It was great to host Cambridge 99’s for a day of side-by-side training on a flat 2k Royal Docks regatta course in East London on the first weekend of May.
The upcoming Met Regatta will be the first taste of regatta competition for many clubs since Henley 2019, a gap not far short of two years. Match racing like this will be invaluable in the run up to competition. The sessions are enjoyable in their own right too after months of erging in front rooms and garages.
On the day, the coaches managed to put together some very well-matched boats, which made the whole day extremely worthwhile and very competitive. The battle paddles were intense whilst the 1k pieces were a shock to the system.
The first session saw each club racing an eight with a coxed four acting as the rabbit to the eight's greyhound. With just a 45 minute break we were back out – this time all in fours with a mix of coxed and coxless boats.
At one point we were the only boats on the entire course. With London City Airport still in lockdown mode and the sun shining against a backdrop of Canary Wharf the docks were on their best behaviour and the day could not have been better.
Thanks to the Nines for making the effort to travel down the M11 – you are welcome back any time!
Richard Ellis