It has been a busy and successful month for the Adult Development Advanced Women’s Group under the tutelage of Rachel Knight ... with multiple entries at Weybridge Ladies’ and Nat Vets and wins at both.
At Weybridge the group entered a WNovice 4+, an WInt 3 4+ and a WVet C 4x- who all gave their best in the oar-clashing confines of Desborough Cut. The course was made still more entertaining by the addition of an uninvited cruiser moored at the half-way mark. In the end it was the turn of the 4x- (s – Andrea Harrison-Gilligan, Sophie Kennedy, Caroline Wingrove, Ali Frost) to bring home the glory for Molesey in their close-run race against Mortlake A&A.
After drawing the Surrey bank (and the aforementioned cruiser!) and executing an efficient start Molesey maintained the half-canvas advantage despite some aggressive steering by MA&A. At the half-way mark Molesey called a push and pulled ahead, still overlapped by their opposition until the last 200m when Molesey squeezed under the finish bridge. It was a hard race but all the more rewarding for being so.
At Nat Vets we represented the club and took advantage of the occasion to engage in some barefaced fraternising by entering composites with Weybridge Ladies and UK Gold. We all managed to overcome the shock of blazing sunshine at Holme Pierrepont to put in a good show. The WVet B 4x- (pictured above), ably steered and shouted at by Rachel Knight and stroked by Jude Bowen, brought home gold in a race that was won about the 650m mark against Eton Excelsior and Nottingham; Jude then jumped into a composite with our new friends from Weybridge only to be robbed of gold by “a bow ball” in the WVet D event. Rachel also won a gold in WVet C 8+ and silver in WVet B 8+ racing with UK Gold.
It has been a rewarding period for the groups who – with the much appreciated help of Rachel - look forward to proudly representing the club in both novice and veteran categories at Kingston and Molesey Regattas..
