.
Guy Addington and Mark Ormiston (2 races in one day for Mark after a gap of half a decade!) did not make the final but the other two did. 
Ryan and Darren continued their good form coming second by the closest of margins, Andy and Ashley were also in the final.
In Junior pairs the HB crews came came 5th and 6th Mark and Andy managed to beat Harry and Dan in the latter pairs first race together and for Dan nearly his first race ever.

Finally, a double success in the the individual events. Senior Sculls were won for Herne Bay by Richard Twyman and Junior Sculls Won by Ryan, Ashley also started the final but did not finish.

Another good days racing sees Herne Bay continue their season in strong form. The senior aggregate points total was drawn with Bexhill - the winner was decided by the toss of a coin - unfortunately not in our favour. Overall aggregate points total left us two points adrift of Bexhill so we are now second by 3 points.

Dover

The ancient port of Dover was the venue for the pre penultimate Regatta of the season.
Not a great day for Herne Bay's JS CARA champions who, despite crossing the line first, were disqualified due to some mishap at the turns. This means that Dover, who came second, will also become a senior crew next season when it was looking like the HB crew would be the only new senior crew next season. It also meant that our 'B' crew gained 3rd place, the best result this season for the Junior Crew.
In other events the Senior Four, Ladies Junior Four and Novice Four all crossed the line first without being disqualified, as did Ryan in the Junior Sculls. For the Novice Four, however, it was a non qualifying event as there were only 5 entries - this means they have to win again to lose their novice status.  

Southsea  

Southsea attracts entries from the Hants and Dorset Association as well as CARA (Kent and Sussex) and is a good indicator of form ahead of the South Coast Championships later this year. As always it was bright and sunny and unlike last year, when racing was cut short, the sea remained flat so all races were finished in good time.

The extra racing was obviously good practice for the Senior Four (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Mark Symons and Richard Twyman coxed by Will Campbell) as they ended the day by taking top place and one of the most impressive trophies in coastal rowing. They had earlier indicated their intentions by winning their heat against all the other CARA crews. Further Fours success for the Junior Senior Four (Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Lewis Iddenden, and Trevor Iddenden coxed by Will Campbell) who also won their final so they remain unbeaten this season
The senior crew were taking their fours race seriously so no Senior Pairs entry for Ryan and Darren but Andy and Ashley from the JS four did represent HB coming third. From the senior four Richard Twyman entered the Senior sculls and Ryan the Junior sculls both coming second to Hants and Dorset scullers but unbeaten by CARA opponents.
The ladies Junior Four (Helen Bell, Helen Bannister, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram) came second to Coalporters so were the fastest CARA crew in their event. The 2 Helens also entered Junior Pairs finishing well in their First Pairs race.
The latest combination for Vet Four (Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stewart Webb and Mark Ormiston) came 5th, after a good start they faded badly .a similar story for Herne Bay A in Junior Fours (Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown) who finished 5th in their heat failing to make the final. The novice Four (John Atkinson, Michael Epps, Paul Kelly) finished 5th in their final, but were the fastest CARA crew.
Early in the day the Southsea commentator, remarking on the current dominance of CARA senior crews over Hants and Dorset crews, said it was due to CARA clubs adopting ARA training methods. I don't know how true that is but our crews that did well today have certainly trained hard for their success, while those of us who nearly did well may need to work harder to achieve the same level of success.

Shoreham

Our Senior A crew gave this one a miss due to unavailability but they had already qualified for the South coast championships. In their absence the HB JS crew came a very good 3rd and Deal beat Bexhill to 1st place meaning that our Senior crew stay in the lead on points in the CARA championship.
The JS crew also won their own event ending the season unbeaten, save for 1 disqualification. The Junior crew came 5th in the JS race and 4th in their own event.
The Ladies Junior crew won again, but  the Novice crew narrowly failed to repeat yesterdays success coming 2nd (with Will rowing instead of Mark D)
In the individual events events Ryan again won J sculls confirming his position at the top of the championship points and Richard came 2nd in senior sculls
In Junior pairs Trevor and Harry battled the elements to 3rd place with Andy and Dan a couple of places behind.
In Senior pairs in Ryan and Darren's absence Andy and Ashley came 4th
Finally, there was no veteran 4 crew, we must have just run out of combinations. Perhaps next season there'll be a settled crew in training for this event as there are certainly enough eligible oarsmen as the many permutations this season have shown.

