2008

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2007

News Archive

2008

February

17th Feb: Brand Spanking New Website Up and Running (Sort Of)

John has been updating the look of the website. Please do bear with him, as his skills on a computer are somewhat limited. If you have any ideas about what you'd like to see on the site, please mail him or collar him at training!

Banyoles Training Camp

The prospect of another ‘Banyoles' filled some with dread and some with excitement – depending on whether they'd been on a rowing camp before. Those in the know were busy stocking up on plasters, super-strength Voltarol and malt loaf, whilst everyone else was worrying about sunglasses and new lycra.

Cutting a very long story short, Shreeyash did end up on the plane with the rest of us and we arrived without further incident – apart from having to discharge the life jacket canisters and explain away the missing infant!

The weather for rowing was fantastic the whole week, apart from one outing during which we were suddenly bombarded by hailstones. It was generally sunny throughout the day; cold in the morning, warm at lunchtime and cooling down in the afternoon but, more than anything, it was a pleasure to be able to sit outside between sessions, chatting and comparing blisters over café con leche and bocodillas con queso y jamon.

The hotel was excellent and far better than an initial look at its website suggested. Some rooms remained cleaner and fresher smelling than others, the boys in Room 8 taking the prize for most unusual activities enjoyed by a group; ‘ensemble tooting', to put it politely, and ‘synchronised masochism by consenting adults', which involved surgical spirit and a great deal of exquisite pain!

The highlight of the week was the special evening meal laid on by our hosts and the presentation ceremony, ably conducted by Nick and Emma. It was clear from the videos that everyone had improved considerably over the week but Laura Birrell and Jacquie Burrows were nominated as Most Improved Female Rower, and Nick Jupe and Phil Rakusen for Most Improved Male Rower. However, there could only be one winner in each category and Jacquie and Phil received their well-deserved certificates and trophies from Dave Keogh.

Notable achievements included several ‘firsts'; the two Lauras looked very good in their inaugural outing in a pair, John managed 6km in a single without ever reaching three quarter slide and Dave rearranged the buoys, rescuing one from a life in chains. In order to protect the innocent, many other incidents will go unreported, but they'll be long remembered by those there!

Thanks go to coaches, Dave Keogh and Rick Geer, and club captain, Julian Johns, for the hard work and organisation that went into making the camp such a success.

See all the photos in the Gallery.

2007

Women Overcome All Opposition to Take Home Three-Pint Pots At Kingston Regatta

Several Curlew crews went along to Kingston Regatta, an annual rite where we usually bump into Ade Adibaba and several other old friends. All crews rowed well but of particular note were two crews, one being surprising and the other, surprised.

The surprising entry was a first for Curlew; a composite S2 crew with four of Curlew's seniors and four from the University of Reading. This was really an opportunity for old friends to race together and a trip down memory lane for ex-men's captain, Matt Ayers. Matt was been captain at Reading Uni and was joined by Ed Birrell, Curlew alumni, who took over as men's captain last summer. They were also joined by ‘Curlies', Graham Everett, Joel Kowalski and Lee McAuliffe, and RUBC's, Dave Ewart, Simon Barbour and Rory Parsons, Claire Carver kindly agreeing to cox. They had a very brief outing on the Friday, loaded their boat, ate a lot of noodles and, the following day, took the regatta by storm. Beating Cygnet RC easily in the first round, they met a very proficient and confident Vesta crew in the finals. However, the composite crew looked very comfortable and completely in control, winning by 2 lengths over the 1km course, breaking the 3-minute barrier and clocking the fastest time of the day.

The surprised crew was three Curlew ladies, Elizabeth Wallen, Vicky and Sarah, and Freya, of Poplar & District Rowing Club. Having started rowing together merely weeks before the race, the ladies remained focussed on Kingston as the culmination of their new training regime. The first race, against Mortlake was won by 1¼lengths and a more surprised and elated crew would have been hard to find! However, this was just the first heat and they faced a tougher battle against Kingston RC in the semi-final. A confident and solid row saw another Curlew win and the ladies were into the final against local rivals, Globe RC. The crews went off virtually neck and neck and stayed that way until about the 500m marker. Then the determination and tenacity of the Curlew and PDRC ladies really showed through and they started pulling away, stoke by stroke, crossing the line 1 length ahead. Their sheer elation was only matched by their genuine astonishment at having battled through a very strong entry to take home their three-pint pots! A great day out!