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