Brighton

Originally due to be the First Regatta of the season, predictions of strong south easterly winds caused the original date at the start of June to be cancelled ......following further rescheduling it ended up being held 2 months later on the final Regatta weekend of the season. Today sea conditions were flat but there was a strong offshore breeze, nothing to prevent the Regatta taking place, which is good news after so many cancellations and no event last year. Brighton and Hove Regatta is actually held at the Hove end of the shoreline, far from the central location originally occupied by the now defunct Brighton Rowing Club. 
First Race of the day was the Novice 4 final and it was soon apparent that the starter sought a level of perfection in the line up that Aristotle would have deemed indicative of an imprecise mind. Anyway, by the time the crews were started they had been blown so far offshore that after1000 metres there was no sign of any turns for the leading crews. The coxes turned sharply inshore to find the turns and the race was abandoned by the umpire with most of the crews heading directly for the shore and the now visible line of turning buoys in front of them. On the restart Herne Bay again led from early on, found a turn this time and increasing their lead on the way home were victorious. Well done to Michael Epps, Dan, Mark Davies, Paul Kelly and Cox Natalie Ingram for their first qualifying win.
When the boat finally came ashore Harry and Trevor immediately joined Mark and Dan for the J 4 final which was the next race. Less success in this race however.
By the time of the Senior Four Race the starter was still seeking the perfect line and this time went as far as to warn every crew in the race for going over the line at the same time. No one had seen this before, indeed some observers were puzzled because that's what should happen at the start of a race. Anyway, in the race itself Herne Bay A, Ryan, Darren, and Richard Twyman with a replacement for Mark Symonds came second to Bexhill but are still in the lead on points with one race to go.
In Senior Sculls Richard was second to a certain Mitchell of Bexhill but Ryan again won in Junior Sculls.
Our JS crew (Andy, Ashley, Lewis and Trevor) were back in winning form crossing the line first without being disqualified this time as were the Ladies Junior crew (Helen, Hannah, Natalie and Emily).
In Junior Pairs Mark D and Dan came 3rd with Harry and Trevor a couple of places behind.
With the combination of all these good results the aggregate points trophy was also won by Herne Bay.

Worthing

With two Regattas already cancelled this year it was third time lucky for a belated start to the 2005 season and a chance to see who the crews to beat are going to be in the weeks ahead. To eveyone's relief the weather and sea conditions were good and the only problem was a retreating tide late in the afternoon following the delayed start.
Our first victory came early on to last years succesful Junior Crew (Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps,Lewis Iddenden,and Trevor Iddenden) who were impressive in the Junior Senor Fours winning by a good distance. The same crew (steered by new cox Rees Cassidy) also came fifth in the Senior Fours Final where Herne Bay A (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Mark Symons and Richard Twyman) came a very close second to Bexhill in the new boat (it's first win can't be far away - perhaps some new blades may help.....)
Also finishing Second in their event were the Womens Junior Four (coxed by Madelaine they are Helen Bell, Hannah Rourke, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram). The mens Junior Four who failed to go up last year(Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown) finished 4th in their race and the novice crew John Atkinson, Michael Epps, Paul Kelly and Mark Davies) qualified but were out of the places in the final. The veteran 4 came 5th and the JS 'B' crew came 4th (both crews being variations on the Junor crew)
In pairs racing Ryan and Darren won the senior event with Andy and Ashley 5th. Our Junior pairs (Andy and Mark, Trevor and Harry from the junior 4) finished 5th and 6th.
More sucess for HB came in the sculling events with Richard Twyman winning the senior and Ryan winning the Junior events
All in all a great start to the season which left Herne Bay second highest in the aggregate points total just one point behind Bexhill.

Eastbourne

The day started badly due to persons unknown appropriating the best pair boat from the trailer, parked overnight on Southsea sea front. Luckily it was found, not too badly damaged, washed up against the submarine blocks at Southsea.  However upon reaching Eastbourne it was discovered that 2 blades (1 macon 1 cleaver) were also missing. Hopefully those responsible didn't enjoy their swim - the riggers were not attached.

