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Tuesday 20 December Quintin Newsletter - an Apology

We would like to apologise to all members, old and new, who have had to pay a postal surcharge on receiving the Quintin Newsletter. Somehow and inexplicably the wrong value stamp was attached before posting and we can only say how sorry we are for this blunder.

Sunday 22 December Christmas Festivities

The traditional Quintin Plum Puddings Race was held on Sunday morning with the start, scheduled for 10:30, actually taking place at about eleven o'clock. Of the fifteen eights expected, thirteen turned up at Isleworth Eyot, ready for the row down to the Quintin flagpole. As usual the handicap system plus the inability of some boats to turn round quickly at the start meant that the early starters had a huge advantage over the faster crews at the rear. Nevertheless there was some exciting racing with quite a bunching of the middle-order finishers. First place went to Cygnet Men, with Mortlake Men's Novices overlapping in second place and Quintin "Vice-Presidents" in third. Then in the clubhouse bar there was a general thawing-out of the crews, who had had to suffer sub-zero temperatures on the river. Hot lasagne with salad and then mince pies to follow helped a great deal, as did the Christmas spirit. Thanks to all the competitors for taking part in the festivities and to Graham Lloyd at the start, Geoff Potts at the finish and the other volunteers in launches along the way. Geoff Potts also doubled up as event photographer.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=772.

Friday 18 December Quintin Newsletter

The Christmas issue of our periodical newsletter has just been published and sent to members new and old. This is largely intended for people who do not regularly look at the web site, but if you don't get a copy and you would like one, you can download it here (1MB pdf).

Sunday 6 December Wallingford Head

Wallingford Head has had to be called off. It is now rescheduled to run on Sunday, January 17th 2010. Full details will be posted at http://wallingford-head.rowing.org.uk/index.html

Saturday 5 December Burway Small Boats Head

The Burway Small Boats Head has had to be postponed. Full details at
http://www.cantab.net/users/chrisjmorris/burwaysbh2009/main.html

Saturday 28 November Vesta Scullers' Head

The club had eleven scullers entered for the Scullers' Head, which was raced on the usual course from Mortlake to Putney. It was another encouraging day for our scullers, with some pennant wins and some near misses. Our scullers' results are given below. Congratulations to our Captain, Mark Chatwin, for finishing 21st overall and winning the vetaran A pennant. This is the highest position the club has attained in this race for more than twenty five years. Congratulations also to Pete Meaney for winning the Veteran E pennant and to Frank Webb for winning the Veteran H pennant.

	Overall Finish	Class	Time	Position in class
Mark Chatwin	21	Vet A	21:46.98	1
Nick Ryan	120	Vet D	22:44.09	3
Pete Meaney	126	Vet E	22:49.31	1
Geoff Potts	133	Vet E	22:52.08	2
Charles Harrison	140	Vet D	22:55.03	5
Richard Ratcliffe	142	Vet B	22:56.24	8
Dov Ohrenstein	152	IM2	22:58.72	15
Tom Bishop	167	Vet F	23:06.64	2
Deborah Mallinson	188	W. Sen Lwt.	23:13.28	2
Frank Webb	282	Vet H	24:05.05	1
Hugh Davy	408	Vet I	27:22.76	2

Full results at http://www.vestarowing.co.uk/events/vesta-scullers-head/vesta-scullers-head-2009-results.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=769.

With the autumn heads nearly over it is worth considering what a "Pennant Winners Chart" for the club might look like:-

Tom Bishop	6
Geoff Potts	5
Frank Webb	4
Deborah Mallinson	2
Ken Almand	1
Mark Chatwin	1
Pete Meaney	1
Nick Ryan	1

Well done to all our scullers!

Wednesday 25 November Another news bulletin from the archives

Back in April we published an extract from the March 1960 Polytechnic magazine which struck a certain resonance with the Club's current activities. We therefore think it is now appropriate to publish an extract from the November 1960 edition. In fact, there are two extracts; one pertaining to Quintin, without attribution but presumably penned by Brian Alldridge as in March; the second pertaining to the students' club and ascribed to their then secretary, P. J. A. Cameron.

QUINTIN BOAT CLUB

The last article which appeared under this heading has given cause for more comment than ever before, most of it adverse. There is one correction to make which is worth a mention. You will remember that I said that Tom Peters was the only international representative that Quintin had produced: "Bean" Vernon, of course, was a member of our club when he rowed for Thames R.C. and represented England in the early 1900’s – he says that much of his rowing was learned with us and has always acknowledged this. It goes without saying that we are proud to acknowledge him.

The Sculling Championship and Handicap was held on 24th September in ideal conditions. Bill Barry won easily and the handicap was taken by "Ced" Nowell. Bill beat his handicap by three seconds, but a hurried revision of the rules (if any) for this Club event decreed that he could not take both titles. The new gigs were used for the first time and were passed fit for service by those who know about these things.

The Head of the River for Four (sic) took place on 1st October and there were twenty-four crews in the Coxless four division. Our four came second by one second to National Provincial Bank. The crew was changed slightly from the winning combination of the summer and was as follows:-

	R. Slade (bow and steers)
2.	W.L. Barry
3.	N. Webster
	B. Alldridge (stroke)

We beat our old rivals Vesta R.C. easily, thus reversing two very close decisions (two feet each time) which occurred at regattas during the summer.

Closing Eights took place on 8th October. The usual bustle and disordered organisation was apparent, but no serious mishaps occurred except that Bob Slade lost a race. I cannot give you the names of the winning crew, but I remember that Mike Cadiz stroked, Norman Webster was at five, Clive Warwick at bow, your correspondent at six. We were never in trouble and gave John Hammond the fright of his life in the final when he found himself level with only ten strokes to go. McTernan won his first Club Regatta pot in six years, a great day for him and the bar. The usual social niceties were enjoyed afterwards and Basil Kemp-Gee informs me that he is well pleased with his books. If anyone finds spare raffle tickets in his pocket during the week, will he please destroy them and not try to pass them the following weekend, they cannot be used to obtain new raincoats, hats, umbrellas or the like.

Saturday, 8th October also meant the Extraordinary General Meeting for the Election of the Captain-Elect for 1960-61; the vote showed that Brian Shaw had been chosen. This result will be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting to be held in the Clubhouse on November 12th. At this Meeting all the other officers of the club for the next year will also be elected.

The Annual Dinner is to be held at the Connaught Rooms on Friday, November 11th. We hope that the Club’s successful year will mean that many club members and their guests will be there to toast the winning crews.

Members may be interested to know that twenty-five club entry forms have been filled in since the clubhouse re-opened in September. This fact in itself is some measure of our success. Will members please do all they can to make our new chaps feel at ease and wanted, because we do need novices and we can only keep them by ensuring that they think Quintin is the best club on the river, and it could very easily be.

Please note that the Annual Dance will be held at The Bull, Sheen, as usual, on Saturday, 21st January.

POLY STUDENTS’ BOAT CLUB

Having a wife and child to keep, the Captain of Boats for the past three years regretfully felt it was time he left the Poly and B.C., and entered the Civil Engineering industry – the finals for which he successfully passed last term. We wish Ted Harris all the very best in his work and in his future rowing with Quintin B.C.

At the A.G.M., at the start of this term, J. R. D. Elgie, I. Vinsky and P. J. A. Cameron were elected Captain, Vice-Captain and secretary respectively. After these elections and the presentation of numerous College and Club Colours for rowing, Mr. Elgie expressed his hope that, with the additional mid-week rowing, there would be a great expansion of the number of members, and a raising of the standard of rowing in the Boat Club.

So far these hopes have been fulfilled. Tentative 1st, 2nd and 3rd VIIIs have already been selected and training is under way. The 1st VIII are once more under the guardianship of Mr. F. V. Harry, while the 2nd and 3rd VIIIs are being coached by Mr. R. Gohar – a lecturer in the Department of Engineering. Mr. A. J. McTernan – Quintin B.C. cox and lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Physics – is helping the novices, with a special eye on the novice coxswains.

As well as three VIIIs we also have several novice IVs, the best of which, it is hoped, will combine to make a 4th VIII, and if enthusiasm is strong and keen enough, possibly a 5th VIII for the Head of the River Race. It is, however, impossible to make any definite statement on the latter two boats at the present.

