Bexhill off to flyer at regatta

The junior four of brothers Nick and Phil McCorry, Douglas Holdaway, Andy Welling and cox Callum Payne surged into the lead at the half-way point and went on to win their first race of the year.

The McCorrys then finished second in the junior pairs, with Holdaway and Welling third.

The ladies' junior four of Hounsome, Jenny Rayner, Jemma Cropper and Rebecca Dawes managed a very good fourth place. Cropper and Dawes also claimed a hard-earned runners-up spot in the ladies' senior pairs.

The men's senior four were next up, with the senior crews hoping for good points again. The A crew of Darren Mitchell, Andy Bickers, brothers Mark and Matt Mitchell and cox Callum Payne produced a deserved third place finish.

The veteran four of Dave Jones, Steve Bickers, Steve Hopkins, Glen Payne and cox Callum Payne gave a faultless performance to win their first race of the year and lead the championship. The B crew of the Graham and Paul Dawes, Bob Balchin, Ray Philips and cox Jemma Cropper had a fine row to take fifth.

The club had three junior scullers in the final for the first time this year. Chris Doswell headed the field with Kieran Cahill and Steve Doswell third and sixth respectively.

The men's senior pair of Matt and Mark Mitchell again led from start to finish to win their event. Mark went on to take the senior sculls with Chris Doswell second.

Bexhill were hoping for more of the same at Shoreham the next day. Once again Mark Mitchell dominated the senior sculls with Doswell third, while the junior four proved themselves championship contenders by romping home by a winning margin of one-and-a-half lengths. They then finished second in the junior seniors.

In the veteran fours race, the A crew had a shaky start but pulled through the field to finish second with the B crew fifth. The junior pairs saw Welling and Holdaway beat the McCorrys for the first time by finishing third to the brothers' sixth place. The senior pairs was again dominated from start to finish by the Mitchells who chalked up their third straight win of the season.

The junior scullers had mixed fortune with Chris Doswell finishing second behind Deal, while Cahill came in fourth.