FIRST EVER SOUTH COAST MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP FOR SSRC
Shanklin Sandown Rowing club finished the season on a high at the South Coast championships at Dartmouth.
The Men’s Junior four of George Glenister, Jamie Gamble, Riley Horrix, Ethan Walters and Emily Faithfull (cox), secured a fantastic victory to end their season that not only ensured that they took the club’s first ever Men’s South Coast championship win, but also completed the season unbeaten.
The race, comprising the top two crews from each Rowing Association across the South Coast, soon developed into a battle between Herne Bay and Hants and Dorset Champions Shanklin. Herne Bay led off the start but Shanklin retained their composure, length and power to row through them by the half-way point. Confidently accelerating away further, they saw their lead increase as they entered the final stages. Herne Bay responded bravely but a final change of gear in the last 250 metres saw Shanklin cross the line with a winning margin of two lengths.
There was a mixture of emotion on the Junior Regatta. The club’s J16 girls quad of Roxy Browne, Kayleigh Batchelor, Rachael Debenham, Yasmin Wright and Daisy Faithfull (cox), came agonisingly close to securing a second win at the championships, this time in the Junior event.
The crew lost out in a two way battle with Dart Totnes after a re row by just three feet, this after the crew had won the first race by a similar margin.
The Girls J18 four of Debenham, Sophie Atkin, Batchelor, Wright with cox Daisy Faithfull also came close to victory. In a fiercely competitive race, the girls found their form and enjoyed a tussle with Coalporters RC at the front, matching each other stroke for stroke. Their rivals had the edge however on this occasion, and despite an excellent row, Shanklin were beaten into second place by just two feet.
However, despite this, the two second places were enough to secure the points to take the Pat Sherwin Aggregate trophy for the most successful club at the Junior regatta.
The club would like to thank BTC rowing club for hosting the club’s crews prior to the event, Ryde Rowing club for boat transport and Simon Larkin of Oarsport for all of his help and assistance with boats and equipment.