As for the racing, the Senior Four (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Mark Symons and Richard Twyman), Junior Senior Four  (Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Lewis Iddenden, and Trevor Iddenden) and Ladies Junior Four (Helen Bell, Helen Bannister, Emily Heath and Natalie Ingram - congrats to Helen B by the way for her first trophy) continued their winning ways by beating everyone else.  These three crews now top their respective South Coast Championship points categories and look certain to be in contention at Bexhill on the 3rd September.
 Ryan again won Junior Sculls, but in Senior sculls Richard failed to continue his winning ways.  As for the other crews there were some scratch combinations due to absences...... More details to follow when I find them out!

Hastings

The senior crew (Ryan Hosking, Darren Ingram, Richard Twymen and Mark Symons) who have won the last 2 regattas and Junior Senior crew (Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps, Trevor Iddenden and Lewis Iddenden) as yet unbeaten have high hopes. As do the Ladies Junior IV(Hannah Rourke, Natalie Ingram and Helen Bell coxed) currently leading on points. All these crews are being coxed by Rhys who is having a busy First season. Richard in Senior Sculls and Ryan in Junior Sculls are also highly tipped

The day started dull and overcast but with no wind so the temperature was mild - ideal for rowing if a little choppy on the water at times.
Also we were without Captain or Vice so in their absence Harry was In Charge (of all crew changes etc...) some may say the power went to his head but I think he did a fantastic job!
Originally all races were scheduled as finals but late entries on the day meant heats for most events starting with the Junior IV (captain Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown), first Herne Bay crew on the water today and through to the final
Senior Pairs also had heats both A (Ryan and Darren) and B (Andy and Ashley) crews getting to the final.

Next event was the Ladies Junior IV final and the First victory of the day. This continues their run of success, even though they again had a new crew member.
Senior IV heats were next and both A and B crews qualified. In Junior Sculls Ryan didn't make the final after some swimming practice at the turn, but after getting back in he wasn't last in his heat. Trevor Iddenden also tried his luck at Junior sculls for the firsts time.
In Junior Pairs both A and B through to the final where Mark D and Andy H came fourth (I think) and Harry and Trevor a bit behind.
In the Ladies Senior IV the Herne Bay crew gained more experience of what they'll face when they move up a status next year and in Veteran IV another combo of Harry, Trevor Mark Ormiston and Stewart Webb finished a place better than last time in Fourth.
Senior Sculls final saw another win for Richard, and also a less glorious appearance for Mark Ormiston after some years absence from the event.
The Final of Junior Senior IV saw Herne Bay A again victorious while the B crew (Junior crew getting some practice) came third.
In the Senior Sculls Ryan and Darren unusually finished fourth one place behind Andy and Ashley, maybe saving something for the Senior Four final. The closest race of the day was the long awaited Senior Four Final, Herne Bay this time finished second to Bexhill by the narrowest of margins. This makes it 3:2 in Bexhill's favour so far this season. Off to Bexhill tomorrow for a rematch if the weather holds out - talk of storms was especially alarming to those spending the night under canvas.

