Quintin Head marks the first Tideway head race of the year and gives crews a chance to test their speed on the famed course in preparation for WEHORR. Many of the crews racing in the Women’s Senior Eights category will likely be facing off against each other for pennants and other trophies during the course of the season so this race gives them a chance to lay down the first marker.
Vesta Rowing Club
Vesta is one of a number of entrants who will be looking to secure the win on home water. They are the defending champions and have been in fine form this season placing third in their category at the Head of the Charles and in the Club Eights at the Remenham Challenge. Other results for this crew include a run to the semifinals in the Aspirational Club Eights at Henley Women’s Regatta in 2024 and placing 47th at WEHoRR last year. They are definitely one of the crews to look out for.
University of London Boat Club
UL have entered their second and third eights into this category and will be looking to secure the win on the weekend. As they are a student crew, it is difficult to predict how they will fare against the club crews as they rarely race against one another directly. However, these boats came 24th and 62nd at WEHoRR last year and if that is anything to go by, they are likely to be extremely competitive.
London Rowing Club
London have also entered two boats into this category – their third and fourth eights, showcasing a remarkable amount of depth in their squad. At the Remenham Challenge these two boats placed fifth and sixth in the Club Eights Category just 17 and 20 seconds behind Vesta respectively. It will be interesting to see if they can turn that margin around this weekend.
City of Bristol Rowing Club
The crew from City of Bristol could definitely cause an upset or two. Last year, they placed third in this event, less than two seconds behind the victorious Vesta Crew. They also finished just behind them at WEHoRR in 53rd place. They did not race the eight at Henley Women’s Regatta, and with little to no racing this season, it is hard to know how they will fare against their competitors. They also lack the home course advantage which might cause them to fall on the wrong side of some tight margins.
Lea Rowing Club
Lea split Vesta and City of Bristol by placing 50th at WEHoRR last year. Although, since then, they lost to Vesta in the first round of the Wargrave Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta by 2.5 lengths and they were also considerably slower in the time trial at Henley Women’s Regatta.
However, this season, they appear to have bounced back, taking a win and a second place at Pairs Head. It will be interesting to see if this speed translates into the bigger boat.
Other Entries
The other entries for this category are Marlow Rowing Club, Derby Rowing Club and Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club. Of these, Marlow are probably the most likely to cause an upset. They placed fifth in this event last year and will be looking to improve on that finish.
Prediction
It is extremely difficult to look past UL’s second boat – they appear to be the class of the field. Behind that, I expect the racing to be very tight with perhaps Vesta just edging ahead of the others. All in all, it promises for some exciting racing.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