By way of conclusion, the Boat Club wishes to thank Mr. Tyler, our President, and Mr. J. Edmundson for all that they have done in securing the required funds for a new boat for the 1st VIII. This boat is expected at the beginning of next month.

P.J.A.C.

Saturday 21 November Kingston Small Boats Head

More successes for the Club in the autumn heads! At the Kingston Small Boats Head on Saturday, Deborah Mallinson was the fastest woman single sculler by over a minute and a quarter, taking the Women's Senior single pennant in a time of 18 minutes 36.5 seconds. Geoff Potts won the men’s Veteran F single sculls pennant in a time of 19 minutes 34.2 seconds, beating Gus Gait of Kingston into second place by 11.5 seconds. Dick Findlay and Frank Webb, being the only entry in Veteran G double sculls, sculled for time only in 19 minutes 17.9 seconds. Full results available at
http://www.bedfordrowing.co.uk/php/resultso.php?id=113&full=1.

Sunday 15 November Veteran Fours Head

After the disappointment of the cancellation of the Fours Head, Sunday turned out to be still somewhat breezy but fine and sunny. The Vets Head got off to a late start, but this did not hamper the Quintin crews, which were both seen to be overtaking other crews even before "The Ship". The club had two crews entered; a Vet D quad of Pete Meaney, Fred Jefferies, Jonathan Ferris and Richard Lonergan going off at number 36 and a Vet E quad of Nick Ryan, Tom Bishop, Charles Harrison, and Dick Findlay at number 43. The D quad finished a creditable 7th in a time of 19 min. 49.39 sec, just missing out on the pennant to Upper Thames by 1.11 seconds. The E quad excelled themselves, finishing 4th overall in a time of 19 min. 37.50 sec. to take the pennant in their category. The only crews to beat them were two Vet B coxless fours and a Vet B quad. Full results at http://www.vetfourshead.com/storage/V4HResults2009.xls.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=760.
 

Saturday 14 November Head of the River Fours

Due to the inclement weather, the Fours Head was cancelled this year. The general opinion around the club bar was that the racing conditions were probably acceptable, if rather wet, but that marshalling would have been a bit of a nightmare, what with extremely powerful gusts of wind. At times the club flagpole was beginning to take on the shape of Robin Hood's trusty bow. I'm sure our erstwhile competitors were quietly relieved that they did not have to brave the elements, even though it did mean an extra workout in the gym with the Cambridge squad looking on.

Friday 13 November Captains’ Dinner 1956

Thanks to Paul Cooper of Molesey and Leander, who has helped us to identify one of the photographs in the "When Was It?" section of the photo gallery. He recognised his father, Ridley Cooper, who was Captain of Quintin in 1952 and 1953. From the record of a club committee meeting we have concluded that the photograph marks the event of a Captains’ Dinner on 16th February 1956 in honour of "Tiny" Mitchell, who was captain of the Polytechnic Rowing Club in 1909 and 1910. The picture has been moved from "When Was It?" to QBC Photo Gallery 1950s.

Saturday 7 November Henley Sculls Head

Our autumn sculling pennant haul continues apace, with a further five pennants acquired at Henley Sculls Head. The race was split into three divisions with Division 1 at 10:30 for doubles and quads. Our scullers concentrated on the singles in divisions 2 and 3 at 12 noon and 2 p.m. respectively. Mark Chatwin came a creditable 3rd overall in division 2 while Ken Almand (Vet B), Tom Bishop (Vet F), Deborah Mallinson (W Elite), Geoff Potts (Vet E) and Frank Webb (Vet H) came away with wins in their categories. On top of this the club was awarded the senior men's team prize for the combined times of its four fastest scullers in different categories. So well done to Mark, Ken, Charles and Tom for clinching this extra award. The club's results are as follows:

Name	Boat Type	Event	Raw Time	Posn. in Division	Posn. in Category
Division 2 12:00 noon
Mark Chatwin	1x	Elite	13:05	3	3
Ken Almand	1x	VetB	13:30	10	1
Richard Ratcliffe	1x	VetB	13:42	18	3
Charles Harrison	1x	VetD	13:54	22	3
Pete Meaney	1x	VetD	14:07	29	4
Tom Bishop	1x	VetF	14:08	30	1
Deborah Mallinson	1x	W Elite	14:13	34	1
Frank Webb	1x	VetH	15:47	87	1
Division 3 2:00 p.m.
Geoff Potts	1x	VetE	14:26	20	1
Deborah Mallinson	1x	W Sen	14:32	23	2
Dick Findlay	1x	VetG	15:51	90	2

Full results at http://www.henleyrowingclub.info/images/stories/HRC_docs/
Fours_and_Sculls/ResultsSculls09.pdf.

Thursday 5 November Tony Hutchins

It is our sad duty to report the death earlier this week of Tony Hutchins. Tony represented Quintin in what could be termed a "golden" era for the club when top ten Tideway Head finishes and strong performances at Henley were the norm. He rowed in the National Championship winning Quintin eight in 1973 at a time when the full Great Britain squad still took part in the Championships. At Henley that year the crew had lost by ¾ length in the quarter final to Wisconsin University in race that set a new course record for Thames Cup eights. In 1974, having beaten Leander at Reading and Marlow, the Quintin crew lost by 2/3 length to Harvard University in the semi-final of the Thames Cup. In 1975 the crew retained their Reading Grand trophy by rowing through the full Oxford University Boat Race crew. At Henley the crew lost the final of Thames Cup to Garda Siochana by 1 length. In the semi-final they beat Leander setting a Barrier record of 1 minute 49 seconds which stood for 9 years and which 34 years later no subsequent Quintin crew has equalled. In the same year, the crew also defeated the national lightweight eight (world bronze medal winners) at the Metropolitan Regatta (see QBC Photo Gallery, where Tony is "centre stage").

Tony spent the early part of this year sailing through the Panama Canal and across the Eastern Pacific with Graeme Mulcahy, another member of Quintin’s 1973 crew.

Saturday 31 October Marlow Long Distance Sculls

More veteran successes in the autumn sculling heads! Quintin came away with first and second in Veteran E/F singles and first and second in Veteran G/H singles. So congratulations go to Tom Bishop and Frank Webb for winning their pennants, and commiserations go to Geoff Potts and Dick Findlay for being pipped by their own clubmates. The club's results are as follows:

Name	Boat Type	Event	Raw Time	Adjusted Time	Posn. in Category
Ken Almand	1x	VetB	20:11.8		2
Tom Bishop	1x	VetE/F	20:52.3	20:52.3	1
Geoff Potts	1x	VetE/F	21:28.6	21:28.6	2
Deborah Mallinson	1x	W Sen	21:34.5		2
Frank Webb	1x	VetG/H	22:41.6	22:11.6	1
Dick Findlay	1x	VetG/H	23:58.1	23:58.1	2

Full results at www.marlowrowingclub.org.uk.

