LOWER Thames Rowing Club triumphed at the historic Carrow Cup regatta.

The Leigh-based club took six boats with full crews and filled the first three places.

The age of the crew ranged from 30 to 70 and the club were delighted to repeat their success of last year, winning the Bi Centennial Carrow Cup.

With the exception of the Doggetts Coat & Badge, the Carrow Cup is the country’s oldest rowing race with 2014 being its 201st anniversary and is older than both the Oxford & Cambridge boat race and the Henley Regatta.

It is a time trial event held on a 2,700 metre course through the centre of Norwich on the River Wensum.

Lower Thames Rowing Club Boats results.

1st Dauntless, crew Jeremy Martin, Tony Peck, Graham Biner, Mark Futcher, Sue Alder (Cox) Handicapped time 17.50 2nd Dunkirk, crew Vanessa Bradford, Melanie Johnson, Laura Dunmow, Emma Wiley, Michelle Edwards (cox) Handicapped time 18.18 3rd Leigh Ho, crew Pat Woodbury, Dodi Oriordan, EJ Burley, Gabrielle Budds (cox) Handicapped time 18.30 5th Trafalgar, Crew Stewart Taylor, David Large, Simon Roberts, John Riddle, Ron Sverdloff (cox) Handicapped time 18.42 9th Proud Mary, Crew James Adley, Stuart Budds, Linda Gaze, Linda Nawrat, Jackie Jackson Smith (cox) Handicapped time 20.18 10th Renown, Crew Gary Fisher, Pierre Therrien, Dave Allen, Ken Paice (cox) Handicapped time 20.34 l Southend Coastal entered an all ladies crew to compete in the open event for traditional boats and performed brilliantly against many all male crews to finish in a time of 22:07 and took third placed overall.

They were only 1 minute 25 seconds behind the men's crew from Lower Thames Rowing Club who were the overall winners.

The Southend Coastal RC crew included Clare Moring, Penny Jones, Lisa Hearn & Gill Smeeton competing in her first ever race.

 

Southend Coastal get £9,747 grant

SOUTHEND Coastal Rowing Club have had their first birthday celebrations boosted by being awarded £9,747 by Sport England. 

This funding has allowed the club to purchase a new racing gig built especially for them by Benfleet boat builders Seax Marine.

The club were supported in their application by British Rowing who are very keen to develop rowing in the wider Southend area. 

And chairman Pat O’Connor was delighted by the news. 

“We’re obviously really pleased about this,” said O’Connor. 

“Southend is one of the country’s major coastal towns with potentially a wealth of undiscovered talent and yet rowing in the area has so far been a surprisingly low key affair. 

“It's the club’s intention to change this by putting Southend  firmly on the rowing map. 

“The gig will help us to change this as it will allow us to get even more locals out on the water than we have previously been able to do.”

The club, which is based at Dauntless Boatyard, Canvey, has only been in existence for little more than a year, but with the encouragement and support of both British Rowing & Dauntless Boatyard Ltd it has made great strides forward in this short time. 

The past 12 months has seen the club compete throughout the south east winning the majority of the races it has entered.

They have also travelled to race in Ireland, undertaken a gruelling 42-mile row from Southend Pier to the Olympic Stadium in aid of a local charity and also had their boats filmed by the BBC to feature on the One Show.