Bexhill Championships

The South Coast Championships took place this year at a bright and breezy Bexhill. This meant conditions were a little choppy for the rowers but perfect for the many spectators on the beach. 
Unlike a normal CARA Regattas there were no turns today. The course was a straight 1800 metres. 
For those not familiar with this event, the championship races at each status level are between the top two fours from each of the 3 rowing associations along the south coast of England. (CARA, Hants and Dorset and the West of England) 
There are also open and invitation races at the Regatta for the many other crews from these associations.
The Premier event of the day was the Championship Senior Fours race for the Bideford Bowl. Herne Bay's Senior crew (Ryan Hosking, Richard Twyman, Mark Symonds, Darren Ingram coxed by Adele Taylor) have trained hard for this event all season and today were rewarded with a fine win over BTS with Bexhill third in a nail biting finish. They kept the watching crowds in suspense to the end, as the first two crews approached the line matching each other stroke for stroke. Herne Bay edged out their Hants and Dorset rivals on the line even though an early celebration from the Herne Bay bowman before crossing the line nearly cost the race. 
The Herne Bay Junior Senior Four (last years winners of the Junior Invitation event at the S.Coast champs - Lewis Iddenden, Trevor Iddenden, Ashley Epps and Andy Cooper coxed by Will Campbell) have dominated their event at every CARA Regatta this season taking some of the pressure off the Senior Four. They took the lead in today's race from early on and built on it to round of a very successful season in strong form.
The Ladies Junior Four (Helen Bannister, Natalie Ingram, Emily Heath, Helen Bell coxed by Rhys) fought hard in their championship final, which saw the lead change several times. They finished third but were a little disappointed.
Turning to the non-championship races, the men's junior crew (Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies, Trevor Brown coxed by Rhys) had the best result finishing second in the invitation event. They had been closing fast on the leaders, Folkestone, right up to the line nearly pulling off a remarkable victory. Next year it is hoped to have a regular squad of junior rowers training at the club to produce more consistent results at this level.
The mens Novice Four (Michael Epps, Dan Ritchie, John Atkinson, Paul Kelly) had high hopes before the race following recent good form. They got through the heat and were contesting the lead in the final before suffering equipment failure with one of the seats which effectively put them out of contention.
In the open senior race the recently assembled Captain's four (Stewart Webb and Mark Ormiston joining Guy) got through to the final.
There was another success this weekend for Herne Bay Rowing Club - far away in Tokyo at the world rowing championships where Ali's mixed adaptive crew took the Gold medal.
Much celebrating followed the good results at the Regatta, both before and after the official prizegiving. We now have two more impressive pieces of silverware to join the rest on display at the Dinner Dance in a few weeks time.
No more races this year, the next competitive event will probably be in the new year.....as the nights draw in and the sea gets colder (and lumpier) the focus will shift to land training.

Dinner and Dance

2004 Season

 Deal

It was a sunny calm millpond that greeted Herne Bay when they arrived early at Deal for the 10.30 start.
In the week leading up to the Regatta certain changes to crews had been made - not in panic but as a considered mid-season adjustment. In the Senior 4 A crew Paul Monroe joined last week's addition, Stuart Webb together with with Ryan Hoskins and Darren Ingram. The Senior Four B crew comprised Guy Addington, Alistair Mckean and the Iddenden brothers from the Junior four.
The Junior 4 A crew changed their order Trevor Iddenden now at stroke, brother Lewis at bow and Ashley Epps and Andy Cooper in the middle. The Junior 4 B crew (the oldies) remain unchanged but have lost their Cox William to the younger Junior crew, but have an able replacement in Toby Caira. The women entered 2 races Helen, Liz, Natalie and Hannah with Madeleine coxing in the Junior 4 race and replacing Helen for the Novice 4 race. 
Racing was delayed while the marker buoys for the turns were sorted out, eventually the first race for Herne Bay was the Junior Fours Final. Our crews were both contesting top spots into the turn, the B crew came out 2nd and were challenging for the lead when the race was called off - apparently the turns weren't straight. In the re-row the young crew ended up 3rd & the oldies were 5th. By this time the Regatta had been severely delayed due to misplaced turns and the course had been shortened (there would normally have been 2 turns but now there was only one)
The Junior women's crew got a better start than last week and finished 3rd. In the Novice race, however, they were hampered by problems with the boat and finished behind the other women's Novice crew.
In the Junior pairs race Andy and Ashley came 2nd with the other crews in 4th 5th & 7th
In the veteran Four Mark, Trevor and Harry ('fresh' from the pairs race immediately before) joined Stuart and were relatively pleased with their 4th place. Reward for the fact they'd actually had a training row during the week. 
The senior 4 race was full of incident, and was re-rowed 3 times, the first 2 races were called off soon after the turn with Herne Bay well placed. Unfortunately in the final race they were disqualified for impeding another crew.
In the Junior Senior race the oldies finished 4th but when the 2nd and 3rd crews were disqualified this turned to a second place and the crew's first trophy of the season.
Ryan and Guy both failed to qualify for the junior sculls final. In the senior pairs race Ryan & Darren again got 2nd place behind Bexhill, but were challenging them strongly at the finish.

Bexhill

Another sunny day but more of a breeze hinted that conditions would be a little more challenging than at Deal yesterday. After some early worries it also appeared that the turns were more firmly attached than at Deal so we'd have to row the full race distance today. 
In the Junior 4s race the youngsters came 3rd & the oldies 5th
Both Senior 4s were outside the top three. 
The veteran four came 5th. 
Ryan and Darren's senior pair were again 2nd behind Bexhill 
In the junior pairs race, in challenging conditions, the Herne Bay crews eventually came 3rd 5th 6th 7th. Trevor and Harry had been leading for much of the first thousand metres before finishing 6th and after the turn right up to the final 100 metres both Mark/Andy and Ashley/Andy had been challenging in 2nd place before dropping back to 5th and 3rd respectively.

