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Marlow Fours and Pairs Head
Dorney Lake, Wallingford. 22nd November 2009

The stage was set at Eton’s Dorney Lake on Sunday 22nd November, with the women’s 1st IV and Men’s 2nd IV taking up the task of competing in Marlow’s Four’s and Pair’s Head. With a win in both the women’s and men’s Novice categories, it proved to all competitors that Kent Rowing Club is a force to be reckoned with.

However, despite Kent’s success, Dorney Lake pushed each athlete to their absolute limits. The weather conditions were exacerbated by Dorney’s lack of cover and allowed the wind to play a vicious game with the athletes. Coxes had to be on full alert as the torrential downpour of rain made steering the 1900m course much more difficult. Kent, however, refused to be intimidated and with a final recap of the race plan they were ready to go.

The Women’s 1st IV, made up of Sarah Fish, Alice Mason, Briony Rose and Antonia Gerlach, were the first of the Kent crews to set off. Coxed by Cat Pateman, the women didn’t get the start they wanted. ‘I thought it was all over before it had even started’ commented Women’s Captain and Stroke Sarah Fish. ‘We were just being blown in to the bank’. Forcing themselves to adapt their technique so they could row through the difficult conditions, the women received a boost at the 1000m mark as they realised they were gaining time on the crew in front. With motivational cheers from the crowd, the women pushed on and put down a very impressive time of 9 minutes 43, beating 2nd place Sir William Perkins School by an impressive 12 seconds.

Now was the task of Men’s 2nd IV, coxed by Jen Fisher. Made up of Ben Rowan, Mark Humphreys, Tom Davies and Ash Roberts, the men’s crew were more than up for the occasion. Training had been intense up to the race with the men squeezing in extra water outings in anticipation of Marlow Head. But, within 100m of the race, the crew struck disaster as the two strokeside oarsmen got dragged down as a result of a collision with the buoys. Fighting to stay in the race, Jen Fisher’s calming influence in the cox seat kept the boys focused on the job in hand, as they battled on with the strong waves and headwind. With a few pushes, the men’s crew were back in contention and put down a time of 7 minutes 30, beating rivals like Exeter University and Medway Town Boat Club.

Speaking to the Chairman of Kent Rowing, James Cooper had this to say; ‘It’s a great day to learn that one crew has won, but it certainly made my day when both crews came home with a victory’. Both crews were clearly elated on receiving their medals. Two man Tom Davies said that he felt like ‘dropping’ to his knees when he received his prize.

The season is shaping up nicely for Kent Rowing Club. After winning the 52km Boston Marathon back in September, the club is looking stronger than ever after their success at Marlow. Let’s hope this success is not short lived.

Ben Rowan