LAST weekend saw more wins for Bridgnorth Rowing Club when they competed at local club Bewdley’s annual regatta. Bridgnorth’s star performer of the weekend was Charlotte Jukes who won all four of her single sculling events.
In Saturday’s J18 event, Charlotte beat Birmingham RC in a straight final to claim her first win of the weekend.
In the Senior 1 event she faced a tough challenge from Derby in the semi-final to take on Warwick in final, which she won by a clear margin.
Charlotte faced the same Derby competitor in the final of Sunday’s senior event, with the same end result. Sunday’s J18 event saw a familiar case of deja-vu when she faced the same J18 opposition from Birmingham, with Charlotte taking the lead in the early stages of the race to claim her fourth winner’s pot of the weekend.
Also taking home nine winners pots for the club was the Bridgnorth Intermediate 3 eight on Sunday. Simon Kett, Rich Mottram and John Allen were joined by brothers Pat and Martin Brown and Matt, Andy and Rich Pilsbury, with Emma Walker coxing.
The Bridgnorth crew rowed through good opposition from Loughborough and Bristol in the early stages of the event to face Reading in the final.
The crews were closely matched, providing a gritty race with both crews edging ahead of each other down the course.
The Bridgnorth crew dug deep in the final stages to cross the finish line half a boat length ahead of Reading, making this the second Intermediate 3 eight win in as many regattas for most crew members.
On Saturday the eight competed at intermediate 2 level, with Daryl Breakwell sitting in the stroke seat in place of Pat Brown, who took Rich Mottram’s place in the middle of the boat. In this tougher category the crew were knocked out by Exeter University in the semi- final.
The Bridgnorth women’s squad entered a scratch crew in the women’s Intermediate 3 coxed four events on both days. Claire Taylor rowed up a division to join Lucy Wycherley, Rhiannon Jones and Leonie Hudson in a crew coxed by Emma Walker.
Bridgnorth lost by three lengths to Trafford over 1,000m on Saturday and by two lengths to Worcester over 500m on Sunday.
On Saturday, Pat Brown and Rich Mottram competed in the single scull at Intermediate 3 and novice level respectively.
Mottram also competed in the single scull on Sunday, where he was beaten in the quarter finals by strong opposition from Burton Leander. Bridgnorth’s intermediate 3 coxed four of John Allen, Rich Pilsbury, Matt Pilsbury and Martin Brown, coxed by Daryl Breakwell rowed up a division to compete at intermediate 2 level on Saturday and raced in their own category on Sunday.
Sunday’s event was the most successful, with the crew beating opposition from Bristol City to be knocked out in a semi-final against neighbouring club Ironbridge, in the first time the two clubs have come head-to-head in recent years.
The intermediate 1 coxless four of Daryl Breakwell, Pat Brown, Simon Kett and Dale Bunning faced Bewdley in the final of the event when despite crossing the finish line first, a controversial clash of blades off the start caused the race win to be awarded to Bewdley.
Also competing were Matt Nobbs and Jamie Manning, rowing up in an intermediate 2 coxless pair. They were beaten by a strong opposition from Stratford-upon-Avon in a final on Saturday, and were knocked out at the semi-final stage by Sheffield City on Sunday.
Daryl Breakwell competed at senior level in the single scull on Saturday, the highest status entry for the club, when he was beaten by strong opposition from Burton Leander.
Later in the day, Daryl also competed with Simon Kett in a senior double, and left the event in the semi final with a win for opposition from Warwick.
Bridgnorth will be competing at Stourport and Ross regattas while preparing local crews for their own fun regatta, to be held on September 18. The event is open to all, especially those who have never rowed before, with entries still being taken this weekend. For full details, see www.funregatta.co.uk
PICTURED: Charlotte Jukes has clear water ahead of her as she wins Sunday’s J18 final at Bewdley.
