Henley Royal Regatta - Sun

                        View from finish in the Final

Leading the Australians on Saturday

View close to the finish against the Germans.     



On Sunday I raced the German National Eight in the final of the Grand at Henley.  The race followed a similar pattern to our previous encounter with ze Germans - they lead out, we come back a bit, they hold on and beat us.  They won by a length and set a new course record.  I won't give a comprehensive breakdown of our race, trade secrets and all, but I can say it was a disappointing result and a missed opportunity.

There was a little controversy over the steering line the German cox took, mainly that he cut right across (very early) and washed us down so that our strokeside puddles were running straight into the puddles from their bowside.  For those not into their rowing lingo - we were forced to take strokes in their turbulance for most of the way down the course.  In coastal rowing that's part of the game and at Henley it's not allowed but it's tolerated to an extent (it is strictly forbidden everywhere else we race).  It was unfortunate as it meant we struggled to get back level, but was not the reason we lost.  Henley is a unique and special event and that is just one of it's quirks.  It's something we were in part expecting as a possibility and not a suprising move from a German cox who has called the GB Rowing Team "dirty dogs" on German National TV.

Our focus continues to be on ourselves, our boat and our progression in speed.  On Wednesday we will fly out for the last of the last race in the World Cup series [Lucerne, Switzerland], where we will meet 11 eights from around the World.  Germany and others will be there, we'll be ready to go again.

Report from the Daily Telegraph.