Saturday 24 October Weybridge Silver Sculls

The club had a good turn out of men for this year's Weybridge Silver Sculls. Nowadays this event is sculled in several divisions, the first starting this year at 10:30 a.m. and being for double sculls and junior quads. Division 2 at 12 noon was for all but elite singles, division 3 at 2:00 p.m. was the same as for division 1, and division 4 at 3:30 p.m. was for all singles, including Elite. The morning's conditions were quite benign, but in the afternoon a strong head wind got up, making the winning time for division 4 (the Silver Sculls proper) half a minute slower than division 2 (same sculler, A-K's Mackworth-Praed, winning both). Returning to the morning's races, fresh from their Pairs Head success, Tom Bishop and Geoff Potts clinched the Vet F doubles pennant and Mark Chatwin put in the second fastest time of the day for a single sculler. Dov Ohrenstein was the fastest IM2 sculler but was deprived of a pot as there was only one other entry in the category. Nick Ryan took the Veteran D pennant, with Pete Meaney in third place and, in Veteran H, Frank Webb overtook his old rival and our neighbour Ken Williams of MAABC to take the combined Vet G/H/I pennant.. Tom and Geoff separately fought it out between themselves and Gus Gait of Kingston for the Veteran F crown, Tom coming out the victor with Geoff in second place. Mark decided he needed to rest his back and so scratched from division 4, which prompted a number of other Quintin scullers to do likewise. The summary of results for the club is below with full results available at http://www.weybridge.rowing.org.uk/silversculls.htm

Name	Boat Type	Event	Raw Time	Adjusted Time	Posn. in Category
T Bishop / G Potts	2x	VetF	13:35	12:16	1
M Chatwin	1x	VetA	13:56	13:56	2
D Ohrenstein	1x	IM2	14:57	14:56	1
R Ratcliffe	1x	VetB	15:01	14:56	5
N Ryan	1x	VetD	14:48	14:07	1
P Meaney	1x	VetD	15:24	14:43	3
T Bishop	1x	VetF	15:31	14:08	1
E Mcleod	1x	IM3	15:45	15:45	8
G Potts	1x	VetF	15:57	14:34	2
F Webb	1x	VetH	16:25	14:08	1
M Chatwin	1x	SEN	DNS
D Ohrenstein	1x	VetB	DNS
N Ryan	1x	VetC	DNS
E Mcleod	1x	IM2	DNS

 

Saturday 17 October Pairs Head

The club had six and a half crews racing in the Pairs Head on Saturday, and once again some of our veterans came good, Tom Bishop and Geoff Potts coming first in Veteran F Double Sculls and Dick Findlay and Frank Webb being the fastest in Veteran G+ double sculls (although slipping to second place on handicap). The Ratcliffe/Almand Veteran B pair also showed the Captain's pair a clean pair of heels, so to speak (sorry Mark!).

Club results below and full results at http://www.pairshead.co.uk/

	Overall Finish	Class	Time	Position in class
Ryan/Harrison	100	Vet D 2x	13:16	3
Ratcliffe/Almand	104	Vet B 2-	13:17	2
Chatwin/Page	121	IM1 2-	13:23	9
Bishop/Potts	125	Vet F 2x	13:24	1
Ferris/Meaney	131	Vet D 2x	13:25	5
Mallinson/Sharpe (TTRC)	228	W S 2x	14:05	2
Findlay/Webb	278	Vet G+ 2x	14:29	2

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=751.
 

Wednesday 14 October Ewen McLeod and Catt Campbell

A small but important announcement escaped your webmaster's attention last week - it is with great pleasure that we announce the engagement of Ewen McLeod, Quintin oarsman, to Catt Campbell, coxswain to many a Quintin crew. We wish them a happy future together and await a further announcement of the date of their wedding.

Sunday 11 October Reading Small Boats Head

Tom Bishop was our sole representative at Reading Small Boats Head. He won the Veteran F category by a comfortable margin of some 47 seconds, in a time of 15 min. 25.4 sec. Full results may be found at http://www.mikrotime.com/rowing/row2009/rsbh09.pdf

Saturday 3 October Wallingford Long Distance Sculls

The club had four scullers competing in the Wallingford LDS this year (Ken Almand scratched his entry). Once again the club came away with the Veteran E pennant, this year through Geoff Potts' efforts rather than those of Tom Bishop, who did not compete this year. Congratulations to Geoff on his win and to Deborah on her first competitive scull for Quintin. Full results may be found at http://www.wallingford-sculls.rowing.org.uk/sculls-results/results2009.html

	Class	Time	Handicap	Adjusted time	Position in class
Deborah Mallinson	W E 1x	16:33.24	includes penalty		3
Deborah Mallinson	W S 1x	16:14.40			4
Charlie Harrison	Vet D 1x	15:46.20	1:04	14:42.20	3
Geoff Potts	Vet E 1x	16:05.38	1:34	14:31.38	1
Frank Webb	Vet G/H 1x	17:26.56	3.29	13:57.56	2

 

Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October Berlin Reunification Row

Below, courtesy of Dave King, is an account of the barflies' venture on to the Continent to take part in the Rund um Wannsee race in Berlin. This race is held annually to celebrate German reunification in a circular route around the Wannsee. It includes a massed start followed by approximately one hour's row for the 15km to complete the course. The Berliner Ruder-Club kindly acted as our hosts again. Now for Dave's story:—

U Boat on the Rund um Wannsee

The Saturday of the race dawned bright and early for QBC as we rigged the boat at 6.30 am before breakfast. By the time we left the pontoon of Ruderclub Wannsee the wind had got up and conditions for the mass start out on the Wannsee were somewhat chaotic, as fifty boats tried to get lined up in an ever freshening breeze.

Finally, 15 minutes late, we pounded off the start trying to maintain safe water and repel boarders from some of the other boats around us. Combined with the wash from the fleet and the spectator boats, conditions worsened rapidly and we were soon taking on water from some hefty washes. However, it was only when we were 15 minutes into the race, and well up with the pack, that the words "Achtung — I think we have a serious problem" from our German cox alerted us to the fact that he was sitting waist deep in water.

Deciding early October was not a good time for a swim in the lake we pulled over and hailed the efficient German rescue launch. They were able to lend us a bailer and, after a bit of elbow grease, we were on our way again — but last in the race! Settling into a good rhythm we got around the 15k course in 1 hour 12 minutes and narrowly avoided coming last by catching one boat on the way.

The rest of Saturday passed by in a blur of German Kindle beer at the post race bash at Berliner Ruder Club and on the evening "kulture tour" in central Berlin. After a late start on Sunday morning we had an outing upstream from BDR in the 110 year old coxed six "Oder", with a stop for coffee half way — very civilised! After a late lunch, and the compulsory route march around Potsdam, the exhausted crew collapsed into the clutches of British Airways for a good slumber back to London.

Dave King

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=733.
 

Sunday 13 September Closing VIIIs and AGM

Numbers of participants for the Club's Closing Eights were a little disappointing this year, but with some careful seat juggling we managed to field three crews, including four of our new novices from the Learn to Row courses earlier this year. Heat one saw a close first half between Ken Almand's crew on Surrey and Roger Hine's on Middlesex, but then the Middlesex crew pulled clear to win comfortably. In the final, the Hine crew took on Duncan Hughes, Mark Chatwin et al. in what was expected to be a close-fought race, but on stroke eleven Duncan caught an almighty boatstopper and the Hine crew cruised to a leisurely victory. Congratulations to the winners.

With the excitement over, the Annual General Meeting of the club was held in the clubroom at 12:00 noon. The following officials were elected:

• Captain: Mark Chatwin
• Vice-captain: Graham Lloyd
• Treasurer: Bill Burbage
• Secretary: Malcolm Cook
• Other committee members: Paul Gunn, Roger Hine, Duncan Hughes, Dave King, Ewen McLeod

The AGM voted in favour of the outgoing committee's proposals for subscriptions and rack fees.  For the year starting 1 September 2009 the subscription is therefore £370 less a £20 discount for those who pay before 1 November and the rack fee for private sculling boats stays at £155.

Please give your cheque (payable to Quintin Boat Club) to any member of the committee or send it to the treasurer, Bill Burbage, at “Beechlee”, Bank Green, Bellingdon, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 2UT.  Thanks to those of you who have already paid.

Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 September FISA World Masters Regatta, Vienna

Twelve of Quintin's finest veteran oarsmen plus coxswain Hilary Cook took to the waters of the New Danube canal last week with mixed feelings, somewhat like the weather, which blew hot, then wet, then very windy on the three main days of the 36th FISA World Masters Regatta in Vienna, Austria. For the first time the main racing of the regatta was spread over three days, the fourth day being reserved for scratch mixed races. Pete Meaney and John Ferrario had skillfully worked out the events and combinations of crews so that there were no clashes and everyone had, on average, two races a day.

Day One (Thursday) was a real scorcher, with temperatures that must have been in the upper eighties even in the late afternoon. First off for Quintin was an 'E' coxed four, which, for a near-scratch crew, finished a creditable fourth with the Croatian/International composite Mladost/Occoquan taking the medals. However, our main focus was on what was believed to be our main chance – the 'D' eight. Our eyes were metaphorically on the Cinncinnati Boat Club/Swiss Masters combination in lane 7, but it was the Dutch RV Breda/Z.R.Z.V. Te Zwolle combination that squeezed away in the middle 500. Quintin rallied strongly over the last 250 and came in second, reducing the deficit to 2.79 sec. at the finish. So – a mixture of pleasure and disappointment at the end of the first day.

