Dear Everybody,

So, Northwich Autumn Head.  Fast conditions, not too cold, rainy to start, but not while on the water, so that was good.  A lot of good racing, but only the one win.  

By divisions then – First Division: (All Singles)

I lost the F/G singles to my old nemesis Steve Walker of Grosvenor.  I went 12 seconds faster than he, but the handicap was 18.  So it goes.   Josh’s back stopped him in J16s, so he wisely pulled up lame, and has done himself no lasting harm.  Sam was fifth of eight in J14, and Luke was seventh (and not last!  despite being J13).  Stella was last of seven, but had a good scull, and was not overtaken.  Tilly was third of four, finishing only two seconds off second place.

Second Division:

Our solitary win: the inaugural race for the men’s Masters B quad was a victory by 4 seconds (Rob, Chris, Luca, and myself).  We were fastest adult crew, and fourth fastest overall (reality check, three J18 quads were quicker, the winner -  from Trentham – beating our time by 23 seconds – ouch).  Jake and Monty did their best in the J14 double, but were third of three (the winners were HUGE!).

Third Division:

The J14 quad were fourth of eight, (0.4 seconds off third).  They were impeded by a front loader quad in the middle of the river.  These are a nightmare.  The cox can only see forward, so has no idea if they are in the way, and the crew cannot tell them.  It happens a lot.   We nearly had another win in Mas A/B doubles (Chris and Luca) but they were also impeded, and missed the win by 5.5 seconds.  And finally Beth and Gracie were second of four to the same winners as last year (Trafford), who were flying.