After the disappointment of disqualification at Henley Women's Regatta, Molesey Lightweight Ladies of Sam Hammond, Debbie Pyke, Elly Blackwell and Fi Parry were a crew with a point to prove.
Due to the headwind which was only slightly cross, conditions at the start were tricky with a reasonable swell. Nevertheless the start was clean and although some problems clearing waves early on led to a slightly erratic steering through the first 250, a steady rhythm carried the crew to 500m with the bowball in front of a three-way battle for the lead. A powerful 5 consolidated the rhythm and Molesey started to pull away. In spite of a strong push from Mortlake coming into the 1000m mark, the crew stayed confident and clean, with a consistent rhythm at 33, to hold an advantage of about a length of clear water over MAABC at 1500m. As conditions improved over the last 500m, Molesey steadily rowed away from the crews behind, to finish 5 lengths clear of last years winning gold medallists and 5 seconds quicker than this years Gold winning Lightweight Womens Quad Sculls. This has wetted the appetite to go for double gold next year.
The crew would like to thank Andy Graham (Runner) and Paul Thorpe for their support and coaching over the weeks leading up to HWR and Nat champs. It really did make the difference.
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