2008 Season

The Viking Shield

On Saturday May 3^rd, HBARC hosted the Viking Shield Regatta. This regatta is supplementary to the usual regatta programme and is held primarily to contest the men’s senior pairs race, with the Viking Shield being awarded to the first Kent pair to cross the line. This year Darren Ingram and Ryan Hosking were aiming to make it win number ten. Ingram and Hosking were victorious, with other Herne Bay hopefuls Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps hot on their heels and rivals Bexhill some 8 lengths off the pace. Ryan Hosking said ‘We are really pleased to grab that tenth win. It’s what we’ve been aiming for.’ HBARC President Garry Cooper said that the club was very proud of the pair’s achievements. As well as contesting the Viking Shield, the regatta is a chance for other crews to assess what the competition will be like for the season ahead. In that respect things bode well for HBARC. First off were youngsters Nick Cox, Will Campbell, Amanda Waters and April Towner in the under 16s quad scull, with a respectable third place. The ladies novice four saw the first Herne Bay win of the day, with victory for April Towner, Samantha Epps, Amanda Waters and Phoebe Shilling, coxed by George Holness. And with Helen Beach substituted for Phoebe Shilling the crew also won the ladies junior four event. Jamie Ross-Cumming and Will Mihr came second in men’s junior pairs, and also achieved a third place in the fours event, joined by Simon Mount and Alex Farrant. The step up from men’s junior to senior sculls is a significant one, so Andy Cooper did very well to take third place in this event. HBARC had more success to celebrate when the crew of Harry Roberts, Luke Towner, Mark Davies and Trevor Brown, coxed by Sam Epps, won the Junior/senior fours event, with a Herne Bay crew also taking third place (Will Mihr, Simon Mount, Alex Farrant and Jamie Ross-Cumming). Herne Bay had two crews in the very competitive Veterans section. Last year’s championship runners up Harry Roberts, Mark Davies, Stuart Webb and Trevor Brown came second to Folkestone, coxed by phoebe shilling. Fresh out of retirement, Liz Taylor and Nicky Towner took second place in ladies pairs and were joined by Amanda Monroe and Sue Cox for a third place in the ladies senior fours event. Mother/daughter duo Nicky and April Towner also came third in ladies double sculls. Ingram and Hosking rounded out a very successful day by winning the men’s senior fours event with crewmates Ashley Epps and Mark Simmonds, coxed by Samantha Epps. So the season looks very promising for Herne Bay. All crews are training hard to make sure that they build on this positive start. The next regatta is in Shoreham on Sunday 25^th May.

Thanks to Mark Davies for this report.

Brighton and Hove

Following on from the good results of the Viking Shield Regatta at Herne Bay and then the cancella tion of Shoreham 2 weeks ago, the season proper finally kicked off at Hove. After leaving Herne Bayshrouded in cloud and drizzle it was encouraging to arrive on a South Coast bathed in sunshine. To start with, a northerly wind meant a flat sea, but by the end of the day’s racing this had swung round to the south making for more challenging conditions for the later events.

Men’s Senior Pairs saw the closest race of the day, with Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps missing out by a quarter of a canvas (official verdict) to Bexhill. Ryan Hosking and Mark Symonds came fourth.

Both pairs combined and, coxed by Sam Epps, competed in the eventful Men’s Senior Fours race, however the outcome was disappointing for Herne Bay. Firstly the hastily assem bled B crew (John Cox, Paul Monroe, Stuart Webb and Mark Davies, coxed by George Holness) managed to collide with both our A crew and Folkestone within the first 20 strokes – this was at the end of the day and the sea was fairly bouncy by then. The A crew recovered and were looking good until they were taken out by Bexhill and lost their rudder on the turn, leading to the race being red flagged. At the restart the starter opted to avoid start line collisions by starting the race while the outside crews (including both Herne Baycrews) were still four lengths short of the start line, unable to hear anything the starter said due to a coastguard helicopter practising nearby. Again Herne Bay A were involved in a collision at the turns but the race went on as they had not yet fully regained the four length deficit from the start. The B crew avoided collisions but suffered compromised flotation issues at the turn due to a faulty bailer and had to head for the shore to empty the boat Luckily George had practiced his swimming in similar circumstances during training the previous week. Despite this we managed to accumulate enough senior points to take second place in the Senior aggregate.

