Bexhill rowers compete in South Coast Rowing Championships
With the regatta season coming to a close, Bexhill Rowing Club headed to Plymouth for the 2025 finale and the largest coastal regatta in the country.
More than 30 rowing clubs from Kent in the east all the way to Cornwall in the west come together to compete against each other to decide the fastest crews in each category.
Races are split across championship and open events, the championship races consisting of the top two crews from each rowing association.
Bexhill were represented by three crews including their recently crowned Junior Senior Men’s champions who were selected for the junior senior championship race. Originally to be rowed in river boats the weather had other plans and with 30mph gusts forecast it was decided to switch to coastal boats. As predicted the wind was very strong making conditions tough, but Bexhill crews all coped well.
Junior Senior Men’s champions had a tough race but did manage a close second place. Seb Ward, Herbie Molton, Chris Botha, Byron Cramp and cox Taya Hutton-Mitchell lined up against other association Junior Senior champions and turned the race into a two-boat race, pulling clear with a crew from Itchin Imperial.
At the halfway mark there was nothing to choose between the crews and it came down to the last 200m where Itchin marginally nudged in front. Although not the win they have been training hard for, the progression from losing to both the Itchin crew and a crew from Ryde earlier in the year showed just how much work had gone in by crew and coaches to nearly cause a major upset.
Bexhill also fielded a Junior Ladies crew. Catherine Richard, Taya Hutton-Mitchell, Gabby Ward, Amberley Conner and cox Darren Mitchell were up against a lot of competition. They had to be in the top two in the heat to qualify for the final especially as this was not their usual crew and their first race together. They rowed well but just missed out on qualifying.
Bexhill’s other crew was in the open junior senior event. Again another crew formed relatively recently and made up of two novice rowers.
The crew of Noah Landau, Chris Doswell, Clive Bingham, Digby Cramp and cox Catherine Richard were up against it right from the start with peak windy conditions and being slightly left on the line. They soon got into their rhythm but could not get up to the front and finished in fifth.
Bexhill are looking for new members to bring more success next year. Email club captain Andy Bickers [email protected].