Eastbourne

A later start than normal - 1.00pm, but boat loading at Herne Bay was still at the (earlyish) time of 7.30am. On arrival at Eastbourne the beach was hot and sunny and a brisk onshore breeze promised non-flat racing conditions. 
First crews to race were the Senior Fours. The First crew, unchanged from last week, of Ryan Hosking, Paul Monroe, Stuart Webb, Darren Ingram coxed by Luke Caira qualified comfortably. The second crew were nearly our younger Junior crew (with no Junior Senior Race today this was the only opportunity for extra race practice) but with Alistair McKean in for Andy Cooper, they also qualified earning extra race practice later in the final. However both crews failed to make an impact in the final.
Both Ryan and Guy Addington failed to get through the Junior Sculls heat to the Final 
Next Herne Bay crew was the Ladies Junior Four. This week's combination of Helen Bannister, Hannah Rourke, Natalie Ingram and Helen Bell coxed by Luke were raring to go but within minutes of going afloat had to return to shore with a broken foot stretcher. With only 3 minutes to change boats and Helen B with an injured wrist they scratched from the race. Later in the Novice race the same crew, with a replacement for Helen B finished well halfway through a field comprised of men's and ladies crews. 
In the hotly contested Junior Fours race the elder crew of Harry Roberts, Andy Harris, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown coxed by Luke Caira found some form in the first 1000 and were holding second place up until the last 500 when they were pressured by the more youthful Herne Bay crew of Lewis Iddenden, Andy Cooper, Ashley Epps and Trevor Iddenden coxed by Michael Epps. So an excellent 2nd and 3rd for Herne Bay with only Bexhill in the way of greater glory. 
In the Junior Pairs the 8 Junior oarsmen split into their usual pairs - so there were 4 Herne Bay crews in the field of 12. The start was very congested on the inside and Mark and Andy H in lane 2 immediately tangled with another pair which put them out of serious contention. They did pull back some places including the Iddenden brothers who are still finding their feet in their first season of pairs racing. Ashley and Andy managed to weave their way out of the places while, by keeping out of trouble, Harry and Trevor had the best finish position coming 3rd proving that age and experience can triumph over youth. 
The veteran (minimum age 40) Four keep improving with each race. Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Trevor Brown coxed by Michael Epps had an excellent start to put them in an early lead and after rowing a good race finished third. 
In the last race of the day for Herne Bay our supporters finally had something to cheer. Ryan Hosking and Darren Ingram had done their homework before the Senior Pairs race to find the best water. Drawn in Lane 3 they made sure that they stuck as close to the shore as possible on the way back (giving the spectators some anxious moments) and in a hard fought race they emerged victorious pushing Bexhill into 2nd place for the first time this season. 

Folkestone

A fair sized Herne Bay contingent together with their supporters arrived to a bright sunny day with light breeze and flat sea, giving no hint that racing would not be completed. Before the end, however we managed to come away with 2 second places and some 3rds and 4ths in the races that were held.
The veterans, boosted by their encouraging 3rd at Southsea, (and having had their first ever training outing during the week) were 1st to test the water. Despite the local knowledge of a borrowed cox and a comfortable 1st thousand they faded to finish 4th behind 2 Folkestone crews & Bexhill.
In the heats of Junior sculls Ryan qualified in Heat 1 but the captain was unsuccessful in Heat 2. Immediately after his sculls heat Ryan joined Darren for the Senior pairs final in which they finished 2nd behind the Mitchells of Bexhill.
The Herne Bay Women's Junior 4 were left on the start (chaotic starts were the order of the day) but fought back to 3rd place. Then came the junior pairs final, a race well supported by Herne Bay with 4 crews. After a muddled start & slow turn Herne Bay C, (Mark & Andy) came 2nd after Dover for their first trophy of the season. Further down the field were the Ids 9th Harry/Trev 7th and Andy/Ashley 6th.
Conditions were worsening by the time of the Junior 4s race which was unfortunate as the youngsters had been training on the river all week. There was another terrible start, but after the turn the 2 Herne Bay crews were fighting each other (and the side-on waves) for 3rd place with the youngsters eventually ending up better off and the 'oldies' left in 4th..
Racing was abandoned soon after so there were no Women's Novice 4, Senior 4 or Junior sculls finals for our various crews. All over by halfway through the afternoon and following prize giving for a couple of consolation 2nd place trophies it was back to Herne Bay for the horse racing evening.

