Stourport 2010
Stourport Regatta Finish
From our campsite correspondent:
Quintin BC ended the season on a high with around thirty members heading up to Stourport Regatta for the weekend. Half deciding to rough it camping, while the rest opted for the luxury of Stourport Manor. In fact it was only the guys who had never been before who decided to brave the campsite, the girls and those with previous experience probably knowing better. As the guys put up their tents, it became apparent that most of them were not seasoned campers. Mash asking what a guy rope was while assembling his tent and Tom C asking the same before promptly tripping over one Adam had carefully put in place. Once the tents were up and the others had found the Manor house, everyone retired to bed in preparation for a weekend of racing. It was at this point the heavens opened, upon which it was discovered, much to the joys of many of the happy campers that an £8 tent from Tesco is not fully (or at all) waterproof. With the first night out of the way all psyched themselves up for the first day of racing. Quintin put out ten boats on the Saturday‘s 1100m course:
- Intermediate 2 Eight
- Intermediate 3 Eight
- Women‘s Novice Eight
- Mixed Intermediate 3 Eight
- Intermediate 2 Coxed Four
- Intermediate 3 Coxed Four
- Women‘s Novice Coxed Four
- Senior Coxless Four
- Novice Double Scull
- Graham‘s Masters ‘F’ Single Scull
The Intermediate 2 coxed four and Intermediate 2 eight made it to the final, but lost out to Hereford RC and Warwick BC respectively, the eight losing by the narrowest of margins (2 feet). However, it was all about the Quintinettes (Quintin Women) on Saturday. They managed a thoroughly deserved win in the Women‘s Novice Eight beating Curlew in the final despite two technical failures. Sarah, who was in the stroke position managed to take two strokes before her seat slipped off the runners and she was forced to row arms only over the remaining 1098m. This, compounded with Orla’s foot slipping out of her shoe and a dramatic clash with the opposition 100m before the finish line, made for a dramatic race. Huge congratulations to Nicola, Stine, Tegan, Helen, Mandy, Sarah, Fiona and Orla for loosing their novice status and keeping the Quintin flag flying on the Saturday. Quintin however should have had one more victory on the day if it were not for a questionable decision by the umpire. The Senior Coxless Four, after already restarting due to a clash with the opposition, and leading by a good margin, had their race restarted yet again 100m before the finish line due to "catching up" with the previous race. On the third go, the four crashed into a buoy, losing time which they couldn’t make up. The injustice of the decision played on the guy’s minds, however they were determined to rectify this on the Sunday.
After a long day of racing it was time to celebrate the Quintinettes’ victory. Most of us managing to get a quick shower (I will not mention those who decided not to) before heading into town for a curry, and a few drinks. It was then on to the highlight of the weekend, the Stourport BC Discothèque, for dancing and you’ve guess it – more drinks. This was to be the first time Quintin was to experience Joe’s dancing which on previous occasions has seen him thrown out of clubs for health and safety reasons. After the party, with everyone slightly worse for wear, we headed back to our respective accommodation – a task managed by most, except our responsible captain, Mark, who managed to run straight into a door, before finding himself locked out of the room he was sharing with Kenny. Not wanting to wake Kenny, either due to good nature or in fear of what Kenny might do, Mark resorted to sleeping in the corridor, reportedly with little on.
On Sunday morning our aching bodies awoke to brilliant clear skies. The guy’s races didn’t start until the afternoon, allowing them to walk blurry eyed to get a full English breakfast in the Boat Club in preparation for the day ahead. This seemed to do the trick and got most back on form for another day of racing. Quintin put eleven boats out on the Sunday’s 700m course:
- Intermediate 2 Eight
- Novice Eight
- Mixed Intermediate 3 Eight
- Senior Coxed Four
- Intermediate 2 Coxed Four
- Novice Coxed Four
- Women’s Intermediate 3 Coxed Four
- Senior Coxless Four
- 2 x Novice Double Scull
- Graham’s Masters ‘F’ Single Scull
Jason emerges
The Intermediate 2 coxed four and Senior coxed four both had straight finals and beat Warwick BC and Two Lions/Birmingham Uni composite respectively. The Senior Coxless Four avenged their previous injustice by beating Bridgnorth RC in another straight final. It was then time for some more members to break free from the shackles of their Novice status, as the IM2 eight beat Bridgnorth RC. Congratulations go to Mash, Max and Sean who rowed a brilliant race! Sunday also saw a Quintin/Quintin final in the Novice Double Scull with James and Adam up against Paul and Alex P. It was a close fought battle, however, Paul and Alex P had the extra energy to pull away in the last 100m winning by 1¼ lengths.
Having won their novices the previous day, the women's squad stepped up to Intermediate 3 coxed fours and gave Warwick a run for their money, losing to the eventual winners by just two thirds of a length.
As the weekend drew to an end, it was time to collect our pots. After a successful Sunday, Quintin had won a total of six races and 34 pots. It was wondered if we would be able to fit all the pots in the minibus on the way home, as we had little breathing space on the way up. We fortunately managed! Stourport Regatta was an amazing way to finish the season and everyone has said what a brilliant time they all had.
A big thank you to Catt, Jane and Adam for coxing us through the races and to Adam again for coxing us as we put up our tents. The weekend would also not have been as amazing as it was without the great effort of Mark, Duncan, Richard, Sean and Graham. A special thank you to you guys.
Next season here we come!
J.R.