The Ladies Senior Four (Liz Taylor, Nicky Towner, Amanda Monroe and Sue Cox) came third – the same position as their last race in the Viking Shield Regatta but they were closer to the two crews ahead than the following pack and may get closer still as the season progresses.

Congratulations to the Ladies Novice crew for their second place in the Novice race. They went on to take fourth in the Junior race.

In Junior Senior Fours there were only three en tries, two of them from Herne Bay, but disappoint ingly victory went to Dover. Congrats however to the Herne Bay B crew (comprising our Junior ‘A’ crew Jamie Ross-Cumming, Simon Mount, Alex Farrant and Will Mihr) for beating Herne Bay A (aka the veteran crew with Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Bob Shilling and Harry Roberts) with a combined age double their own. The Junior crew came third in their Junior Fours race, while the vets (last year’s CARA runners up – Harry, Mark, Stuart and Trevor, coxed by Sam) came fourth in their own event.

Jamie Ross-Cumming and Will Mihr made a strong start in Junior Pairs (despite going for a swim just before the start line). They were leading up to the turns but fell back a few places by the line to finish third.

Thanks to Helen Kelly for this report.

Southsea

After five regattas cancelled due to bad weather Herne Bay ARC rowers were raring to go on Saturday 12^th July at Southsea regatta, the biggest regatta of the coastal rowing calendar, where clubs from Kentand Sussex (the Coast Amateur Rowing Association) compete against clubs from the Hants and Dorsetassociation (HDARA).

The best result of the day came in the Ladies Novice Fours event, won by HBARC girls Phoebe Shilling, Amanda Waters, April Towner and Samantha Epps (coxed by George Holness). The girls had a good start but were behind at the turns. Coming back from the turns, rowing against the wind, the girls pulled through to finish over a length ahead of Poole ARC.

The same crew then went on to finish third in the Ladies Junior event, though they were the first CARA crew to cross the line, therefore scoring a win for HBARC in the CARA grand aggregate points.

Samantha Epps and Phoebe Shilling done really well by coming third in the ladies junior pair but first out the of CARA crews.

As holders of the coveted Pompey Grand trophy, HBARC Men’s Senior Four crew were out to retain the title. The crew of Bradley Whale, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps, won the heat but were drawn in the outside lane for the final and could only manage fourth place. The race was won by reigning South Coast Champions Ryde RC.

In the Men’s Junior-Senior Fours event, the crew of Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Bradley Whale and Harry Roberts, coxed by George Holness, was the first CARA crew to cross the line, winning valuable points for the club.

Brown and Roberts, joined by Graham Dawes and Bob Balchin from Bexhill RC, came second in the Veterans over 50s event.

Thanks To Helen Kelly for this report

Folkestone 

During the week the senior squad had been seat racing to determine who made the 'A' crew - This seemed to motivate everyone in the last race of the day - Senior Fours - with the Herne Bay A crew of Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking finishing 1st ahead of Bexhill and Herne Bay B (Darren Ingram, Andy Cooper, Lewis and Trevor Iddenden) who were too close to call (but the umpires gave 2nd place to Bexhill). In the senior pairs earlier in the day the result was a dead heat between 2 Herne Bay Crews who were a long way ahead of the other crews. Ryan and Darren decided not to re-row so 1st place was awarded to Ashley and Andy. Andy Cooper also came 2nd in Senior Sculls. 

It was a busy day for the girls as well. In the Novice 4s race April Towner, Amanda Waters, Sam Epps and Phoebe Shilling came a close 2nd. They also raced in Junior 4s and J16 quads where they came 3rd after breaking a gate on one of the riggers. 

