On Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May, representatives from Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club attended Metropolitan Regatta, at Dorney Lake, a glorious weekend for racing and spectating. Crews were required to race 2000m over the multilane straight course.
MIRC’s Junior eight consisting of Sam Blackwell, Ben Farrar, Morgan Hellen, James Crumpton, Alex Torbica, Will Tew, Josh Pendry and Craig Turner, coxed by Ross Porter, raced at Intermediate 1 on the Saturday and came third in their heat in a time of 6.47 and made it through to the finals. The eight had a storming race in the final and cleared the field to come first in a time of 6.30.
David Porter, Tom Mason, Tim Grant and Jon Farrar competed in Intermediate 1 coxless four and finished the course in a respectable 7.56.
The men’s Elite Double sculls of Stuart Hampshire and Chris Mollison competed in the afternoon and after a good race came third in a time of 7.25 beating opposition from London RC and Glasgow RC.
On Sunday, crews aimed to improve their times from the Saturday, the men’s Intermediate 2 eight consisting of Alastair Cooper, Stephen Slade, Geraint Evans, Guy Sticklee, Mark Tomkin, Richard Ridgeway, Will Purnell, Owen Mills coxed by Sue Mobbs were disappointed with their race and were fired up to compete in the Intermediate 3 category, they came third in this race and finished in a time of 6.32.
A change in crews members in the Junior eight from Saturday meant they didn't have as many points, so they could also race at Intermediate 3, including crew members Sam Blackwell, Ben Farrar, Jon Farrar, Tom Mason, Morgan Hellen, Tim Grant, David Porter and James Crumpton coxed by Ross Porter. They MIRC crew came first in their heat and went on to be the overall winners and completed the 2000m course in a time of 6.25 in the final.
Hampshire and Mollison competed in their Elite Double Sculls again and came second in a time of 7.20.
A new entry for the Sunday was an Intermediate 1 Quadruple scull formed of (from left to right in the photograph) Craig Turner, Stuart Hampshire, Matt Nicholls and Chris Mollison. They had a fantastic race and were pushed on at the end with pressure from Tees Rowing Club, the MIRC crew finished in first place in a time of 6.32.
Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club would like to consolidate on their experience in the recent regattas and aim high for regattas in June and July, including Marlow Regatta on 20th and 21st June and Henley Royal Regatta 1st – 5th July.
Laura McGrillen
