STRATFORD Boat Club’s squad showed their credentials at Worcester Regatta.
Senior men’s sculler Harvey Mole had a first round victory in the band two open single sculls event, beating Crane from Warwick.
In the final, Mole was against a rower from City of Bristol and, whilst Mole started well, he lost the middle part of the race, giving away two-and-a-half lengths at the halfway mark.
Although Mole took back a length, he left himself too much to do in the final sprint.
The mixed masters double sculls event featured Stratford rowers Heather Hayton and Thomas Doherty against a younger Minerva Bath crew in a straight final.
After a fast start, the Stratford crew racing with a slight handicap advantage – rating a lively 38 strokes per minute off the start – eased out into a significant lead by the halfway stage.
A big push saw the Stratford crew consolidate, easing through to the finish and rating 35 strokes per minute for a comprehensive win to round off a successful day’s racing.
Following their recent success at Oxford, Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive squad was equally triumphant at the weekend’s Worcester Autumn Regatta.
Pride of place must go to Hattie Throssell. All season she has been getting closer and closer to victory and it finally came on Saturday.
In the final, she competed against an all-male crew, again from Stratford, and it was a clear win for Throssell and her support rower Paul Beason.
Other wins included Mark Brookes, another athlete succeeding for the first time, again with Beason. In the final of the adaptive pairs they narrowly overcame their young opponents Dan Godefroy and Jake Blatcher in another all-Stratford final, only nudging into the lead in the last 100m.
Mark Sanders and Jake Blatcher, in better form than at Oxford, had a comfortable win over Maidenhead in a supported doubles event and Sanders was beaten by a mere six feet in the semi-final of the adaptive singles event.
The remainder of the squad spent the weekend settling into their new teams and learning new skills and techniques such as how to go through the very narrow spans of Clopton Bridge.
Last-minute jobs were completed ahead of the club’s rescheduled regatta on Saturday, September 21.
