For the second time in two years Affinity crews competed in the Jurassic League regatta hosted by Swanage on June 10th. Around eighteen of us made the trip to the Dorset coast, hopeful the conditions would mean the full programme of races would take place — unlike last year when the last three or four were cancelled due to high winds and increasingly choppy waters. We were in luck — a light breeze meant Swanage Bay was calm, and cloud cover protected us from the harsh sunshine of the previous few days. Still, it was hot work and without much of a warm-up on the way to the start line the first row of the day was tough going for our club rowers.
Races throughout the day follow a classic 3km kite-shaped course, with the start line marked by the Banjo Pier and a buoy and chequered flag some distance off shore. Clubs enter up to a dozen races and score points equal to their placing; at the end of the day the club with the lowest number of points wins the regatta. Clubs which don’t enter a race score the total number of starting boats for that race plus one.
Affinity entered five races: men’s and women’s vets, men’s and women’s Bs, and mixed. Our coxes — Pippa, Austin & Cat — were all brilliant, steering the course calmly and encouraging our crews to give their all while keeping their heads in the boat and focusing on smooth, steady stroke rates to let Grace run through the rippled water.
All our crews showed grit and resolve, with several crews holding off late challenges, and, in the case of the Men’s Bs, overtaking another gig on the home straight — spurred on by Pippa’s commanding coxing.
Our Women’s Bs pulled off the club’s best result of the day, placing seventh out of ten.
Once the final race was completed, the hosts tallied up the scores, and in something of a shock for Sidmouth, Affinity beat the Jurassic League club by two points thus avoiding last place — not bad given we entered fewer than half the races!
The event is really well-organised, the course challenging but fun, and the atmosphere from the grassy viewing area enjoyably chilled. If you’ve not yet been along it’s definitely one to stick in your 2024 calendar.
Huge thanks go to Kelly, who organised us all to get there in the first place, Conrad & Adam for safely delivering and returning Grace, and to all members who helped get Grace out of the water and onto her trailer on a mid-week afternoon.
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