July Regattas 2023
SEHBC took on two external regattas in July, looking to build on momentum from last season and be race-ready for 2023-24!
Molesey Regatta (Sat 15th July)
The women's squad had a very promising day at Molesey regatta despite weather warnings and difficult conditions. Facing off against Cambridge University in the Women's 4+ event, they started their race by being blown off course by strong winds, but recovered quickly and gained around 3 lengths back on Cambridge by the finish line. They are very proud to have made such a strong comeback over the short 850m course, and to have stood up well against rowers on such a high performance programme at CUBC!
Alex Wood - Women’s Captain 2023-24
Cox: Raghul Ravichandran; Str: Erika Dutton; 3: Hazel Wake; 2: Kat Taylor; Bow: Alex Wood
SEHBC men also sent a crew of M2 + M3 to Molesey to gain their first external racing experience. Following a short and somewhat turbulent paddle upstream, fighting against the wind and strong waves, we arrived at the race start where our competitors from the Sparks Rowing Camp awaited us already. We had a strong start and stayed about one boat length behind our competitors for the entire course, our experienced cox making sure we were not giving away anything. Despite our best efforts, we did not manage to catch our competitors. Having sought refuge from torrential rainfalls (which the women were not spared on their way to the race line) in our car, we went on to cheer them on during their race, before derigging our boat and making our way home to Oxford. Even though we only got to race once, this was a great experience for the whole crew and only made us hungry for doing better in our next regatta.
Cyril Schroeder - Men’s Co-captain 2023-24
Cox: Theo Westcott; Str: Marek Grzseiuk; 3: Cyril Schroeder; 2: Niccolò Fontana; Bow: Bradley Mee
Henley Town + Visitors (Sat 29th July)
Cox: Raghul Ravichandran; Str: Felicity Hudson; 3: India Brough; 2: Pippa Biggs (Martlet Boat Club); Bow: Alex Wood
The last minute injury of one of our team meant that the women's crew for Henley Town and Visitors regatta had to pull together quickly over one outing. The crew came 3rd overall in Band 1, with two crews from Vesta Rowing Club at 2nd and 1st. They had an incredibly strong race in the final, holding on to the two Vesta boats over the whole course. Thanks to Pippa Biggs for joining us for the day!
Alex Wood - Women’s Captain 2023-24
Cox: Rebekka Geremew; Str: Zeb Bell (LCBC); 7: Cyril Schroeder; 6: Aleksei Malyshev; 5: Konstantin Zouboulis (LCBC); 4: Niccolò Fontana; 3: Bradley Mee; 2: Marek Grzesiuk; Bow: Matthew Filipovich
SEHBC men sent two crews, reinforced with LCBC rowers, with most rowers racing on the legendary course for the first time. We had an excellent start and managed to maintain a high rate for the first part of the race, rapidly leaving Curlew RC behind us and keeping pace with the Warwick BC crew. Our cox Rebekka, who had only taken up the noble art of coxing three weeks before, boomed uninterruptedly and kept us from losing steam. Despite our best efforts and what was as good a race as we could have wished for after only two intense weeks of rowing together as a crew, we did not manage to catch up to Warwick. The pair of Felix and Raggy then raced against local rivals Linacre, coming up narrowly short in another row that they can be proud of, having also only started rowing together in the previous 2 weeks.
Cyril Schroeder - Men’s Co-captain 2023-24
Str - Felix Clayton-McClure; Bow - Raghul Ravichandran