3rd July 2010 Talkin Tarn Regatta
Jamie Martin was first onto the
water taking part in J18 single
sculls. This was Jamie’s first race
of the season and a very creditable
race it was with Jamie only narrowly
being beaten by the well race
experienced Cambois sculler.Jamie
teamed up with Chris Robertson to
race novice double sculls. Jamie
and Chris are a new to racing a
double scull, but in their semi
final race the Berwick lads showed
they meant business by beating their
Tynemouth opponents by 3 clear
lengths. This set up a final
against Queen Elizabeth High
School. Jamie and Chris sculled
beautifully together and led until
the closing stages when perhaps a
lack of experience allowed the Queen
Elizabeth boat to steal the win
right on the line. Unfortunately no
trophy this time but with
performances like this it’s surely
only a matter of time. Jamie
and Chris then teamed up with Sam
Seaton and Alison Inglis to compete
in mixed quad sculls. The crew put
in a sterling performance to finish
2nd behind the home crew
Talkin Tarn but impressively well
ahead of Tees. Alison Inglis
moved from the quad to single scull
where she showed determination over
her Durham opponent and to the
delight of those watching won
masters A/B single sculls. Alison
then moved to the double scull where
she was partnered by Hilary Cairns
in masters B/C doubles. The Berwick
ladies being the younger crew had to
give a 6 second start advantage to
their Tees and Durham opponents.
Alison and Hilary had to work really
hard and it was only in the last few
strokes that they passed Durham to
give them the win by ¾ boat length.
The Berwick rowers would like to
thank Nixon Hire for the use of
their vehicle to pull the boat
trailer.
The
Berwick rowers will now take a break
from their usual training schedule
for the Annual Trades 4’s
competition. The Trades 4’s will
take place on Saturday 21st
August at the boathouse. The Trades
4’s is a fun rowing competition with
crews usually consisting of 1 club
rower and 3 non rowers. Practice
sessions will begin Tuesday 20th
July at the boathouse. Booking is
advisable to allow boats and coaches
to be allocated.
19th June 2010 Berwick Regatta
Berwick rowers took to their home
water on Saturday 19th
June, on the River Tweed at West Ord
for the clubs annual regatta. First
on the Tweed for Berwick were Phil
Craze and Rob Harvey in Masters B/C
double sculls and later in the day
competing in IM3 double sculls
unfortunately losing out to Cambois
in both events. The duo went their
separate ways and took to the IM3
single sculls event. Rob Harvey was
up against a Cambois sculler in the
semi-final but it wasn’t to be Rob’s
day with the heat being won by
Cambois. Phil Craze had a bye
through to the final of the IM3
single sculls, with him also losing
out to the well drilled Cambois
sculler. Making their regatta
debut were Elvira Drummond and Megan
Bell in a semi-final of junior 17A
double sculls against George
Watsons. A tremendous effort was
put in by the girls but not quite
enough against the more experienced
crew from Watsons. One race was not
enough for the girls as they later
went on to compete in the semi-final
of junior 17B double sculls.
Leading from the start against their
Watsons opponents they sculled
consistently but with 250m to go
Watsons saw a chance for the lead,
put their rating up, rowing through
the Berwick duo. Berwick
ladies, Alison Inglis, Kirsten
Cooper, Sam Seaton and Hilary Cairns
were up against George Watsons in
the Women’s Masters B/D Coxless Quad
sculls. Berwick had to give their
opponents a 10 second handicap
start. The ladies settled in to a
strong but comfortable pace, gaining
on their opposition but victory went
to Watsons as the Berwick crew were
piped to the line. It was the
ladies turn to part-company into
various doubles formations. Alison
Inglis joined forces with Kirsten
Cooper, Sam Seaton with Hilary
Cairns in two heats of Women’s
Masters A/B/D double sculls. Giving
their oppositions a 10 second start
the Berwick crews quickly made up
lengths on the Watsons crews,
putting both Berwick crews through
to the final with Alison and Kirsten
being overall winners. Newly formed
double, Rowena Park and Rachel
Thompson in Women’s IM3 saw their
opposition from Watsons take them
off the start to lead by 2 to 3
lengths but they managed to close
their opponents lead to half a
length. In the busy racing
schedule, Hilary Cairns won Women’s
Masters B/D single sculls against
Watsons. Harry Black, Robin
Morrison, Ian Smith and Alan
Robertson in Masters E coxless quad,
the Berwick crew had a tough race
with the win going to Cambois.
Harry Black and Robin Morrison were
up against one another in the final
of Master’s D single sculls. Both
men sculled extremely well on their
home water but Morrison piled on the
pressure and took the win over
Black. Ian Smith and Alan Robertson
took victory against Cambois in
Master’s Vet G double sculls.
Perhaps the most pleasing events of
the day were “New to the Sport”, in
which junior rowers tried their hand
at sculling in the clubs stable
training boats and young adults who
competed in “New to the Sport”
quads. Christopher Robertston,
Pheobe Inglis, Leah Blyth, all of
who have recently taken part in the
clubs “Learn to Row” course, teamed
up with Jack Davidson to race along
side a George Watsons crew giving
them their first regatta experience.