The senior win means that Mark Simmonds can not row veteran again this season - earlier in the day he finished 3rd in Vet 4s together with Harry, Mark D and Trevor Brown. That same trio with Jamie Ross Cumming came 2nd in the Junior Senior 4s, 1 place better than Jamie achieved in the Junior 4s with Luke Towner, Alex Farrant and Simon Mount. Jamie and Luke also came 3rd in Junior pairs - not bad after a wobbly start and considering Luke only switched sides a couple of weeks ago.

Deal 

After enjoying some success at Eastbourne and Shoreham regattas last year, a group of rowers from Ruderverein Waltrop joined us for Deal regatta. Fortunately the regatta was on, although the conditions were challenging to say the least, with difficult launching and some large waves to contend with.

In the first event of the day, the first heat of the Men’s Senior Fours, one of the Waltrop crews sank when the bow canvas on their boat failed, but their countrymen won the heat, thus qualifying for the final. In the second heat the two regular HBARC crews both qualified. Bjorn, Lars, Totti, and Martin were disappointed to have missed out on qualifying but enjoyed their swim!

HBARC saw two more of its boats sink in the Men’s Junior Pairs race, but after both were recovered safely (Alex and Simon on the back of a fishing trawler was quite a sight!) things started to look up for HBARC when Phoebe Shilling, Amanda Waters, April Towner and Samantha Epps won the Ladies Novice event, winning their novice medals and promotion to Junior Status. The girls have been coached in recent weeks by Darren Ingram and the crew owe much to his expertise. After a good start the crew stretched out a convincing lead and finished a good 400 metres in front of the second place crew.

William Campbell, Alex Farrant, Simon Mount and Nick Cox came third in the Men’s Noivce Fours event, and Alex and Simon were joined by Luke Towner and Michael Epps to come third in the Junior event as well. A crew made up of HBARC and Waltrop rowers (Sebastian Joraslafsky, Jonas Groner, Lars Wagner and Ian Baker) came fourth in the Junior event.

HBARC had three crews in the Men’s Senior Fours final. The ‘A’ crew of Darren Ingram, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps, were looking for another win and more points towards the Senior Fours championship, but after a very close race they were beaten by a HBARC crew made up of Waltrop rowers (Sebastian Husemann, Benedict Dahmen, Robert Keuper and Uli Schmolders, coxed by George Holness). This is a great achievement for the Germans, to row on rough seas in unfamiliar boats and completing two buoy turns. Two of the crew have represented Germany – Robert Keuper recently in the Under 18s World Championships and Sebastian Huesman some years ago – and their technique and strength shone through. Herne Bay’s own ‘B’ crew came fourth, which, added to the first and second place, gained the club valuable points in the CARA league.

Ashley Epps and Andrew Cooper continued a recent run of form to come second in Men’s Senior Pairs, and Andrew Cooper also came third in the Senior Sculls event.

In the Ladies Senior Fours event, Sue Cox, Liz Taylor, Nicky Towner and Amanda Monroe were very pleased to finish second after recently considering quitting. Hopefully this will spur them on for the rest of the season.

After sinking whilst launching, the Waltrop ladies crew of Svenya Joralafsky, Jana Zimmernan, Lisa Schulte-Kump and Vera Finkenbusch finished fourth in the Junior event and fifth in the senior event.

Four of the five crews in the Men’s Junior-Senior Fours event were HBARC, so they had a good chance of scoring some points in the league. The usual ‘A’ crew of Trevor Brown, Mark Davies and Harry Roberts were joined by Sebastian Joraslafsky and won convincingly over the ‘B’ crew of Luke Towner, Alex Farrant, Simon Mount and Michael Epps. Crews made up of Waltrop and HABRC rowers also came third and fifth: Thorsten Prang, Ian Baker, Martin Goer and Paul Kelly came third and William Campbell, Leyton Potterton, Nick Cox and Lars Wagner came fifth.

It was a very busy day for Captain Harry Roberts with forty-five rowers, three sinkings and three damaged boats, but it was all worth it for the points won and for the friendships forged between HBARC and Ruderverein Waltrop.

