Dear Everybody,

 
Headline news: Masters Nationals at Strathclyde: 
Two golds on Saturday: Gillian, Sue, Kirstie and Jooles in W.Non-Championship.D/F Intermediate coxed fours, and Gillian and Sue in W.Non-Championship D/F Intermediate coxless pairs.  I’m morally certain both our crews were D, so they had to overcome a time handicap to win.  Well done all!
 
This is from a follow up email from Bridgnorth Regatta:
 
Lewis,
On a side note, I was marshalling above the start all day, and must say I 
was very impressed with the boat skills of your J11 sculler. He seemed 
to sit there with ease waiting for his race, backing down to hold his 
position against the stream, while much older and experienced crews 
around him (and throughout the day) were nowhere near as good. I am sure 
once he starts meeting opposition more of his own age he will start 
picking up some silverware, and hope the experience he gained helps him 
develop.
 
Hoping to welcome you all again next year. [we’ll see – more below]
 
Regards,
Daz
Bridgnorth RC
 
On the home front, a newbie this Saturday, one Simon Grundy (no relation to our current Grundys, but a friend of Liz Davies – thanks for the plug, Liz!).  Not quite a complete boat novice (some kayak and canoe paddling many moons past), but certainly his first time with rowing blades.  Off the string quite quickly, apparently enjoyed the experience, and coming back next week.  Well done Simon!
 
More about Bridgnorth Regatta.  
The stretch of the Severn on which the regatta is held has a very strong current running down the centre, so one of the racing lanes has a distinct advantage (15 metres plus difference over 430 metres, by my SpeedCoach).  The regatta tries to counter this by employing a round robin system, whereby crews race twice, once on each side.  They record all winning times, which means that some results are decided by time differentials (a form of time trial).  However, some finals are single races, with one crew getting the advantage, so this is not fair.  This also means a lot more races, and they ran two hours over time.  The seven wins were lovely, but we will not be making a big effort to go again unless the regatta programme dictates (as it did this year).
 
Yours,
 
Lewis