Waltrop

HERNE BAY AMATEUR ROWING CLUB has had a busy couple of weekends with the annual presentation evening at the club house at spa esplanade being swiftly followed by a visit from over 30 of our friends from Waltrop rowing club the following weekend. 
After arriving on Friday evening, Saturday was spent enjoying the local sights and - for some - getting in some rowing practice in dead calm conditions.
Saturday evening saw another big event at the Boathouse with live music and a happy treasurer with most of the Smirnoff Ice being consumed.
On Sunday the main event was not the football match (won 4-2 by Herne Bay - see Harry for a full match report and explanation of back Passing) but the naming of our latest boat after Waltrop's late Johnny Heil. Emotional speeches were given by Herne Bay chairman Roger Plowman and Johnny's daughter Denia before the boat was taken out in challenging conditions by Herne Bay's top pair - Ryan and Darren. Unfortunately the conditions were too rough for the planned rowing race between Herne Bay and Waltrop so everyone returned to the bar.
That evening saw the second presentation evening in as many weeks with Herne Bay being awarded the football trophy and a ship's bell for the bar from RV Waltrop as a symbol of the friendship between the clubs rounding off a busy and enjoyable weekend.

Dover

The last regatta of the season proved highly successful for Herne Bay.
Firstly the ladies junior four Helen Bell, Hannah Rourke, Helen Bannister, Natalie Ingram with Madeline Hopkinson as the Cox came second to Dover.
Junior four of Trevor Iddenden, Ashley Epps, Andy Cooper, Lewis Iddenden with the Cox of William Campbell also came second in their race this crew then split up into pairs for the junior pairs with pair Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps finishing second and pair Trevor and Lewis Iddenden finishing third just behind Bexhill
The senior four race also produced a fine result for the bay club with the A crew Darren Ingram, Ryan Hoskins, Alistar Mckean, Guy Addington with a cox of William Campbell finishing second and the young junior crew who also entered for more practise just behind in third place

With all these second places the club needed a win from somewhere and it came from one of the clubs most consistent performers. Ryan Hoskins continued his newly formed sculling career with a fine win in the junior sculls also his young prodigy andy Cooper finished third. Another second place came in the senior pairs for Darren Ingram and Ryan Hoskins. Herne Bay's day finished on another high note when they were awarded with the junior aggregate.
With the season over on the coast Herne Bay now go to the championships at Bideford in Devon next weekend where although they have no crews in championship events they are entered in a variety of open events.

Bideford Championships

Herne Bay finished their rowing season with a trip to Bideford in Devon for the South Coast Rowing Championships with 5 crews in 5 open events.

First to go afloat were the junior four T.IDDENDEN/A.EPPS/A.COOPER/L.IDDENDEN COX W.CAMPBELL in their heat which they won convincingly.

Next out were the senior fours with two crews entered.
The B crew A.MCKEAN/G.ADDINGTON/C.DODSWELL/A.VICKERS COX M.HOPKINSON won their heat but could only manage 5th place in the final.
The A crew D.INGRAMS/S.WEBB/P.MUNROE/R.HOSKINS COX W.CAMPBELL did not qualify from their heat due to having taken on too much water in conditions that were worsening by the minute. So much so that the Regatta was halted for one hour.

On the restart Herne Bay's next race was the junior fours final and the hard work that this four have put in throughout the season finally paid off when they won their race coming in 3 to 4 lengths in front of Itchen Imperial. See picture above of the winning crew.

The ladies four H.BELL/E.HEATH/J.CROPPER/H.BANNISTER COX M.EPPS were next out but were hit with problems on the way down to the start and failed to make the start. This caused problems for the junior senior four T.BROWN/T.CAIRA/A.HARRIS.H.ROBERTS COX P.MCRORRY who then had to borrow a boat and cox to make sure they made the start for the last race of the day, which they did, and came a fine second place behind RYDE.

Dinner and Dance