In a sneaky move, Mike and Scott broke away from the mainstream to try and find glory at the Huntingdon Head.  Alas, a twisty river and some faster opposition put paid to their plans but valuable experience was gained on this unfamiliar stretch  of water.  The Ladies Masters D Coxed Four had similar problems; ‘At one point, I didn’t know which way I was going’ commented Jen Smith afterwards, although it is unclear if she was referring to the race or not.

Elsewhere, LBC crews have also recently competed widely across the Midlands and produced wins in a range of boat classes.  At Nottingham on a 4.5km course on the River Trent, sculler Tom Scholefield came home an impressive 3rd out of a fleet of 93 boats to win in his category of single sculls, whilst the club’s Ladies Coxed Four also collected a trophy in their own banding.  In the midday division over a 2km course Junior Under 14 single sculler Thomasin Storey competed in one of her first ever  events; she showed confidence and competitive spirit on this wide and fast flowing river, producing an excellent time and finishing ahead of 14 of her rivals.

Further west, on Sunday, three club boats raced over a 4km course on the River Severn at Stourport, with the Mens Masters ‘D’ Coxless Four producing a thrilling victory by just 4 seconds (two strokes) over a much-fancied Worcester crew.  As always, ‘Woody’, the vintage hand-built wooden boat used by the Loughborough crew, drew admiring glances from spectators and disbelief from opponents that they had been beaten by yesterday’s technology (probably referring to the crew, not the boat)!  Finishing 6th out of 60 boats, the Loughborough ‘oldies’ clocked the fastest Masters time of the day. ‘Sweet’ said Jerry.  ‘It was alright’ said Walrus.

Next event: Soar Head.  Time to get baking…