Day two of Monmouth Regatta, 750m sprint races today and I set off from my folks home bright and early once again.
The forecast for today was originally thunderstorms, so hopefully those pass us by and we can have some racing.
I don’t have any races this morning, I am only racing this afternoon, but I will lend moral support and act as boatman for Mark F and Mark G who are racing in the open 2x category this morning.
We take the 2x off the trailer and attach the riggers ready for the first round of the open 2x tree.
There is a chance of an all Staines final if all goes to plan.
The first race is against Aberystwyth University, this looks to be a novice crew and they win this round ‘easily’.
The second round is against an adaptive crew who had no other suitable category to race in, this was also classed as ‘easily’.
The Staines ‘Junior’ pairing of Jake G and Theo T , having received a ‘bye’ into the second round were up against Cardiff University who were the winners of the first round, they also won their race ‘easily’.
This had then set the stage for an all Staines final and a father vs son grudge match.
The trash talk started early and included a full on ‘gun show’ from Jack G, Mark G and Mark F.
On paper, the masters should have this one in the bag with 2K times of 6:35 for Mark G and 6:55 for Mark F vs 7:05 for Jack G and 7:45 for Carlo T.
The stage set, off they go for the final race.
The ‘Juniors’ shoot off the start like a rocket whilst the ‘masters’ being 20kg heavier, set off slightly slower but then start to chase them down.
Mark G has a few steering issues staying away from the bank and also catches a few mini crabs, so by the time they are nearing the finish line it is a foregone conclusion.
Jake G is not going to let his father, Mark G, live this moment down any time soon.
That was the last race of the morning session and also the only medals for Staines.
Mark G headed off home with his family, unsure if his son’s head would fit in the car following the win over his father, Jake apparently did not shut up about his win the entire two and a half hour journey home!