We woke up on Day Two to persistent rain which continued with little abate throughout the day. The sun may not have been shining on Quintin but the gods were. We competed in nine events and came away with some encouraging results, including third in 'D' coxless fours, and 'E' double sculls, second in 'E' singles and 'F' coxless pairs and first in 'D' quad sculls and 'E' eights. It was very pleasing to watch the blue and white vests of Nick Ryan, Charles Harrison, Jonathan Ferris and Pete Meaney powering the "Vin Batten" across the line ahead of the field, even though Pete's was only visible through his very wet white T-shirt which he had forgotten to remove. We awaited the disqualification with bated breath, but it did not happen and the victors sculled up to the winners' raft to collect their medals.

This got us all in a winning frame of mind and when the 'E' eight took to the water there was a great feeling of urgency in the crew, so much so that when the coxswain called for a first ten strokes firm at 26 during the warm up, the rating rose effortlessly to 31. For the race itself, Quintin were drawn in lane 3 with main rivals Mladost/Occoquan International in lane 4. This eight contained the four oarsmen who had beaten our 'E' coxed four to take the medals on Day One, so we were out for revenge. Strokeman Richard Lonergan took the crew out of the blocks at 48 strokes a minute, which immediately gave us a half length lead over the field. The rating never dropped below 39 for the rest of the race, with Quintin crossing the line 1.57 seconds ahead of Mladost/Occoquan and nearly 9 seconds ahead of the third-placed crew. Our time of 3 min. 8.02 sec. was the fastest for the whole event, the other heats being won in times 4 to 5 seconds slower, so we really felt we were "World Masters."

Day Three was, for some of us, a day too far, especially as there was a raging head wind blowing and the course was roughing up like the Tideway, but for the squad as a whole the nine events yielded our best clutch of finishing positions with third place in 'E' coxless fours and 'D' double sculls (Nick and Charles), second place in 'D' coxed fours, 'D' singles and 'F' singles, and first place in 'D' doubles (Fred Jefferies and Richard Lonergan). Everyone was impressed by their gutty performance, coming home nearly 5 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

So it's commiserations to Ken Almand, Richard Ratcliffe and John Ferrario, who missed out on the medals and double congratulations to Pete Meaney, Jonathan Ferris, Charles Harrison, Fred Jefferies and Richard Lonergan, who each won two. Nick Ryan, Graham Lloyd, Tom Bishop and Roger Hine were content with their one medal apiece. See what effect this has had on the potwinners' chart.

Thanks go to John Ferrario and Pete Meaney for organising the crews and making it all happen, and special thanks to Graham Lloyd who drove 1300 miles there and 1300 miles back to allow us to row in our own boats. Overall this was the best performance Quintin has ever had at a World Masters regatta.

Summary of Results

Official results sheets for all our races can be downloaded in pdf form through the links below, courtesy of the regatta committee. Full crew details are given. Only the ages shown on the sheets bear no relation to reality!

Event	Finished
Day One
E4+	4th	Full Result
D8+	2nd	Full Result
Day Two
D4-	3rd	Full Result
B2-	7th	Full Result
E2x	3rd	Full Result
C4-	4th	Full Result
D4x	1st	Full Result
E1x	2nd	Full Result
C4+	5th	Full Result
F2-	2nd	Full Result
E8+	1st	Full Result
Day Three
D4+	2nd	Full Result
E4-	3rd	Full Result
D2x	1st	Full Result
D2x	3rd	Full Result
E2-	7th	Full Result
C8+	6th	Full Result
D1x	2nd	Full Result
C4x	4th	Full Result
F1x	2nd	Full Result

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=711.
 

Saturday 29 August - September Open Day Update

Due to unforeseen circumstances our September Open Day has had to be cancelled, but the next Learn to Row course will still start on Sunday 20th September as planned. If you were planning to come to the Open Day as a precursor to the Learn to Row course, why not come down to the club on the evening of Wednesday 16th September, meet some of the club members over a beer (or similar) and get some of the administrative preliminaries out of the way? Proceedings start at 8:15 pm. You can find where the club is on our Location page. Once you have found the riverside, you will find the clubroom by venturing up on to the balcony and entering through the doorway.

Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August - Stourport Regattas

It's been a quiet few weeks, what with the Captain being away on his honeymoon, and many other club members taking a break from the ardours of rowing, including your own correspondent, but one person kept the club flag flying for the annual pilgrimage to Stourport - your very own vice-captain, Graham Lloyd. Undeterred by his lack of success at Maidenhead Regatta the previous weekend, Graham achieved a 100% record for the club, winning Veteran F sculls on both days, and immediately featuring above Pete Meaney in the potwinners' chart (on alphabetical advantage!).

Thursday 30 July - John "Red" Williamson

We have received news of the death of a past member, John Williamson, known to his friends as "Red". John was a member of Quintin in the early 1960s and rowed in the first eight in the 1961 Head of the River Race. The Rowing Almanack for the 1961 season reveals that he rowed at 6 in the winning Thames Cup eight at Marlow that year - in a field of 32 entries! Unfortunately his work took him out of the country just before Henley (see below) and so changes were made for HRR and the later regattas: Bill Barry and Jon Whitmore replaced John Williamson and Ted Harris.

Michael Smyth writes from New Zealand, "Red died last week and his funeral was on Saturday at St Mary’s Church in Auckland. Red was a member of Auckland Rowing Club but I understand from my many conversations with him that he was also a member of Quintin for a while whilst he was in the UK – I’m afraid I don’t have the dates but I think Jumbo Edwards had something to do with his crew.

From the best of my recollection, Red was in a very successful Quintin 1st eight and often relayed the story of how they paced the Oxford (or Cambridge) boat race crews and gave them a good thumping. Unfortunately, he didn’t represent the club at Henley because his job called him to work overseas in the Middle East just prior to the regatta.

Red lived a very full life and coached school crews right up until the last. He suffered a stroke a couple of years ago but that did not stop him. He will be fondly remembered."

If anyone wants contact details for the family then Michael Smyth is sure he can get them. Contact secretary@quintinboatclub.org.

Ced Nowell, now in Ontario, recollects: "We used to call him Kiwi and he was a great power rowing behind me during that year. 1961 was the first Thames Cup that a QBC crew had won since 1936, I remember being told. The party that night at the Club was memorable. All the old members surfaced and bought us all pints. Our coach that year - as always - was Lou Barry. Jumbo Edwards coached Oxford. Lou was a Squadron Leader and a professional. Edwards was a Group captain and an amateur. A formula for rivalry. Edwards wanted wanted us to row a full course trial against his crew rather than just act as a pacing crew for a third of the course and offered a two length start. Lou said it was not a good idea but then said "OK", declining the two lengths. Oxford never had a chance. Lou said sorry to Edwards and thank you to us. I know that Alec Field in Auckland had become acquainted with Kiwi in NZ."

Wednesday 15 July - New link to Facebook

Some time ago, Phil Harfield set up a Facebook group for Quintin Boat Club, but your webmaster has only just been given the details, courtesy of our captain. The group seems to be quite popular with some of our newer members. A link has now been set up on the QBC Rowing Links page, but if you want to take a look now, just click here.

Sunday 12 July - Official Opening of Gymnasium

The club celebrated the official opening of the gymnasium and the christening of two new boats by holding a well-attended lunchtime barbeque, on which, for a change, the sun shone. Captain Mark Chatwin kicked off the proceedings by introducing Bob Slade, whose task was to christen our new double scull / coxless pair the "Norman Webster". Bob recounted how he and Norman joined the club in the early 1960s and found themselves rowing together in a pair - indeed representing the club in the Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup at Henley in 1961. Norman was a regular on the "Bridges Run" throughout the 1970s and will be remembered by some of our slightly younger veterans for that. When Norman died he left a generous donation to the club, and it is with this in mind that the new boat was dedicated to him, complementing another of our Empacher doubles, the "Bob Slade", already in the boathouse. Bob anointed the new boat with a suitably meagre dose of "bubbly", the rest being kept back for drinking. Mark then introduced ex-captain Ricky White to initiate the christening of our new Empacher eight. Following the club tradition, this was named for the club's captain by giving it the monicker "The Lady Lindsay". This was slightly unusual as Mark has yet to marry the aforementioned lady (but the wedding is imminent). The boat was again anointed with "bubbly" (this time by Lindsay) and then proceedings moved to the doorway of the new gymnasium, where former captain Brian Shaw cut the blue ribbon and declared the gym formally open. All present then feasted themselves on "bubbly" and burgers.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=691.
 

