Aubin’s Fort to Gorey Harbour on Sunday.
With the largest handicap of the field, they had to start last.
This did not faze the crew and, setting a tremendous pace, they were quickly in amongst the earlier starters.
After clearing the rocks around Green Island they again pushed on chasing the leading crews at last passing the men’s fixed seat pair of John Chinn and Chris Huelin on the final run in to the finish across Grouville Bay.Second place in the race also went to a sliding seat boat, the men’s pairing of John Searson and Paul Le Gros just edged out the fixed seat pair of Chinn and Huelin.
Having led for the last part of the race, a third place finish only losing out to two faster sliding seat boats will have no doubt pleased Chinn and Huelin.
With the Lloyds TSB sponsored Sark to Jersey race only two weeks away they will have a great deal more confidence for a good finish in this their first season of rowing.Although classified as a men’s four, the Lloyds TSB crew actually consists of three male rowers and a female rower.
Rowing in stroke position, Tracey Southorp set a good pace for Steven Wilson, James Monnelli and Martin Murray to follow.
Being a new crew they were first away from St Aubin’s Fort and managed to stay out in front until the later stages of the race when the quicker and more experienced crews began to pass them.
Urged on by stand-in cox Jackie Small they still managed a top ten finish, an excellent result considering they were over 30 minutes adrift of the faster crews in the last race.After converting their boat to sliding seat and only having rowed in it for two weeks, the Mings Dynasty ladies four were unable to make up any time on their handicap, finishing behind the fastest ladies four, Fitness First, and the new crew of Joanne Chambers, Ali Linder, Madeleine King, Emma Chambers and cox Annie Queree who went on to finish in sixth place, taking the trophy for the first ladies four over the line.After an awful race last time out, Peter Jennet and Sandrine L’Hotelier put in a much improved performance to win the mixed pairs class finishing just in front of leading singles rower Ian Anderson who managed to cross the line towing what looked like half of Green Island with him!Results: 1, Deutsche Bank Offshore; 2, John Searson and Paul Le Gros; 3, John Chinn and Chris Huelin; 4, Citicabs; 5, Telecoms; 6, Fitness First; 7, Pegasus Insurance; 8, Gary and Richard Mayo; 9, Romerils; 10, Lloyds TSB; 11, Peter Jennet and L’Hotelier; 12, I Anderson; 13, Ladies 4; 14, J Fowler; 15, J Brown and S Eldred; 16, Mings Dynasty; 17; H and D Barker; 18, S Tangy and R Wilkinson.
