Winter League

Overall results are here.

Leg 1: January. Full results. And ours.

Open Masters B 8+ 11:55 (5/9)

Women's Club B 8+ 12:54 (3/10)

Women's Masters C-F 8+ adjusted 13:20 (4/8)

Mixed Beginners 8+ 16:07 (2/3) - First race for 6/8 of the crew, well done to our learn to row gang who have only been rowing for 6 months. I believe there was a bit of overtaking excitement as well. 

Open Masters B-G 4x- adjusted 11:25 (2/5) - 3 seconds on adjusted which is less than a second raw time as your competition is masters B - Go get 'em in legs 2 and 3. They were also division 1 with much less wind than division 4.

Women's Novice 4x- 14:01 (1/4) - Well Done. You coped with the wind very well, 2nd place is nearly a minute behind and raced in division 1. 

Women's Masters F 4x- 14:20 (2/3) - Your nemesis is within your sights ... 20 seconds to close out. 

Women's Master 2x- adjusted 15:02 (4/7) - First time racing for this double, well done, I can't wait to see your progress over training.

Mixed Masters 2x- adjusted 12:40 (3/7)

Leg 2: February.

Division 1 09:00. Wx: cold rain.

Women's Club B (Senior Moments) 8+ - 12.54, 12.59 - 2/10 - holding steady. Video.

Mixed Masters F 2x- Lorraine and Steve - 13.46, 13.30 - 2/8 - holding steady too.

Division 2 10:40. Wx: sleet.

Mixed Beginner (Newby Newbies) 8+ - 16.07, 14:15 - 2/3 but gaining quickly on first place. Great time today!

Mens Club B 8+ - 11.55, 11.19 - 4/9 and closing the gap on 3rd place - well done and go get Champs next race. Video.

Division 3 12:20. Wx: cold rain thinning.

Women's Masters E (Inglorious Masters) 8+ - 14.08, 13.40 - 2/4. Video (also the 4x-).

Women's Masters F (Superhoops) 4x- - 14.20, 13.39 - 3/6 and closing the gap on Champs in 2nd place - only 3 seconds off today go get them in winter league 3 - well done.

Division 4 14:00. Wx: cold but dry.

Women's Masters D (Quad-eratics) 4x- - 14:01, 13:48 - 1/4 maintaining first place - well done.

Mens Masters E 4x- - 12.13, 11.44 - 1/6 up to first - well done.

Leg 3: March

M ClubB VIII 10:18, 5/9.

W ClubB VIII 11:52 2/9, so close. Video.

W MasE-F VIII 12:46 2/5.

Mx Beg VIII 13:29 2/3.

M MasE 4x- 10:43 1/6 go us, pots.

W Nov 4x- 12:30 1/4, well done.

W MasF 4x- 12:35 3/6.

W Nov 2- 15:12.

W MasG 2x 15:53 4/8.

Mx MasF 2x 12:36 2/8 so close. Video.

Winter Head to Head 2026

At last, Chris Wood’s favourite race. Results and entries are currently here. But to list us:

Chesterton mixed masters double of Lorraine and Steve coming in at 17:27 adjusted time

Chesterton men's masters quad in an adjusted time of 15:08 only 2 seconds behind first - so close - get them next time. This one was either frustrating or fun, depending on your viewpoint. We gave Pem W2 quite a gap but nevertheless caught them at Grassy; Dave managed 95% of a successful overtake but Harry’s blade got caught just at the last; and we lost about 10 seconds. But nonetheless now hold the course record for MasE 4x.

Chesterton men's masters 8+ in an adjusted time of 15:08 (triple checked and yes it is the same time as the quad) and also second. A decent row, quite a bit better than it might have been :-).

Chesterton women's masters double in an adjusted time of 21:04

Chesterton women's masters quad battling it out with the juniors with an adjusted time of 17:34 another second.

Chesterton women's 8+ time of 17:14

Chesterton masters women's 8+ adjusted time of 18:47

Robs Autumn Head

It was the first race of the season for some of us, well, most of us men anyway. A charming day, some sun and no wind, although the arrangements for the start were a trifle eccentric. Results are here. We were:

  • “The Eels” - M Mas - 10:55.6 raw, 10:25.6 adjusted, 29th overall, 5/7 in category. A decent row, with Lysander (oddly started behind us) oddly but politely choosing the outside line around Grassy when they overtook, despite Dave’s best efforts to give them the inside line.

  • W8+ Club B - 11:20.4, 1/5 in category.

  • W8+ Mas D - 11:37.4 adjusted, 3/4 in category.