Saturday 11 July - Kingston Regatta

The brothers Cirmirakis teamed together on Saturday to represent the club in Novice Double Sculls at Kingston Regatta, but unfortunately went out in the first round to the Kingston double, Hayes and Hoskin, by 2½ lengths.

Full results at http://www.bedfordrowing.co.uk/php/regatta.php?id=109&full=1&day=1&blades=1

Friday 10 & Saturday 11 July - Henley Veteran Regatta

Our Veteran D eight flew the flag for Quintin at this year's Henley Veteran Regatta. The draw revealed that they were faced potentially with the prospect of four races; two on the Friday and two on the Saturday. Having dismissed X-Press and Melbourne University, Australia in the first and second rounds on the Friday, they won their semi-final on the Saturday, only to lose to arch-rivals Crabtree in the final. Quintin led off the start but Crabtree proved too strong and rowed through to take the prizes.

Wednesday 1 July - Henley Royal Regatta

Our first four drew Nottingham Rowing Club's 'A' crew in the first round of the Wyfold Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. This was always going to be a tough one as Nottingham had beaten them by some nine seconds over 2000m. at the Metropolitan Regatta back at the end of May. The crew put on a valiant show and were always behind, but managed to close the deficit to ¾ length by the finish. Full results for the Wyfolds at http://www.hrr.co.uk/results/index.php?year=2009&eid=1, and the Quintin result also appears in our Henley Records.

Friday 26 June - Henley Qualifying Races

The club entered two crews for the Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Both coxless fours were called upon to perform in the qualifying race on Friday afternoon, 26th June. The competition was bound to be fierce as only fifteen places were available to the forty six crews competing. In the now time-honoured tradition Quintin 'A' (Richard Ratcliffe, Alex Page, Mark Chatwin and Kenny Almand) qualified in alphabetical order, but unfortunately the 'B' crew (Ewen McLeod, Dov Ohrenstein, Miguel Llanos and Radek Cirmirakis) failed to make the cut. Full results of the qualifiers at http://www.hrr.co.uk/pdisp.php?pid=230.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=687.
 

Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June - Marlow Regatta

The club entered two crews on both days of Marlow Regatta (2000m. on the Saturday, 1000m. on the Sunday). The crews both raced in IM1 coxless fours and came up against stiff opposition on both days. Crew compositions: QBC 1 - Kenny (S) , Mark (3 steers), Alex (2) Richard (B); QBC 2 - Dom , Radek , Dov , Ewen.

The Quintin results are shown below. Full results are available at http://www.marlowregatta.org.uk/downloads/Saturday2009Results2.HTM and http://www.marlowregatta.org.uk/downloads/Sunday2009AM_Results.HTM.

Saturday

Race 21			Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours	3rd Heat	10:20
				500m	1000m	1500m	2000m	Result
	1	2	207 - Durham Univ Bc West S	1:35.34	1:38.76	1:38.71	1:39.15	6:31.97
	2	1	216 - Nottingham Rc O Sullivan R	1:33.87	1:39.22	1:39.44	1:40.23	6:32.77
	3	3	206 - Tyne Rc Macbride J	1:32.99	1:38.81	1:39.97	1:42.47	6:34.24
	4	5	191 - Quintin Bc Ratcliffe R	1:34.71	1:40.67	1:41.41	1:43.04	6:39.83
	5=	7	204 - Walton Rc Wedlake J	1:36.19	1:41.47	1:43.39	1:44.20	6:45.26
	5=	4	208 - Mortlake Aa Ferris C	1:41.95	1:50.02	1:53.05	1:20.24	6:45.26

Race 22			Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours	4th Heat	10:25
				500m	1000m	1500m	2000m	Result
	1	5	214 - London Rc Mason S	1:31.41	1:38.57	1:40.71	1:45.91	6:36.60
	2	4	213 - Kingston Rc Page A	1:32.92	1:42.90	1:42.82	1:44.35	6:42.99
	3	7	217 - Mortlake Aa Lloyd-Williams R	1:33.34	1:42.89	1:43.79	1:43.75	6:43.77
	4	1	218 - Elizabethan Bc Cox O	1:36.17	1:43.92	1:43.56	1:41.98	6:45.64
	5	3	202 - Quintin Bc McLeod e	1:35.78	1:43.55	1:43.90	1:45.19	6:48.42
	6	6	199 - Burton Leander Isard M	1:34.78	1:44.13	1:43.86	1:46.64	6:49.42
	7	2	195 - Putney Town Walkley S	1:38.46	1:46.33	1:43.99	1:41.40	6:50.18

Sunday

Race 15			Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours	1st Semi-Final	10:45
				500m	1000m	Result
	1	5	514 - Bristol City Rc Bathe-Taylor S	1:30.96	1:37.14	3:08.10
	2	4	520 - Marlow Rc Logan S	1:32.29	1:38.54	3:10.83
	3	1	512 - Quintin Bc Ratcliffe R	1:31.60	1:39.40	3:11.00
	4	2	515 - Kingston Gs Alcock M	1:34.61	1:38.60	3:13.21
	5	3	518 - Tyrian Hutchinson S	1:33.65	1:40.06	3:13.72

Race16			Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours	2nd Semi-Final	10:50
				500m	1000m	Result
	1	4	517 - Durham Univ Bc West S	1:33.10	1:37.16	3:10.26
	2	3	519 - Mortlake Aa Lloyd-Williams R	1:32.46	1:39.50	3:11.96
	3	5	516 - Quintin Bc McLeod e	1:34.16	1:42.21	3:16.37

Race 35			Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours	Final	12:35
				500m	1000m	Result
	1	4	517 - Durham Univ Bc West S	1:31.38	1:35.78	3:07.16
	2	3	514 - Bristol City Rc Bathe-Taylor S	1:30.76	1:38.21	3:08.97
	3	5	520 - Marlow Rc Logan S	1:32.28	1:37.40	3:09.68
	4	2	519 - Mortlake Aa Lloyd-Williams R	1:32.97	1:38.55	3:11.52
	5	1	512 - Quintin Bc Ratcliffe R	1:34.34	1:39.21	3:13.55

Sunday 14 June - National Veteran Rowing Championships

The Quintin "Racing Vets" took on the UK's finest at Nottingham this weekend in the National Veteran Rowing Championships. They won Veteran D eights, beating main rivals from the Vets' Head, Upper Thames and Crabtree. Things were a bit tougher in the Vet C VIIIs and Vet C IVs, in both of which they finished third. Crew personnel: the eight - Charlie Harrison, Nick Ryan, Roy Davies, Pete Meaney, John Ferrario, Jonathan Ferris, Fred Jefferies, Richard Lonergan, Belinda Davies (cox); the four - John Ferrario, Jonathan Ferris, Fred Jefferies, Richard Lonergan. Unfortunately Tom Bishop was unable to take part, as intended, in the Veteran F single sculls.