Dover

The Men’s Senior Four crew of Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmonds and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps, won their event easily over rivals Bexhill. The crew are now leading the Men’s Senior Four championship 3 wins to 1 and are on course to compete in the Bideford Bowl race at the South Coast Championships, due to be held in Plymouth on September 13th. Ashley Epps then went on to win the Men’s Senior Pairs event with crewmate Andy Cooper. Cooper also came third in the Senior Sculling event. The Men’s Junoir-Senior Four crew are also aiming to represent the Coast Amateur Rowing Association in Plymouth, taking their third win of the season at Dover. With two of the usual four absent, Trevor Brown and Harry Roberts rowed with Junior and Novice rowers Michael Epps and Michael Ormistone. Earlier in the day Michael Ormistone, along with Nick Cox, Simon Mount and Alex Farrant came second in the Men’s Novice Fours event. Since winning the Junior-Senior race, Ormistone can no longer row in the Novice status events. Carrying on their recent good form Phoebe Shilling, Amanda Waters, April Towner and Samantha Epps (coxed by George Holness) came second in the Ladies Junior Fours event. It was a very close race for second place between Herne Bay and Worthing, but the Bay girls just clinched it. In the Men’s Junior Fours event, Jamie Ross-Cumming, Luke Towner, Simon Mount and Alex Farrant came third. HBARC is currently second in the CARA league, 70 points behind leaders Bexhill. With three regattas left this season they have a lot of work to do to make up that deficit, but if they carry on this run of good results they can achieve that goal. Captain Harry Roberts would be very pleased to be able to win the CARA league before he gives up the captaincy at the end of this year.

Eastbourne

Eastbourne was another successful regatta with Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmons and Ryan Hosking coxed by Samantha Epps winning the Men’s Senior Four. A disappointing call from the Umpire with Ashley Epps and Andrew Cooper being disqualified from the Men’s Senior Pair meaning that Bexhill’s pair won the Championship. Not forgetting Darren Ingram and Ryan Hosking coming in second place and Mark Simmons and Dan Richie coming in third. Phoebe Shilling, Amanda Waters, April Towner and Samantha Epps (coxed by George Holness) came a comfortable second place in the Ladies Junior Fours event and also took second place in the Ladies Senior Fours. Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Jamie Ross-Cumming and Harry Roberts, coxed by George Holness secured their place in the Junior Senior Championships after coming first. The Junior crew of Jamie Ross-Cumming, Nick Cox, Luke Towner, William Mihr coxed by George Holness came a close third against Deal. In the Veteran event Trevor Brown, Stuart Webb, Mark Davies and Harry Roberts took second place. Dan Richie won his first Junior Sculls race at Eastbourne, and also went on to come second in the Senior Sculls event. Captain Harry Roberts was honoured to collect the Senior and Grand Aggregate Trophy. After the final regatta HBARC came second in the CARA League and Grand Aggregate table

Hastings

Hastings Regatta was a very victorious regatta for HBARC, although the men’s novice scull was disappointing with William Campbell falling out at the turns and thus delaying the next race. The Men’s Senior four was won by Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Andrew Cooper, and Ryan Hosking coxed by Samantha Epps. Ashley Epps and Andy Cooper came second in the Senior Pair with just a canvas between them and Bexhill. The Junior/Senior Fours was won by Trevor Brown, Mark Davies, Michael Ormiston and Harry Roberts, coxed by George Holness. In the Men’s Junior Fours event Jamie Ross-Cumming, Nick Cox, Luke Towner and William Mihr took first place moving Nick Cox up from Novice to his first junior win. As the weather worsened Phoebe Shilling, Amanda Waters, April Towner and Samantha Epps (coxed by George Holness) came second in the Ladies Junior Fours event, also taking second place in the Ladies Senior Fours closely followed by the senior ladies in third place. In the Veteran event at Hastings Trevor Brown, Stuart Webb, Mark Davies and John Cox came second. Captain Harry Roberts was honoured to collect the Senior and Grand Aggregate trophy making Hastings a very successful regatta. 

