Viking Shield Regatta, Saturday 3rd May 2008
Firstly – results of all the races - conditions today were good – flat sea and little breeze
event
1st
2nd
3rd
J16 quad
Dover
Folkestone
Herne Bay
J pairs
Deal A
Herne Bay A
Hastings A
vet 4
Folkestoe A
Herne Bay A
Dover A
Ladies 2x
Hastings A
Dover A
Herne Bay
J sculls
Bexhill A
Bexhill B
Folkestone B
Ladies Nov 4
Herne Bay A
Deal A
Bexhill
nov 1x
Folkestone B
Dover A
Dover B
JS 4
Herne Bay A
Dover A
Herne Bay B
ladies S4
Deal A
Hastings A
Herne Bay A
senior pairs
Herne Bay A
Herne Bay B
Bexhill A
Folkestone B
Bexhill C
Deal A
ladies J4
Herne Bay A
Bexhill B
Bexhill A
senior 1x
Bexhill A
Bexhill B
?
nov 4
Folkestone A
Deal A
Bexhill A
ladies pairs
Deal A
Herne Bay A
Hastings A
J4
Deal A
Hastings A
Herne Bay A
S4
Herne Bay A
Bexhill A
Folkestone A
Deal A
Folkestone B
Bexhill B
..and now, details of the Herne Bay crews – report written by Helen Kelly
Tenth Viking Shield Win
On Saturday May 3rd, 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 CARA 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 25th May.