Quintin Results (full results at http://www.vetchamps.org.uk/) :

Race 244			Open Veteran D Eights	D.8+ H	11:43	500m	1000m
				1st 5 to Final	Race 321
1	QBC	2	Quintin BC			1:35.8	3:28.8
2	NRC	4	Nottingham RC			1:39.3	3:31.1
3	CRB	3	Crabtree BC			1:41.1	3:31.3
4	MAR	6	Marlow RC			1:41.8	3:35.5
5	NOW	1	Northwich RC			1:40.8	3:36.6
6	TYN	5	Tyne RC			1:47.6	3:42.2

Race 253			Open Veteran C Coxless Fours	C.4-	12:24	500m	1000m
					Final
1	MON	1	Monmouth RC			1:37.4	3:22.7
2	TYR	2	Tyrian Club			1:39.5	3:24.1
3	QBC	3	Quintin BC			1:40.9	3:27.4
4	COX	4	City of Oxford RC			1:42.4	3:29.0
5	LRC	6	London RC			1:42.8	3:32.0
6	STP	5	Stourport BC			1:48.0	3:38.1

Race 321			Open Veteran D Eights	D.8+	17:30	500m	1000m
					Final
1	QBC	4	Quintin BC			1:38.2	3:22.3
2	UTC	3	Upper Thames RC			1:40.4	3:24.6
3	CRB	2	Crabtree BC			1:41.9	3:26.1
4	NRC	5	Nottingham RC			1:44.4	3:33.3
5	NOW	1	Northwich RC			1:44.7	3:35.9
6	MAR	6	Marlow RC			1:47.9	3:43.9

Race 310			Open Veteran C Eights	C.8+	16:40	500m	1000m
					Final
1	MON	2	Monmouth RC			NTT	3:14.5
2	TYR	5	Tyrian/Molesey BC			NTT	3:15.9
3	QBC	4	Quintin BC			NTT	3:16.7
4	NRC	1	Nottingham RC/Minerva Bath RC			NTT	3:23.3
5	XPR	6	X-Press BC			NTT	3:27.2
6	GRO	3	Grosvenor RC			NTT	3:36.4

Tuesday 9th June - The New Gymnasium is Open

It was an otherwise uneventful Tuesday evening at Quintin Boat Club, with the Supervets getting a practice outing (isn't that cheating?) before Nottingham (see above), and the novice development squad due for a spot of land training, but there was something special about it - the doors to the new gym were open! Not due to be opened officially until July 12th, the gym is now available for all Quintin members to use. Take a look at the photographs.

These are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=679 .
 

Monday 8 June - Veteran Category Calculator

Here's a facility for veteran members of QBC - a Veteran Category Calculator. Simply select your crew and the category is displayed. It's available in the Members' Section. If you don't know the password, e-mail web@quintinboatclub.org and you might get a reply.

Saturday 30 May & Sunday 31 May - Metropolitan Regatta

The last weekend in May, as well as containing a full schedule of sporting events, also turned out to be the hottest of the year so far, with temperatures, need I say it, "soaring" into the upper 20s (Celsius). While others were involved in the F.A. Cup Final, the first match of the British Lions tour, the Rowing World Cup or the last day of Oxford Eights, Quintin took to the waters of 2012 Olympic venue Dorney Lake to take on the best of the rest at the Metropolitan Regatta. Long-gone are the days when the course was the 2000 metres from Harrods to Putney (or even upstream through Putney Bridge), with the added excitement of a Tideway stakeboat start, but the trophies are still the same and the medals as coveted as ever. Nowadays it is six-lane racing on a dead straight course and racing takes place over two days, with separate events for each day.

On Saturday the club boated two IM1 coxless fours in a field of 33 crews, split into two divisions. Our division A crew of Mark Chatwin, Dov Ohrenstein, Richard Ratcliffe and Kenny Almand had a tough heat against Lea RC, Nottingham RC, Bedford RC and Bradford ARC, and could only manage third place behind the Lea and Nottingham. Nottingham went on to win the final with Lea in second place. Meanwhile, in division B, Nick Ryan had gallantly offered to forego his supervets eights outing and sub in for an unavailable Chris Watterson, joining Ewen McLeod, Miguel Llanos and Alex Page in the line-up. Their first heat was against a very fast Star Club crew, Vesta, Gloucester and Bath University and they achieved a creditable second place behind Star Club to qualify for the final. In the final they were again out-gunned by the victorious Star Club and also had to concede to Thames and Nottingham University. Full results at http://www.metregatta.org/sat09res.pdf.

On Sunday the club again entered two IM1 coxless fours, but unfortunately Nick Ryan was unavailable to repeat his heroics of the previous day and the 'B' crew had to scratch. There were a number of other scratchings, but the Sunday field was still quite large, with 18 crews competing. In the first heat Quintin drew Thames, London 'B', Staines and Bradford, finishing second behind Thames to qualify for the semi-final. In the semi-final they came third, just over a second behind the University of London, with London in first place. In the final they gained their revenge on UL, finishing fourth behind Thames, Lea and London. The Sunday crew was Mark Chatwin, Alex Page, Richard Ratcliffe and Kenny Almand. Full results at http://www.metregatta.org/sun09res.pdf.

Some crew photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=674.
 

Saturday 23 May - Twickenham Regatta

Yet another bsnk holiday weekend, yet another glorious spring morning and yet another clean sweep for the Supervets! Charlie Harrison and Nick Ryan kicked things off at 9:23 a.m. with a tough race against a seasoned Ardingly Veteran D double, followed by the final against Marlow at 10:10, which was a comfortable win for Quintin. Then at 11:15 they were on the water again for the straight final of Veteran D eights, again against Marlow Rowing Club. This was the first race of the season for the eight since the Veterans' Head but Marlow, who had already had a close race against Walton at Marlow Spring Regatta, and were stroked by ex-Quintin strokeman Paul Mullan (1984 vintage), proved no match and were beaten by some 4 lengths. The full Quintin line-up was: Charlie Harrison (bow), Nick Ryan, Roy Davies, Roger Hine, John Ferrario, Jonathan Ferris, Fred Jefferies, Richard Lonergan (stroke), Belinda Davies (cox). Take a look at the Potwinners' Chart!. Full results athttp://www.twickenham-regatta.org/results2009.pdf

Saturday 2 May - Chiswick Amateur Regatta

Chiswick Regatta saw a very pleasant beginning to the Bank Holiday weekend, with a blue sky and only a gentle folling breeze for competitors to contend with as racing commenced at 9:15 a.m. on a full tide. Racing went off at more or less five minute intervals throughout the day, with breaks for lunch (1:15 to 2:05) and the turn of the tide (4:15 to 5:15), the last race running, on shcedule, at 7:05 p.m. There were some pretty exciting races and a few close verdicts, including victory for St. George's College over King's School Canterbury by three feet in a heat of the women's novice double sculls.

Quintin mustered what forces could be found to enter six events and we are happy to report that all came away with pewterware. In the men's intermediate 1 (IM1) coxless fours, Mark Chatwin, Dov Ohrenstein, Richard Ratcliffe and Kenny Almand beat Tyrian by a comfortable 3 lengths. In the men's intermediate 2 (IM2) coxless fours, Ewen Mcleod, Chris Watterson, Miguel Llanos and Alex Page beat Tyrian (again) by an even more comfortable 4 lengths. In the Veteran C coxless fours John Ferrario, Pete Meaney, Fred Jefferies and Richard Lonergan beat Tyrian (again again) by 2¼ lengths. The veteran D quad scullers (Nick Ryan, Roy Davies, Richard Lonergan and Pete Meaney) beat Vesta by 3 lengths, and in veteran D single sculls Nick Ryan beat Radosevic of Ardingly by an "easily" verdict. Frank Webb, bringing up the rear as usual, gave us a nail-bitingly close finish when he triumphed over Ken Williams of MAABC by half a length in the Veteran H sculls (age 70+ for those losing track of these things). It was good to see octogenarian Vin Batten on the clubhouse balcony and on the lawn watching his club's successes.

Lots of regatta photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=641.
 

Sunday 26 April - The London Marathon

We are pleased to announce that Quintin member Geoff Garbow completed his first London Marathon in a time of 4 hours 26 minutes, in the process raising over £1000 for his chosen charities, Macmillan Cancer Support and the Brazilian children's charity, Tribo. Geoff says that he is sure he would have broken the four hour barrier if he had not had to queue up for a very necessary pit stop.

Late bulletin: David Ford also ran in the London Marathon, clocking a time of 3 hours 58 minutes and 12 seconds, and raising £2850 for Prostate Cancer and Macmillan Cancer Support. Ex-member James Waite completed in a staggering time of 2 hours 46 minutes, not bad for a rower!