  • Mx4x- Mas F - 11:37.7 1/1 in category

  • W4x- Mas F - 12:53.6 1/1 in category

WGP refurb

Many years ago, in 2010, Chesterton (then Simoco) bought a shiny new Janousek eight for the men’s side, accomanied by comments such as “The gleaming boat on the trestles certainly looks fast, a big improvement on the plastic one” (more pix of that here). After years of service the shell was still in decent nick, but a little battered; so (after sitting for a while in the pre-queue, then the queue) it went off for a refurb, and has now come back shiny as new. Breaking all bounds of tradition and common sense, we’ve re-rigged it as strokeside, and let Ralph stroke it. Thanks to PaulS for organising the refurb.

British Rowing Masters Championships 2025

Our own Conor Burgess, and our ex-own Steven Andrews, competed in the British Rowing Masters Championships. You can read all about their success in Steven’s post (they also went on to win at Henley Masters).

Meanwhile, the ladies also went, with Rachel reporting on fb: “What a day! Well done the Masters women 50+ crew who raced at Nottingham in the British Masters. Conditions were "tricky" a great race and a 4/6 finish with barely a bow ball between 3rd and 4th. And well done the masters women 36+ for driving to Nottingham to cheer the above race and move a boat, and then drive home again after our race was cancelled because of the wind.”

Racing Round-Up: October-November 2024

Lots of Chesterton crews have been racing over the past month or so. Here is a brief round-up of how we did. But first some pictures:

Small Boats Head, 5 October 2024

Eight crews raced the 2600m River Cam course:

Women Novice 4x- (S Felicity Parker, 3 Marija Milosavljevic, 2 Angela Barkes, B Rachel Newby). A great race from the Novice 4x- crew coming first in their category. Time 13:36.3

Women 4+ Senior (cox Karen Momber, S Louise Atkin, 3 Beccy Garrill, 2 Christina Wuensche, B Gill McGuire). Another good race for the 4+ crew who won pots – the first for most, and probably due to them being chased by a 4x- crew of 16-year-olds! Time 13:25.0, Adj 13:07.0

Mixed 2x- (Lorraine Turvill and Steve Humphrey). Lorraine and Steve raced in Pye & Mash and came second in their category. Time 13:35.5, Adj 12:46.5

Women 4x- Superhoops (S Lorraine Turvill, 3 Dawn Hawkins, 2 Anne Roberts, B Meg Richards). Superhoops had a good race coming second in their category to their rival crew Quadrangle from Champs. Time 13:44.2, Adj 12:40.2

Women 1x- (Felicity Parker). Felicity raced as a single scull and came third in her category. Time 16:05.9

Women 4+ Masters (cox Rachel Newby, S Christina Wuensche, 3 Karen Momber, 2 Vero Escudero, B Caroline Coetzee). The Masters 4+ boat had a good solid race coming third in their category. Time 14:43.5, Adj 13:54.5

Men 4- Skip One (Ralph, David O’L, Jon H, Willam) A reasonable row for a scratch crew and considering David’s first time racing on bowside.  No steering incidents for a change! First in category. Time 11:51.9

Videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1x_BlvWjq8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJTRK3Yw8Yw

Men 4- Skip Two (Paul H, William, Dave R, Simon) 

First in category. Time 12:39.8

Autumn Head, 12 October 2024

Chesterton entered five boats, racing over 2600m on the River Cam.

Men 4- Skip Solo (Ralph, Harry, Klaus, Dave R) A good row (in practice for IVs Head) despite the rate not being high enough for Harry.  Dropped to r28 around corners, mostly around 30ish with splits at or below 2:00 down the reach.  Slight skirmish with the bank at the finish line probably cost us a few seconds - but happy that we beat the 8+! First in category. Time 11:22.5

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErCuer1E3P4 

Men 8+ Late 8 (Simon, William, Paul H, Luke, Dave B, Owen, Nils, Roberto, Alex Caz) More ergs needed - at least Owen removed his anorak before racing! Fourth in category. Time 11:48.8

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLTrNqun11c 

Women 8+ Senior Moments (cox Meg Richards, S Lorraine Turvill, 7 Sarah Burgess, 6 Louise Atkin, 5 Beccy Garrill, 4 Christina Wuensche, 3 Karen Momber, 2 Eszter Campbell, B Anne Roberts). It was a solid and consistent race for the senior crew, coming second in their category. Time 12:06.4, Adj 11:34.4