To round the day off with a bit of
fun, coxed quads comprising of a
junior, master, senior and a female
sculler raced in a round-robin “club
dash” event which proved to be very
enjoyable by all who took part.
Berwick would like to thank the
visiting clubs, their sponsors as
without their generous support it
would not be possible to stage their
home regatta. Nixon Hire, Cheviot
Rentals, Lloyd Ltd, Simpsons Malt
Ltd, Sanderson McCreath & Edney, The
Cobbled Yard Hotel, Mr D Davidson,
General Mills (Jus Rol), M & J
Ballantyne Builders, J H Wood, Adam
Douglas Solicitors, Johnstone Press,
C M Mace. Special thanks to the
Lang Family enabling us to hold the
regatta at West Ord.
13th June 2010 British Rowing
Masters Championships, Nottingham
Having enjoyed recent
regional successes Berwick Masters
Rowers made the trip to the Brit
ish
Rowing Masters Championships held
annually at the National Water
Sports Centre Holme Pierrepont,
Nottingham. Harry Black led
the Berwick rowers in Championship D
single sculls. Harry went in heat 2
and found himself in with some tough
opposition. With only 3 out of the
6 racers progressing to the final it
was not to be for Harry but he put
in a good performance and enjoyed
the experience. Alison Inglis
and Hilary Cairns were next on the
course in Women’s Championship B
double sculls. The ladies have had
a successful local season but were
unsure what to expect when competing
at National level. In a 6 boat
final Berwick pressed hard from the
start and by half way over the 1000m
course had a slight lead. This was
all Alison and Hilary needed and
from this point they worked really
hard to extend their lead and claim
the Gold Medal and National Title by
2 seconds from next nearest crew
York/Warrington. Robin
Morrison raced in IM3 D single
sculls. Robin made a strong start
and had a small lead at the half way
stage but the Thames sculler did not
give up and over the second half
pushed Robin into a very well fought
Silver medal position. Ian
Smith and Alan Robertson rose to the
challenge of competing in F and G
double sculls. In the F doubles,
racing younger opponents, they raced
steadily but were pushed into 4th
by the line. After a quick number
change they headed straight back to
the start line for the final of G
double sculls. In a race with
opponents of a similar age they were
back to winning ways, giving them
the Gold medal and National Title by
2 clear lengths. Phil Craze
and Rob Harvey sculled in IM3 double
sculls. The men had a great second
half, challenging for 2nd
position however it was not to be as
their Grosvenor opponents hung on
for the line. Late in the day
Alison Inglis and Hilary Cairns
teamed up with Harry Black and Robin
Morrison to compete in mixed C quad
sculls. In a straight final with
Peterborough, Berwick were down
slightly at 250m however they
remained focused and by 500m were
back on level terms, from here they
pushed their legs hard and drew ¾
length lead as they crossed the
line. This gave Berwick their 3rd
Gold Medal finish of the day and 2nd
Gold of the day for Alison and
Hilary. The Berwick rowers are
extremely grateful to Lloyd Ltd for
the use of a vehicle to take the
boat trailer on its long journey to
Nottingham. Berwick rowers
don’t have so far to travel this
weekend as they host their own
regatta on the Tweed at West Ord.
Racing starts at 10am and should be
a good battle of local competition
with crews visiting from George
Watsons College-Edinburgh, Cambois-
Ashington, Talkin Tarn- Cumbria,
Tynemouth and two Durham Colleges.
29th May 2010 - Tyne Regatta
Saturday
29th May proved to be
another successful trip for Berwick
rowers, as they attended Tyne
Regatta. First on the water for
Berwick were Alan Robertson, Ian
Smith, Harry Black and Robin
Morrison in Masters C/D/E coxless
quad. After some close racing down
the 1200m
course, the Berwick crew pushed hard
for the finish against Tyne United,
Tyne and Hexham to finish in first
place with no masters handicap
needing to be applied, clinching the
first win of the day for Berwick.
Alison Inglis and Hilary Cairns were
up next in women’s Elite double
sculls straight final for the Tyne
Rowing Club “Silver Jubilee Cup”.
The
Berwick duo began rapidly and
continued in this fashion which
meant that by the half way point
they had a clear advantage over
their rivals from Tyne and with a
strong finish secured the second win
of the day for the club. An hour
later, it was back on the water for
the girls as they competed in
women’s Masters A/B double sculls
against Cambois, giving them their
second win of the day. Sam
Seaton and Kirsten Cooper headed to
the start for the women’s IM3 double
sculls against Tyne and Tees. The
newly formed double sculled well and
finished in second place. Sam and
Kirsten then teamed up with Alison
and Hilary in the women’s Masters
A/B coxless
quad. The Berwick crew sculled
competently and kept their opponents
from Tyne on their bows but the more
practised Tyne crew took the win by
clear water. In the Masters D
single sculls event, both Harry
Black and Robin Morrison competed
against Lakeland and Cambois. After
some close racing it wasn’t to be
for the Berwick boys with the win
going to Freeman of Cambois. Alan
Robertson was the final sculler of
the day for Berwick in Masters G
single sculls against Tyne, giving
Berwick another impressive win and
the fourth of the day.
