It’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world at LBC when it comes to crew selection. Jerry turned his back for a fraction of a second only to find that Nick had jumped into his seat at Bow and snaffled a Saturday pot in the Masters D Coxed Four. Jerry claims he is not jealous because he ‘has enough Stourport pots anyway’ and, besides, there was no more room in his trophy cabinet. With Keith stroking Charlie, and Walrus providing the power, the crew feasted on ‘Eye Eye Captain’ jokes following a recent misfortune with the truck tailgate. A semi-final winning distance of just 6 feet is generally thought to be small but Nick considered this to be a huge measurement, and he insists that the extra three lengths win in the final was wasted effort. Perhaps that was true, as the combined effects of multiple events took its toll and ‘The Masters’ fell at the final sprint hurdle late on the Sunday afternoon. In spite of that, the crew are proving that they think they are the ones to beat in this Summer’s Masters season.

The Young Ladies IM2 Eight have also established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. On the water they are consistently beating opponents by considerable margins, and a traditionally strong Bewdley crew were cleanly despatched in the Sunday Sprint. With depth to the squad, the future looks promising provided the momentum can be maintained, and the new ranking system will hopefully enable a wider supply of opposition.

For Cathy and Annie, it was ‘Double Double’ time as they won on both days in their Womens Masters A Double Scull, beating various crews from Warwick and Devil’s Elbow. Other clubs need to beware of this effortlessly understated but deadly combination!

With fourteen other boats entered in various classes there were wins and losses, with Tara and Nicole, Tilda and Hannah, and Becka and Freya competing strongly in various combinations of singles, doubles and pair. At the other end of the categorisation spectrum there was a fine win for the Ladies Masters D Coxed Four as Jen, Sandra, Kate and Karen saw off Ironbridge but they couldn’t repeat this victory against an experienced and strong Derwent crew.

MasD+ Stourport Regatta 2017

Flushed with their success in Canada, Jen and Mike are amazingly still racing together although apparently this has caused a tinge of jealousy from Scott who reportedly refused to turn up to crew the flamboyant ‘Dr Ferret’ combination and instead stayed at home sulking, although he claims it was manflu. On the plus side, this saved the spectators from enduring the confusing visual disturbances that this crew radiate.

Next up: Great Ouse Marathon? 22k of pure enjoyment await and it is always sunny that weekend, promise! Captain Keith can’t wait and is already chomping at the bit because he loves marathons.