Women 8+ Inglorious Masters (cox Karen Momber, S Claire Hancock, 7 Cecile Gani, 6 Mareike Collis, 5 Sigita Siliunaite, 4 Vero Escudero, 3 Kate Winter, 2 Shonu Das, B Caroline Coetzee). Despite the deteriorating weather in Division 3, the Masters crew had a great race showing commitment and responsiveness.  Time 13:05.6, Adj 12:33.6

Women 4x- Superhoops (S Lorraine Turvill, 3 Dawn Hawkins, 2 Anne Roberts, B Meg Richards). Looking strong and together Superhoops beat their rival crew, Quandrangle from Champs. Many congratulations to them! Time 13:19.8

Isle of Ely Head, 3 November 2024

With five crews entering, it was a good day of racing at the Isle of Ely Head for Chesterton.  It was a super early start for the rowers in the first division with races starting at 9am, but the crews were rewarded for their efforts.

Mixed 2x- (Lorraine Turvill and Steve Humphrey). Lorraine and Steve raced the 3km course in Pye & Mash, coming first in their category. They were pretty much the fastest boat that morning, coming second only to an 8+ of boys!  Time 13:02.87, Adj 12:07.87

Women 4+ Novice (cox Rachel Newby, S Caroline Coetzee, 3 Karen Momber, 2 Vero Escudero, B Sigita Siliunaite). The novice 4+ also raced the 3km course coming first in their category. Time 14:58.95, Adj 14:13.95

Three Chesterton crews raced the 5km course:

Women 1x- (Felicity Parker). Felicity raced as a single scull coming third in her category behind 99s. Time 28:19.57

Women 4+ Club B (cox Nicky Mathew, S Sarah Burgess, 3 Gill McGuire, 2 Christina Wuensche, B Jo Raskin). The senior 4+ crew had a great race, with first off-Cam racing for three of them. They stuck to their race plan and came first in their category. Time 24:21.25, Adj 23:42.25

Women 4x- Superhoops (S Lorraine Turvill, 3 Rachel Newby, 2 Anne Roberts, B Meg Richards). The Superhoops crew started strong but unfortunately were forced into the reeds by an overtaking crew. Even so, they came first in their category beating the Isle of Ely. Time 24:03.42, Adj 22:39.42

Winter Head, 9 November 2024

Five Chesterton crews took part in this exciting, drama-filled Winter Head event racing over 2500m on the River Cam. 

It was a busy event with over 50 boats taking part in each Division. There were only around 10 seconds between crews setting off and with many crews not being from the area and maybe not so used to giving the racing line or enough space to allow safe overtaking. This meant more clashing of blades than we would usually expect!

Men 4- Club B, Skip (S Ralph Hancock, 3 WIlliam Connolley, 2 Klaus Okkenhaug, B Dave Richards) An early start for the men who gave a strong performance racing in Division 1. Despite getting confused and thinking they were in Bumps, leading to a mild clash of blades with another crew, they came second in their category. Time 10:39.2

Men 8+ Club B, Radio Pye (cox William Connolley, S Simon Emmings, 7 Dave Richards, 6 Owen Walker, 5 Chris Wood, 4 Paul Holland, 3 Jon Hatchett, 2 Dave Byrne, B Alex Cazacu) Came third in their category. Time 10:21.5

Women 8+ Club B, Senior Moments (cox Meg Richards, S Lorraine Turvill, 7 Sarah Burgess, 6 Louise Atkin, 5 Beccy Garrill, 4 Masha Netchaeva, 3 Gill McGuire, 2 Eszter Campbell, B Jo Raskin). A strong performance from the Senior Moments crew in an exciting race, and clashing with St Ives, who had not pulled over to allow room for overtaking. Senior Moments came fourth in their category, and were very pleased with their race, annoyingly two seconds slower than the 99s crew. Time 10:58.8

Women 8+ Masters E, Inglorious Masters (cox Anne Roberts, S Claire Hancock, 7 Karen Momber, 6 Vero Escudero, 5 Sigita Siliunaite, 4 Christina Wuensche, 3 Kasia Barbusinska, 2 Shonu Das, B Caroline Coetzee). A super race by the Masters 8+ crew coming second to Champs only by two seconds! Time 11:30.7, Adj 10:44.7

Women 4x- Masters E, SuperHoops (S Lorraine Turvill, 3 Dawn Hawkins, 2 Anne Roberts, B Meg Richards). Another strong performance from the Superhoops crew in an exciting race, coming second in their category. Time 12:02.4, Adj 11:14.4

Well done to all crews taking part!  More to come over the Winter months.