Herne Bay

Herne Bay regatta was another successful day for HBARC with the first race a victory in the Quad sculls. April Towner, Nick Cox, Will Campbell and Amanda Waters won first place with Samantha Epps Coxing. The victory suffered a broken blade from Will Campbell after 100 metres but still managed to win.The next race was the Novice fours final; HBARC came third.The preceding race for Herne Bay was the Veteran fours: The crew of Trevor Brown, Stuart Webb, Mark Davies and John Cox came a respectable third place.The Junior Pairs was next with Will Mihr and Jamie Ross-Cumming coming a close  third with Deal. The Junior Sculls earned HBARC a fourth place thanks to John Cox.The Men's Senior Pairs was a promising race with the usual suspects of Darren Ingram and Ryan Hosking coming first followed by Andy Cooper and Ashley Epps. The Senior Ladies crew of Sue Cox, Liz Taylor, Nicky Towner and Amanda Monroe scored an impressive victory at their home regatta in a very close race. They came second overall in the Ladies Senior Fours Championship but declined to race at Plymouth because of other commitments. More success follows with the Men's Senior four with the A crew of Dan Richie, Ashley Epps, Mark Simmons and Ryan Hosking, coxed by Samantha Epps coming first and in second place was the senior ‘B’ crew of Darren Ingram, Lewis Iddenden, Trevor Iddenden and Andrew Cooper. Phoebe Shilling and Samantha Epps who came an impressive third place rowed the ladies Senior Pairs final. The Junior crew of Jamie Ross-Cumming, Nick Cox, Luke Towner, William Mihr coxed by George Holness came second in the Junior fours after a re-row was ordered as Deal (who were in the lead) got caught round a buoy. The men's Senior Sculls was rowed by Ryan Hosking and scored a second place. Captain Harry Roberts was honoured to collect the Senior and Grand Aggregate trophies at all three regattas.

Plymouth Championships 

After a 6-hour drive early on Friday morning the HBARC rowers and supporters were glad to arrive at Plymouth Rowing Club only to be disappointed by the ground conditions. It had been raining heavily the night before and during the day resulting in the field turning to a muddy mess in most places. With all the boats rigged up and ready to go the majority of the rowers and supporters retreated back to the hotel until racing commenced for Herne Bay later that day.

Tensions were high on Friday afternoon as the first of two J18 races approached. Both crews boarded water right after each other and rowed up to the start line. The boys J18 who consisted of William Campbell, Nick Cox, Luke Towner and Michael Epps coxed by Vanessa Ware came a respectable 2^nd place after leading most of the way. The girls J18 immediately followed crewed by Phoebe Shilling, April Towner, Amanda Waters and Samantha Epps coxed by George Holness also achieving a well-earned 2^nd place by half a boat length behind Exeter.

With Both crews exhausted from their races, everyone travelled back to the hotel to relax and freshen up for the evening.

For Championship day; the weather had improved vastly from the day before, which boosted morale and spirit. The first Championship race was the girl’s junior four, consisting of Phoebe Shilling, April Towner, Amanda Waters and Samantha Epps coxed by George Holness encountered tough competition and finally finishing a disappointing 6^th place, their first experience of a championship race.

The next race for HBARC was the Junior Senior Championship race. The two Junior Senior crews came 5^th and 6^th with the A crew consisting of Trevor Brown, Harry Roberts, Mark Davies and Jamie Ross-Cumming coxed by Nathan Belcher-Wilson closely followed by the B crew consisting of Luke Towner, Michael Epps, Michael Ormiston and Will Mihr. Soon after was the Senior Four Open that was rowed by Darren Ingram, Andy Cooper, Trevor and Lewis Iddenden coxed by Vanessa Ware came a respectable 2^nd place. The final race for HBARC of the day was the Bideford Bowl senior four race. The crew looked promising with Dan Richie, Mark Simmons, Ashley Epps and Ryan Hoskins coxed by Samantha Epps but still achieved a creditable 3^rd place – leaving Bexhill to win .