Wednesday at the Royal Regatta started in a swirling crosswind under grey skies and turned into a summer special: blazing sun and a low direct tailwind, for once. This allowed three of the new Danesfield women’s club quads to lower the times set by first winners in the event, Cantabrigian. Thames A, Leander and Marlow between them dropped six seconds off Cantabrigian’s Barrier time, eight off the Fawley mark and Thames shifted the course record by ten seconds. It will be a while before the Danesfield has such an exciting time again.
More importantly, two significant records were slashed by Headington School, whose Prince Philip Challenge Trophy junior women’s eight won Henley Women’s and hope to defend their HRR title to a three-peat of PP trophies. Racing Henley Rowing Club they took two and three seconds off the 2023 Barrier and Fawley records respectively, bringing them back into UK hands after St Catherine’s School Australia and Winter Park USA had set them in very quick conditions. Beating the course record, which they did themselves in last year’s final, may be more difficult.
The Queen Victoria new student W4x event had only two races on Wednesday due to a small entry. But the better, albeit slower, race was a victory by Reading University C over Edinburgh University, which ran to three-quarters of a length with Reading having to come through from behind. Molesey C in the Wargrave is the only other third crew still in the events which have started, though despite Oxford Brookes D in the Temple being walloped by Cambridge A, the Brookes E crew had a barnstormer against Groningen Asopos de Vliet. The Dutch students led by a length at the Barrier but a steady Brookes effort sucked patiently away at their advantage and finally broke Asopos at the progress boards for an exultant win.
The schoolboy lower eights have a good record of wreaking havoc amongst the lower tiers of the Temple Challenge Cup more seriously intended for university eights. Both Radley and St Paul’s qualified a lower eight, but whilst Radley were put out to grass by University of Washington’s powerful crew, the St Paul’s J16s covered themselves in glory by overturning Nottingham University in a close-fought struggle which they led all the way, albeit always by less than a length.
St Paul’s looked chirpier at the finish than the City of Cambridge’s two club eights, who put themselves through a second round of their large and very competitive events. The women went toe to toe with London A in the Wargrave, winning by half a length, and the men, in ‘Boat out of Hell’, sparred the whole way up the course with Irishmen Cork, before grabbing a three-quarter of a length margin by the finish. A great result for the club which hasn’t had crews racing on the third day of the regatta since the online records began.
A stonking Wyfolds race featured Belgian club Gent versus St Andrew, with a few feet in it for much of the course. Gent took the lead, were eroded by St Andrew, but the Scottish four were warned for steering in the Enclosures and the resulting steering gave Gent the opening they needed, to win by a canvas.
Nottingham Rowing Club, beset by club turmoil this summer, were further afflicted by an equipment failure for their Britannia coxed four when a handle grip failed as they were warming up at the start. A return to base for a fixing job ensued before NRC and their competition, Thames A, raced at the end of the tea-break. Unsurprisingly the race was dominated by Thames, the favourites to defend their club’s 2025 title, who field two junior gold medallists and a former PE winner in their quartet. Nottingham now have two scullers left in the draw, Olympian and world silver medallist Matt Haywood in the Double Sculls, and Ursie Fleming in the Princess Royal.
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Other entries in the ‘excellent racing’ category came from Sydney, beating Shrewsbury by a third of a length in the Princess Elizabeth JM8+, Bedford School holding off a superb surge by Reading Bluecoat by a similar amount in an earlier round of the same event, and Wesleyan University USA in the Temple doubling that margin against Aegir (NED) for their first race and first win here in the 21st century. But one of the most carefully calculated wins came for Cambridge University’s Prince Albert student M4+, who in the words of the official race report “bided their time [against Orca] and struck at the perfect moment” to pass the Dutch students just before the Mile.
A fistful of events begin to bring the international flavour on Thursday, with the open sculls and doubles both starting, along with the sub-international Bridge and Ladies’ Plate eights, the Visitors’ M4- and the Prince of Wales M4x.
