Down here in the South, we don’t get to see northern crews in action very often. Luckily, we’re covering Durham City Regatta so you can get a flavour of who’s fast. Since the scullers lined up are close in speed, racing should be exciting.
Durham ARC
From Durham ARC, we have Adam Morris. If this by was in consideration of his sculling abilities, it was very well deserved. Pre-Easter, he qualified to represent the North at JIIR. There, he came third in the B – Final. Being the one to qualify makes him the favourite for this regatta, but there are several factors to play with. With 0.5 seconds between the top three singles (at the northern qualifiers) Morris couldn’t take a breather over Easter. Luckily for him, Fairlie and Bessent are around to settle the score
Tyne ARC
Tyne ARC has entered two scullers that could make it to the podium. Bessent has an engine on him – he held the world record for 500m on the erg and won gold at British Indoor Rowing Championships in 2016. On the water, he narrowly missed out on qualifying for the single at JIIR trials, but still made it into the double. Much like Morris, he finished in the B-final (4th) but here we might see who really should have been in the single. Tyne’s other entry of Tyler was a little off the speed at trials, but a training partner in Bessent might have squeezed some more speed out of him.
Cambois ARC
Russel Fairlie is the holder of that 0.5 second loss to Morris. While he lacks the engine of Bessent, he’s skilful enough to race sweep oar during parts of this season. I lack the knowledge to state whether long or short distances are his speciality, but 700m is a fun distance to race over. It is too long for a straight sprint to the line, but if you settle late, the end will come before you know it. On the same course as Durham Regatta, Fairlie has the chance to show his mettle.
The remaining scullers are of some unknown speed, but this isn’t exactly NSR. It’s a downstream race on a mostly straight course. A race like this can produce unexpected results, so it’s worth checking this race’s review.
Good Luck to all crews entered.
3Speed
With thanks to the Northerner
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