Saturday 25 April - Hammersmith Amateur Regatta

The Veteran C four clocked up their first win of the season with comfortable victories over Sons of the Thames 'B' crew at 9:10 in the morning and Sons of the Thames 'A' crew in the final at 13:55. They have thus, advertently or inadvertently, opened up this season's Potwinners' Chart. Crew: John Ferrario (bow steers), Jonathan Ferris, Freddie Jefferies, Richard Lonergan (stroke). Full results here.

Saturday 7 April - Club Sculling Championship

It was a sunny spring morning for the annual club sculling championship - the Bob Slade - and there was a good turnout of some fifteen scullers. Unfortunately the reigning champion, Mark Chatwin, was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to illness, so the fight was on for a new pair of sculls to take the crown. The course was the usual one from the Pink House to the Quintin Clubhouse, and the race was, as usual, organised complete with sealed handicap, by Malcolm Cook. In spite of the spring weather, the stiff breeze and the inevitable coaching launches gave for some testing conditions along Brentford Dock, where the more experienced hands were seen to be faring better than some of the younger scullers. Kenny Almand led the processional race off the starting line and maintained that position throughout, posting the fastest time of 16 min. 38 sec. to regain the title he last won in 2006. Alex Page followed Miguel's example from last year by taking the handicap prize at his first attempt.

Geoff Garbow brought up the rear with a spirited performance to put the finishing touches to his London Marathon training. Geoff was heard to say, "Are we there yet?" as he was passing the yacht basin. Let's hope he makes it all the way on the big day. Thanks to Adrian Ballardie for some excellent photographs.

Full results can be found here.

Photographs of all the scullers can be found at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=623.
 

Tuesday 7 April - News of an old member, Christian Bruusgaard

We recently had an enquiry from a relative of Christian Bruusgaard, a Norwegian ex-oarsman who died in his eighties earlier this year. Christian had lived in England in the 1930s and had told his relatives about rowing for a club at Chiswick and racing at Henley. His relatives didn't know the name of the club but they wanted to find out more about his rowing career in England. Having drawn a blank at the River & Rowing Museum, they googled "Chiswick rowing clubs", found Quintin and emailed us – without really expecting to get anything useful. We were able to tell Christian's relatives that he had rowed for Quintin in 1938 and 1939. We were even able to give them details of his regatta results, including the line ups of his winning crews. Christian Bruusgaard had an especially good season in 1939, winning five pots and rising through the statuses. In the early part of the season he won Junior Eights at Putney and Walton. He then won Junior-Senior Eights at Kingston. His season culminated in winning Thames Cup Eights at Maidenhead and Henley Town.

We believe the photograph of Christian was taken at a boat naming ceremony in 2006.

Friday 3 April - A news item from the archives

The following news item will, no doubt, interest our older readers, but will also give our current members an insight to the spirit of the Club. It was published in the March 1960 edition of the Polytechnic Magazine. Does anybody have any copies of other back editions of this publication? If you do, will you e-mail a copy of any material relevant to QBC to web@quintinboatclub.org?

"Having received no serious complaint - save from G.G. - about my last month's effort, I set out this report with new zeal and encouraged endeavour (how's that for padding!). The general atmosphere at the Club these days reminds me of a form in school which has much work to do, and is making a fairly serious attempt to do it. Unfamiliar faces appear during the week for a surreptitious run and subsequent shower, the latter appearing to be as important as the training itself. Basil is happy with his books: I know that sales are boosted by a larger number of small consumers rather than by a hard core of regulars. All this is, of course, to the general good.

The first boat has still to settle down, I'm told. There are one or two changes to be made before the Head which, Lou Barry tells me, were planned some time ago. To onlookers, it appears that the crew is gaining a higher degree of uniformity than was apparent last month. There are, however, many individual points to sort out before the boat begins really to move. Perhaps the forthcoming changes will produce the desired result. The second boat, alas, has dispersed owing to the inability - or otherwise - of crew members to make themselves available with any regularity. Four members of this crew together with Slade's Four will make up a second crew for the Head; they had their first outing on 21st February. The "Sunday Eight's" appearances are becoming more regular now, though they are still very reticent insofar as a progress report is concerned. Divers veterans appear too, all preparing, no doubt, for our Annual Pilgrimage to Putney. If only the Club were as active as this all the year round - maybe some more pots would appear over our magnificent fireplace.

Tony Dunn says that he is pleased with the novices and that he now has about a dozen down regularly. Their eight seems to me to have improved in leaps and bounds, or is that too real a description? Anyway, Tony is optimistic and the future Junior Eight in good heart; I have it, though, from reliable sources that they are not as fit as they might be!

Please note the following dates; arrangements will be as usual at the Boathouse for the Head and for the Boat Race.

Tideway Head of the River: March 26th.

Universities Boat Race: April 2nd.

Scullers Head of the River: April 9th.

Our Annual Rowing Service was held at The Polytechnic on 14th February - it was, I understand, well attended and much appreciated by members.

B.A."

Editor's note: Some parts of this report could have been written this year, proving perhaps that not a lot has changed at QBC in the intervening near-half-century. It is assumed that the correspondent, "B.A.", is Brian Aldridge. "Basil" is Basil Kemp-Gee, who was Bar Steward at the time, and seemed to be very pleased with "his books".

Monday 23 March - Work commences on new gymnasium

The Club is pleased to announce that work commenced on Monday, 23rd March on the conversion of the former rowing tank room into the club's new gymnasium. The building work is expected to take five to six weeks and we believe that the equipment has already been ordered. It is with a tinge of regret that we say farewell to the rowing tank, which was a valuable asset to the club in the teaching of novices until it was condemned by the University. There had been a tank on the site for many years - it had previously been housed in a wooden shed before the concrete and brick building was erected in the 1970s - and it was originally constructed through the blood and sweat of club members. R.I.P.

Sunday 22 March 12 noon - The Vets Head

Another glorious spring day on the Tideway for the 29th Vesta Veterans Head of the River Race, usually just called "the Vets Head" (apostrophes lacking). Some of the Quintin contingent were able to share in the glory, the "Supervets" just about living up to their name by finishing 10th overall, and Dick FIndlay's Occaquan composite coming away with the Veteran G pennant.

Quintin had two crews in the Veteran D category; the "Supervets" going off at number 75 and the "Barflies" at No. 76. The Supervets, expertly coxed by Belinda Davies, soon established a powerful rhythm and started to cut their way through the Veteran D division, overhauling the Poplar B. & D. crew before Barnes Bridge and overtaking crews sometimes three at a time between the bridges. One crew, Northwich, starting No. 72 with one-time Quintin member Doug Pickup on board, put up a good fight, not yielding until Fulham football ground, but Belinda's calls made sure they were killed off and the supervets even passed crew No. 57 (Bewl Bridge) just before the finish. In spite of this spirited row, the crew only managed 4th in category, finishing in 20 min. 13.34 sec. some 25 seconds behind a presumably packed Crabtree eight. Upper Thames were second in the category, only 11.6 seconds ahead, and a Swiss crew from Geneva squeezed Quintin out of the bronze medal position by a mere 1.8 seconds. On the plus side, there were only one Veteran B crew and two Veteran C crews faster (Veteran As don't count, do they?).

The second Veteran D crew, the "Barflies", chose to go the other way, letting a number of crews pass them by, and failed to attain their objective of beating the "VPs" by finishing 148th (31st in category) in a time of 23 min. 35.10 sec. They were nearly 28 seconds behind the VPs, who started at No.104 in the Veteran E division and finished 134th (15th in category) in a time of 23 min. 7.27 sec.

To end on a high note, the Occoquan (US)/Quintin composite, stroked by Dick Findlay and coxed by Catt Campbell, finished 44th overall, taking the Veteran G pennant in a time of 21 min. 6.99 sec.

Full results at ../horr/2009_vets_results.html.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=612.
 

