The 1066 Hastings Race was once again held at Tonbridge (does anyone remember the Rother?) After the usual daft start where there is only enough room for seven boats before funneling down after 100 metres or so to where there is only room for a group of four, the course continued with the usual long and short laps up and down the sides of the island. The long and middle distance races in the afternoon then visited the downstream leg on the Medway for the first time since 2005. Why can I remember this? Perhaps it’s because a young Mark and I beat Sage in 5/6 doubles! Since then I think the lock has been re-fitted and there is now a canoeist-friendly jetty rather than the long drop down over a metal walkway. So worth another visit Sage? Shame I got tipped in on the last leg of the island before the finish because (a) I wasn't doing too badly considering the poor start; (b) I was overtaken by none other than one of the Ealing Oiks. No for a change I'm not being rude, you just had to be at the Wey Regatta to understand and (c) I’ll get my revenge on Maidstone when they visit us on June 28!
Some results
Tom came 4th in Div 9 on first outing in his lovely new boat. Oscar, bravely racing up two divisions in Div 7 came 8th
Amanda in the pink Tor and now on the dizzy heights of Div 6 came 4th
Hazel came 3rd, Ed came 4th and Mike 9th in Div 5.
Jack on his first outing in div 4 came 3rd. OK he was disappointed as there were only two others in the race, but while the veterans still think he's cute and will give him a wash, in this race the gloves were off and he was left inspecting the bankside flora on more than one occasion.
Dean seamlessly integrating his sprint training with a 20km paddle once a week came 1st in Div 1.
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