Our biggest ever Hammersmith Head

On Sunday 23 February we sent five eights to race at this year's Hammersmith Head. Putney Town Rowing Club kindly provided our crews with a wonderful warm boathouse (and tea, coffee and toast!), and we were blessed on the morning of the race with mercifully mild conditions – a welcome change from the hand-numbing cold of weekends past!

Mild temperatures aside, crews and coxes had to contend with a high wind and strong current – the cause of a yellow flag which very sadly prevented our sixth boat, a novice crew, from participating. Coxes displayed very impressive marshalling skills as they navigated these conditions, and the scores of other boats lining up at the start. Plenty of tapping up and backing down to maintain position kept all our rowers on their toes.

The race itself saw crews steam through high wash, strong currents and gusts of wind, testing their technical skills as well as their power. The post-race photos show LORC-flagged crews looking characteristically fabulous, despite these challenges, and everyone came off the water in high spirits.

Men's Senior VIII ('A') came fourth in their category, 'B' came fifteenth; Women's Senior 'C' came tenth; Social/Intermediate crews came eighteenth and nineteenth in their categories respectively!

The day was a real testament to the spirit of the club, and many of those who were unable to race due to the prevailing weather conditions came down to help and support the crews who were racing the course. The mood was really positive, and was one of the best race-day atmospheres we have experienced.

A massive thank you to all the captains for the huge amount of time and effort spent putting crews together and managing the logistics, as well as to our incredible trailering duo, Dean and Hannah. Thanks also to everyone who came along to help out and support, and to Putney Town RC for being such generous hosts on the day.