ROWERS from across the country converged on Chester on Saturday morning for the 76th North of England Head of the River Race on the Dee.
An excellent day of racing followed in which crews from hosts Royal Chester Rowing Club, Grosvenor Rowing Club, The King’s School, Queen’s Park High School and REX Boat Club all produced fast times.
Sixty-two crews raced in the morning division with the pick of the bunch being The Grange School J18 quad, who set a blistering time of 17 minutes and 16 seconds.
Royal Chester’s masters D eight won their class while there was also success for Queen’s Park High’s talented J14 quad of Chris McCartney, Leon Langmead, Craig Roberts, Alex Thomas and cox Daniel Wallace, who finished 20 seconds ahead of The King’s School.
King’s, however, were victorious in the WJ18 eight, as were REX in the masters D novice eight.
The fastest women’s crew on the day were the Liverpool University Boat Club intermediate three eight in 19:09. Royal Chester’s intermediate three eight were just five seconds behind and the fastest local women’s crew, followed by Grosvenor’s intermediate two eight in third.
Grosvenor’s masters B/C eight were second in their category and sixth overall in the division.
The 61-strong afternoon division race provided senior racers with a chance to refine their strategy and size up the competition before this weekend’s Head of the River Race on the Thames. It also gave the timekeepers a headache with the top three crews separated only by fractions of a second.
After a close-run finish, The Royal Shrewsbury School Boat Club intermediate two eight claimed the trophy with the day’s fastest time of 15:49.
Royal Chester’s intermediate one eight won their class and were the fastest Chester crew and fourth overall in 16:23, while The King’s School enjoyed a second success in the WJ15 quad.
Grosvenor’s senior eight were sixth in the division while the club’s women’s masters B eight came second in their category.
The previous weekend Royal Chester Rowing Club and Grosvenor Rowing Club sent crews to the Thames to compete in the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race.
The Grosvenor intermediate two boat, consisting of Abi Sedgwick, Carolyn Pollard, Lindsay Scott, Janet Vorberg, Louise Tobias, Helen Rowland, Becky Maddison, Goranka Bosanac and cox Sarah Armstrong, produced an outstanding display.
They finished 87th overall in 20 minutes and 58 seconds, making them 26th in their class, the fastest Chester crew and 12th out of the 53 competing provincial clubs.
Youthful Royals finished 30th in the intermediate two field in 21:15 and 83rd in the intermediate three in 22:31.
