The waiting game has begun. As the summer season gets underway, Eton Dorney plays host to the first of three major summer regattas: The Metropolitan Regatta, Marlow and Wallingford. All those winter miles, all the early mornings, all the missed social occasions, this is what it’s for. A good performance here could catch the eye of the Henley stewards and earn a lucky crew a spot into HRR, without having to endure qualifying. At its core, the objective remains the same. A race over 2000m, fastest crew wins. And, with the absence of several big hitters of eights rowing, the phrase “it could go anywhere” has never been more true.
Molesey BC
If one was able to bottle the coaching formula of Samuel Tuck, then winning would become not just a habit, but a formality. In eight years, he turned Surrey from a university club that simply existed and seldom challenged, to a program with a beginner to senior pathway to rival that of Edinburgh, producing 12 medals in five years. A club that has always been at the forefront of British sweep rowing, Molesey represents a different challenge: taking a club that is already exceptional and making it world-beating. A good showing at the Remenham Challenge, where the eight finished third in the championship division and second in club eights (beaten by Thames and London) was followed by a good showing at the Head of the River, with three crews inside the top 100. Like many of their Thames-based counterparts, Molesey often places their top athletes in the four for the summer season, with the eight playing second fiddle in the pecking order. Regardless, if the club intends for the four to be their top boat, this eight will still be fast. With very few boats that could realistically mount a challenge, and given that they were not present in this event last year, the scene is set for a potential victory.
Vesta Rowing Club
For years viewed as a club that could not quite scale the lofty heights of the other Putney patrons, Vesta has risen to the challenge in recent years, especially in the world of eights. A disappointing Remenham Challenge performance, that saw the first eight finish well off the pace set by Thames, London and Molesey (although the second eight won their category), was followed by a strong Head of the River showing, with three crews inside the top 100 and four inside the top 150. Obvious squad depth aside, Vesta has shown real improvement in the eight in recent summer racing, making it through several days at Henley Royal Regatta in the past two years. Vesta also have history on their side; they’ve been here before and produced the goods, beating London and City of Cambridge to the win at last year’s regatta. With two boats entered across the three heats of club eights – one of only three clubs to do so – Vesta have the athletes to win. With a field that is arguably stronger than last year though, and given that they’ve more often than not ended up on the wrong side of tight margins, one suspects that the same will occur this time around. I hope they will prove me wrong.
London RC
A club with more history than perhaps any bar Thames or Leander, the wilderness years of performances below the high standards of generations gone by were ended with London’s victory in last year’s Wyfold Challenge Cup. A victory twelve years in the making, and long overdue, London are now back at the top where they belong. If recent performances are anything to go by, they also intend to stay there. A victory in the Remenham Challenge for the first time in 11 years over the old enemy Thames, a headship at Hammersmith Head, and a Head of the River performance that saw two London crews inside the top ten (a feat that no other club apart from Thames or Leander could muster) shows that London can go up against the best and win. With the addition of some new talent this season (chiefly former Edinburgh University and 1863 Club rower Ben Dickens) London should at the very least finish in the top two of this category. Not that long ago, winning on a national stage in the eight was a luxury, but over the past few years it has become a firmly-cemented habit.
Prediction
London are far and away the strongest crew in the field, and a finish outside the top two would be a shock, given the results of the season so far. Molesey are arguably as strong as they’ve ever been in the eight but, based on recent speed, London should edge them out. In terms of the minor placings, at least one Vesta crew should place well in the final, though they will have to contend with challenges from Marlow and Royal Chester amongst others.
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