by Mette Rodgers
Thames Tradesmen Rowing Club is celebrating a successful regatta season with no less than six trophies this summer; among them two wins by the club’s novice crews which were racing for the very first time.
The fun started at Kingston Regatta in mid-July, when the novice crew consisting of Sandy Bastin, Jon Allen, Taymara Dias, Casey Ryder and coxed by Kasia Wrobleska won their final against Kingston RC by one foot.
“Never having competed before, I was a little nervous, particularly about the distance; also letting my fellow rowers down. However, Kasia, our cox, was absolutely great. It was such a close race which made it even more exciting, winning by what felt like a centimeter,” said Sandy Bastin after the race.
She was also part of the developer crew, which won a pot at Maidenhead Regatta in August. This time the crew – which also consisted of Elizabeth Wooliston, Mario Di Costanzo and Tom Dick and was coxed by Kasia Wrobleska – beat Wallingford by an impressive 1,5 length in the final.
“To win the only two races that I’ve ever competed in was so amazing, unbelievable and a great team effort,” Sandy added.
Kasia Wrobleska secured another win at Maidenhead, when she and her TTRC partner Jacqui Sutherland won the Masters DE double race. They beat the crew from Eton Excelsior RC by a convincing 1,5 length in the final.
The third pot of the day went to TTRC’s Paul Arnold, who smashed the competition from Marlow by winning the Open Masters FG single race by 4,5 lengths.
Paul Arnold also won the Open Masters G single scull final against Exeter at Gloucester Regatta later in August.
The sixth pot of the summer season was won at Molesey Regatta, when the TTRC men’s 8+ won the Open Masters CD race with a little help from Isabelle Meron, who was subbed in for Paul Arnold, and coach Michael Tchoubouroff, who came in at the last minute after crew member Jonathan Geitner hurt his toe moving the trailer.
The crew – which also consisted of Nathan Goodman, Philip Hindley, Kim Williams, Jay Sitaraman, Tim Primmer and Grigoriy Kozin – was coxed to victory over Twickenham RC by former Olympic cox Woody in the Open Masters CD event. They won by 2 feet.
TTRC chairman Nigel Brophy called it “very encouraging to see so many TTRC crews entering so many regattas over the summer”.
“The feedback we get from rowers, who competed at these regattas and once rowed for Thames Tradesmen’s, is so encouraging saying: ‘It great to see the claret, white and green colours of the TTRC racing again.”
He was particularly happy for the club to participate in the local regattas, where newer members have a chance to compete.
“These events allow our development squad to enter novice races and get to know the members who race on a more regular basis. There is a lovely community spirit at these events which complements the ethos of this great club,” the chairman said.
The experience has encouraged several members from the development group to step up training and join the club’s racing squad.
Many more TTRC crews – from novice rowers to experienced master rowers – showed great promise at a number of events including British Masters in Nottingham, Henley Town and Visitors Regatta and the Cambridge Autumn Regatta.
TTRC rowers also took part in two long distance events in late summer, both taking place on Saturday 21st September.
Louise Martin and Emma Pike completed the Monster the Loch race – the entire 21 mile length of Loch Ness – in a coastal double in 3 hours and 29 minutes.
Jonathan Geitner, James Beale, Matthew Kingsland and Peter Robinson were part of a fixed seat Celtic Longboat which competed in the 21,6 miles/35 km Great River Race from Millwall to Ham.
The crew came in 24th overall out of 270 boats, 3rd in their boat class and 2nd in their age class.
All in all an impressive effort by TTRCs rowers this summer, which bodes very well indeed for the 2024-25 season.
The season was officially launched on Saturday 14th September, when the new Women’s Captain Jacqui Sutherland, the new Men’s Captain Tim Primmer and Women’s Vice Captain Mette Rodgers presented the plans for the upcoming season to a packed room of both new and old TTRC members.
The plans for the season include club races for the development group, where the coaches and captains hope to spot new talent for the upcoming racing season. A ‘friendly’ with Brentford Masters is being discussed, and a mixed ability Plum Pudding Race during the Christmas holidays is in the calendar.
For the race group, training has started for several upcoming Head races, including Teddington Head and Vets Fours Head in late November.
As part of the training, a group of 20 Tradesmen is going on a six day rowing camp in Palermo, Sicily, in early November.
A good start to what looks to be another fun and successful season!