The
Berwick rowers would again like to
thank Lloyd Ltd for the use of a
vehicle to tow the boat trailer.
1st May 2010 - Cambois Regatta
Nine Berwick rowers travelled to
their rowing neighbours at Cambois
on Saturday. The entry from
Berwick consisted of 4 double sculls
and 6 single scullers. Leading
the proceedings for Berwick were
Alan Robertson and Harry Black in
Masters F Double Sculls. The
experienced Berwick double
confidently overcame their Cambois
opponents. This set up an all
Berwick final against Phil Craze and
Rob Harvey. The more experienced
Robertson and Black took a slight
lead from the start but were well
pushed by Craze and Harvey but the
first win of the day went to Alan
and Harry. There was then a
flurry of action for Berwick with 6
single scullers racing within an
hour. Alan Robertson in Masters G
single took the win but was later
disqualified for taking the wrong
arch of the bridge. Robin Morrison
also taking the win but was
disqualified for impeding his
opponent right on the finish line.
Harry Black sculled well but was
unable to repeat his earlier success
in the double going down to Mr
Freeman who had the home water
advantage. Phil Craze and Rob
Harvey both took part in IM3 singles
but both were knocked out by more
experienced scullers despite their
very best efforts. Alison Inglis
sculled in Masters singles but due
to the handicap system had to give
her Durham opponent a 15 second
start. Despite some determined
sculling Alison was unable to make
up such a big deficit. The Durham
athlete went on to win the title
overall. Kirsten Cooper making
her debut paired up with Sam Seaton
in Ladies IM3 doubles. The Berwick
pair gave an impressive first
performance together but were unable
to match their Cambois opponents.
Alison Inglis and Hilary Cairns had
to wait until the end of the day for
their event but it proved to be
worth waiting for. Sculling for the
first time in Elite double sculls
the Berwick duo made a good start
remaining level with their Durham
School opponents at the half way
mark. However a big effort from
this point saw Alison and Hilary
draw clear water and go on to win by
2 clear lengths.
The
Berwick rowers would like to thank
Lloyd Ltd for the use of a vehicle
to tow the boat trailer.
29th April 2010 - Learn to Row
course in association with Sport
Unlimited
5 x
2 hour sessions commencing Thursday
29th April. Wednesday 5th May
Capsize Drill at Swan Centre for
Leisure then Thursday 6th May,
Tuesday 11th May and Thursday 13th
May.
31st January 2010 - Scottish Indoor
Rowing Championships
Three members from
Berwick ARC competed. Phil Craze
was first out for Berwick in the
Men’s 1000m HWT age 30-39 category.
It was a strong field and Phil’s two
main opponents, one from HMS
Vanguard and the other from Marine
Tec University (Russia), taking him
off the start. He made steady
progress and managed to claw some of
the distance back but not quite
enough, finishing with a bronze
medal in 3:01.0. His next race was
the Men’s HWT Open 2000m. This
event was the largest of the day
with 41 all competing for a medal
position. Phil finished 14th
with a time of 6:38.3. Alison
Inglis and Hilary Cairns were up
next in the Women’s 1000m HWT age
30-39 category. This was a
difficult race for both of them as
they normally row together not
against each other. Alison led the
race throughout and finished in the
gold medal position with a personal
best over the distance of 3:39.9.
The silver medal position was hotly
contested but Hilary managed to stay
focused and pulled ahead of her
opponent finishing strongly with a
time of 3:46.6. Alison and
Phil joined team members from AEGON
UK in the men and women’s team relay
events. The event was rowed over
2000m with teams of 4 rowers jumping
on and off as many times as they
like. The men’s team led from the
start with swift and v
ery
well organised change-overs,
overhauling their opponents from
Aberdeen BC and HMS Vanguard to win
the gold medal position. Meanwhile,
the girl’s team did incredibly well,
considering they had only met up on
the day. They battled for silver
medal position with the Inverness
composite crew who were stronger
through to the finish, giving the
girls a justifiable bronze medal.
The last events of the day were the
men’s and women’s Open 500m
sprints. It sounds a short distance
but it is frantic and very intense.
First up was Alison, she powered off
the start which put her in 2nd
position which she maintained
throughout, piling the pressure on
the much younger opponent from
Aberdeen BC. Alison finished with a
personal best of 1:42.5 and the
silver medal position. The
atmosphere was very tense for the
last race of the day. Phil was
again up against some stiff
competition, he put in a tremendous
effort but was no match for the GB
squad rower from Strathclyde
University, finishing in 5th
position in 1:24.3. Overall a
tremendous achievement for all at
Berwick ARC.