Saturday 21 March 11:15 a.m. - The Head of the River Race

The spring equinox brought a spring day to the Tideway, with blue skies, sunshine and a not-too-stiff breeze giving very favourable rowing conditions. The sun shone metaphorically on Bill Barry's all-star Tideway Scullers crew, made up of eight countries' Oylmpic single-sculling representatives. They managed to topple Leander from the head of the river by nearly four seconds, in a time of 17 min. 25.21 sec. Unfortunately the sun did not shine on Quintin crews. The first eight, going off at No. 84, dropped to 138th (time 19 min. 22.74 sec.), while the second eight, hastily assembled on the day, dropped even more, from 161 to 332 (time 20 min. 38.05 sec.).

Full results at ../horr/2009_results.html.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=600.
 

Sunday 15 March - Learn to Row Course

The learn to row course got big-time on the river this weekend with a coxed pair, a double, a quad and an eight venturing out on to the river and actually leaving the safe haven of the shoreline for the first time. It was a glorious spring afternoon (a few days prior to the equinox), which made for a very enjoyable outing for all concerned. There wa even time for a team photograph.

Sunday 8 March - Hammersmith Head

We had an interest in two crews racing in the Hammersmith Head: the vice-presidents (veteran E) went off at number 59 and finished 85th in 13 min. 5.47 sec' and Dick Findlay, stroking a Quintin/Kingston/Tideway Sculllers composite veteran F crew, went off at number 61 and finished 60th in 12 min. 8.05 sec.

Full results at http://www.akrowing.com/results.php?result=2009-hamh.

Sunday 1 March - Learn to Row Courses

The first learn to row course of 2009 kicked off on Sunday 1st March with twenty-something participants braving the British outdoors. The weather looked promising with sunshine at the start, but clouded over as the afternoon wore on. Participants had the chance once again to sit in a racing VIII and this time focused on feeling the balance of the boat through the oars, and discovered what happens when the water comes over the top of your wellies! The course continues on Tuesdays in the gym and it shouldn't be long before we start to venture away from the shore on Sundays.

Sunday 1 March - Molesey Veterans Head

The "VPs" raced at the Molesey Veterans Head on Sunday. They finished 16th overall in a time of 10 min. 20.94 sec, somewhat off the winning pace. Full results on the Molesey website at http://www.moleseyboatclub.org/mar/mvh_results.htm.

Saturday 28 February - Reading University Head

A rather disappointing result at the Reading University Head on Saturday. The S2 eight came in 45th in a time of 14 min. 29.1 sec. Full results at http://www.ortnerbc.com/RUHORR/results_2008.htm.

Saturday 21 February - Open Day

Just to prove my last comment in the previous news article, the weather on Saturday was ideal, as the attached photographs show. The formula for activities was much the same as on the previous Sunday, but because of the improvement in the weather we were able to locate the ergos on the river bank instead of inside the boathouse and we could spend more time with people in the boat without them getting too cold. There was even enthusiasm for a small ergo competition. We are now all looking forward to the Learn to Row courses starting on March 1st.

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=581.
 

Sunday 15 February - Open Day

The first Club Open Day of 2009 took place on a rather cold Sunday afternoon, our first guests arriving shortly after one o'clock. After registering their details in the clubroom, guests were treated to a brisk session of instruction and practice on the ergometer rowing machines, followed by a "naming of parts" of our racing boats and blades, demonstrated by John Peters. Guests were then given the opportunity to go out in a racing eight and try their hand at a few strokes of rowing, carefully supervised by Bob Slade and helpers. As the afternoon wore on, so the drizzle set in, and so the tea, coffee and cakes beside the fire in the clubroom were much appreciated at the end of the day. Thank you to all the coaches and helpers who made the event happen, and thank you to all our guests for coming along. Do sign up for the Learn to Row course - the weather can only get better from now on!

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=568.
 

Friday 6 February - Annual Dinner

The Annual Dinner took place on Friday 6th February in the Mall Room at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. An excellent meal of smoked salmon with caper berries, steak and Guinness pudding, followed by profiteroles and coffee, was itself followed by the traditional after-dinner speeches. Mark Chatwin managed to withstand the inevitable barracking from the rear of the room to give his captain's take on the year, and Leif Jacobsen kept his promise from last year and gave a short but touching account of his early days at Quintin, adding that one thing he had learned from last year was to stay sober. Many thanks to Dave King for organising an enjoyable evening and to Duncan Hughes for organising the raffle. Bill Dennis cleaned up (metaphorically) by taking first prize in the raffle and winning "heads or tails".

Photographs are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=552.
 

Tuesday 3 February - Hot News from St. Anton

Tim Maggs has been teaching Kevin McEvoy how skiing should be done. See it all on YouTube.

Saturday 24 January - Quintin Head

Once again the weather gods smiled on the Quintin Head and this year's race was blessed with fairly benign conditions for the time of the year. A week prior to the race, gale force winds had been forecast, but fortunately for us (but not for others) these diverted further south to the Bay of Biscay and the day turned out overcast, but dry and bright, if somewhat chilly. Due to the heavy rain earlier in the week the river was flowing strongly with landwater, causing some of the coxswains at their early morning briefing to question whether the tide was ever going to turn. It duly did, but with the race rowed on the flooding tide against a strong stream the course record was fairly safe, even though the event had attracted some quality elite eights from Cambridge University and London Rowing Club.

As expected, Cambridge entered two matched crews from their Boat Race squad, not wishing to give away too much of their form at this stage, but it was the London Rowing Club Elite VIII that led off the event, starting more than 20 seconds ahead of the first Light Blues crew. It can safely be assumed that the Cambridge crew steadily closed on London, as the gap at the finish was down to less than five seconds, however the second Cambridge crew, stroked by Californian-born Silas Stafford, had similarly closed the gap on their colleagues and took the headship by 4.1 seconds, in a time of 11 minutes 55.5 seconds. The London Elite crew were also beaten by their own Senior 2s, who finished just in front of them, third, to take the Senior 2 pennant. The London Senior 1 crew completed a sandwich of their elites by finishing fifth and taking the Senior 1 pennant. The University of Bristol, winners of the Quintin Head for the two previous years, finished sixth and had to be content that their second VIII won the Senior 3 pennant in 11th position.

Schools put in a good performance, especially St Paul's, who won the J18 pennant in tenth place, and Shiplake took the Senior 4 pennant at nineteenth. Kingston Grammar School recovered from the disappointment of scratching their J18 and J15 eights through illness, to see their J16s take the pennant for that category in 22nd place and their girls take both the Women's J18 and Women's Novice pennants. Emanuel School took the Men's Novice pennant at 30th and Westminster completed the schools' haul of pennants with their J15s at 37th.

The fastest women's crew, and also winners of the WS2 pennant, were City of Oxford in 41st position. Other women's pennants went to Putney Town (WS3) in 50th, who beat Mortlake Anglian & Alpha (WS4 winners) by a mere 0.3 of a second. As already mentioned, Kingston Grammar School took both WJ18 and WN.

Photographs of the penannt winners are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=530.
 

This being the Quintin Head, we must make mention of our own crews. The captain led out a mixture of fresh faces and old (?) die-hards in a scratch combination to finish a creditable thirteenth (and 3rd in Senior 2), beating the likes of Marlow and Thames Tradesmen along the way. Meanwhile Dick Findlay organised a band of old (definitely) die-hards to make up a Veteran D VIII, organising it so well that he managed to stay on the bank (as planned) and watch the crew come home the fastest veterans, beating Tideway Scullers' slightly older Vet Es by 31 seconds and Thames' slightly younger Vet Cs by 49 seconds. Unfortunately there were no pennants to be won this year.

Photographs of the QBC crews are available at http://quintinboatclub.org/gallery/image.php?ref=545.
 

The committee's thanks go out to all those officials and helpers who contributed towards a successful event.

A final note: commiserations to one of the University of Bristol women's novice crews, who completed the course to their own satisfaction only to find themselves disqualified because their boat did not have the identification letters required by the PLA. This infringment was reported by a vigilant PLA harbour master, so let us hope this will act as a warning to other crews competing in the future. It pays to read and take note of the Competitors' Instructions.

Full results are at ../quintinhead/2009/results.html.

Monday 12 January - Fancy a tour of the River Dordogne?

If any club members have been fascinated by some of our old photographs, in particular this one, and they are also interested in touring, they may like to consider a trip on the River Dordogne this coming May. More information on the ARA website.