As the curtain fell on a largely weather-disrupted head season, the Port of London Authority would fly their first green flag in weeks, allowing an (almost) full strength entry into what has traditionally been Britain’s largest head race. Despite the improvement in the flag, the flow remained notably strong as the course record fell without the help of the national team athletes that have historically held such crowns.
The honour of taking that record went to the legendary Leander Club. This crew was made up of seven members of the victorious GB Netz Cup squad and represented the majority of the ‘next men up’ for the dominant British men’s sweep squad.
However, this victory represented much more than that, as the Pink Palace was able to recover the headship from Oxford Brookes, taking sole ownership of the Fairburn Trophy for the first time since 2015 and presenting a clear challenge to the supremacy that has been established by Richard Spratley and Henry Bailhache-Webb for the last decade.
Brookes are never ones to retire quietly though and repeated their achievement from last year, placing four crews in the top eight. Whilst they did lose their stranglehold on the headship, they retained and expanded their lead in the University division, with their sixth-overall crew winning the division by 17.3 seconds, a strong rise from the year before.
In the club division, there were some who questioned the presumed dominance of Thames Rowing Club over the club racing scene. London Rowing Club had won two of their three meetings so far this winter. However, on the longest and largest stage of all, Thames answered those questions. Drafting in the scullers from their club, they rocketed up the timesheets to place fourth overall, 10.3 seconds ahead of their neighbours. This earned them the Vernon Trophy for tideway clubs as well as the overall club pennant.
But London will be pleased with their efforts too. Locked out of the top ten since 2012, the Putney club fixed this, decisively placing two crews in this group this year, with the fastest club second eight, and more rowers eligible to race in the Club category at Henley Royal. How this intra-embankment rivalry evolves will be one of the key narratives of this unfolding season.
Other clubs to look out for include Molesey Boat Club, winners of the Page Trophy, who raced an entirely Thames-eligible crew and placed fourth in the category and 15th overall as well as Commercial Rowing Club from Dublin who placed 14th overall and took home the overseas pennant, shaking up some of the English hierarchy in the process. In the Jackson Trophy, Royal Chester Rowing Club defended their crown with an 8.8 second victory over traditional rivals Agecroft. It is also worth keeping an eye on the lower Leander crews as, while they were not racing as clubs in this event, the tenth-placed ‘C’ crew may be eligible to compete with and shake up the Putney clubs in July.
One of the standout results of the event came from St Paul’s School. They were the second-fastest academic crew, ahead of all university crews but Brookes. Bobby Thatcher’s boys continue to astound as they look to etch themselves into the lore of junior rowing alongside their schoolmates of 2018 as one of the greatest crews of all time.
The next best juniors were Kings College School as they continue to challenge for the best of the rest title, but with GB junior spring assessments this weekend, there was a limit to the field’s ability to counter the St Paul’s dominance.
Within the University ranks, there were a number of upsets in the tank. Firstly, Edinburgh University’s first eight gave quite the performance as they responded to relative disappointment at BUCS Head with a barnstorming row. They finished ahead of all the crews they raced in Newcastle last month and gave the University of London quite the shock, finishing within 2.2 seconds of overturning them on home water. The University of Bristol also provided a surprising outcome as they would better an underperforming Durham University crew, who seem to have aimed a solo peak four weeks ago at the BUCS Head.
In the smaller club pennants, Downing College, Cambridge would be the fastest Medium Academic Institution and Dart Tones Amateur Rowing Club were the top Medium Club. The small club honours went to Leicester Rowing Club, while the small academic will head to Trevelyan College, Durham.
In the beginner events, Exeter University would make a statement, starting second from last in the academic division before finishing almost a minute ahead of the competition in the Academic Beginner category and finishing in the top hundred overall. On the club side, Vesta Rowing Club’s victory was not quite as emphatic but will be equally enjoyed by the Putney outfit.
And as quickly as it began, the head season is over. Crews will reflect on their achievements and return to their respective corners of the UK and beyond as eyes turn to the regatta season. For the students, BUCS Regatta is just six weeks away, whilst the juniors will be looking towards the second May bank holiday and the National Schools’ Regatta. And, creeping over the horizon, is Henley Royal Regatta – only 100 sleeps to go.
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