27/02/08

Good Start to Regatta Season for Upper Thames

TThe Reading University Head of the River race on Saturday 23rd February provided a promising start to the 2008 rowing season for Upper Thames Rowing Club, with three newly-formed crews performing notably well.

The event is raced over 4.6 km downstream from The Roebuck ferry to Caversham Bridge. Crews were entered in two Divisions, with the results being consolidated at the end. There were 172 crews overall.

The Upper Thames first eight came sixth in the First Division and were the third fastest Senior 2 crew, beating clubs that included Thames Tradesmen, Imperial College and Marlow.

Once the times for the races in the Second Division were consolidated, the crew was tenth overall. With the crews ahead of them including the Oxford University ‘Blue’ boat for the University Boat Race on 23rd March racing as Isis and the overall winners, this was far from a disappointment. Crew : Ian Ringer (bow) Will Hoodless (UTRC captain) Adam Rennie, Tom Grange, Jamie Smith, James Waters, Zac Cleaver, Ben Webb (stroke) and Zan Coleman (cox).

A completely new composite Upper Thames/Henley RC women’s eight of Naomi Ashcroft (bow) Becks Sadler, Tash Smith, Antonia van Deventer, Guin Batten, Louise Carey, Miriam Batten, Jo Nitsch (stroke) and Julia van Deventer (cox) were more than happy after so few outings together to find themselves the third fastest women’s crew of the day after what was in fact a particularly good row.

Fastest veteran crew of the day was another new Upper Thames line-up of Jim Wetherell (bow) Paul Stuart-Bennett, Steve Dance. Jon Thornber, Peter Jacobs. Jim Birkett, Mark Shimmin, Peter McConnell (stroke) and Emily Fawcett (cox).

While all this was going on in Reading, another Upper Thames member was making an unusual and probably unique mark in the Oxford Torpids, the University’s Spring bumping races.

Mike Dudley is 57 years old and one of the fitter members of the Upper Thames veteran squad, racing regularly in a coxless pair. He is also a former Isis oarsman and is now the chief financial officer of Templeton College Oxford. He is also a Fellow of the College.
This appointment confers on him full membership of the University and therefore eligibility to row in Torpids.

Rowing as Hertford III with crew members some of whom were less than one third his age, Mike found himself making a bump (i.e. catching the crew in front starting at ten second intervals) on four consecutive days to “win blades”. No-one can remember or has even heard of a man of Mike’s age rowing Torpids so another fairly unlikely ‘first’ for Upper Thames.

For more images goto Bigblade Photos: http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/ruh08/bycrew/51%20UPPER%20THAMES%20RC%20VetC8.html