The new rowing year on the lower Thames kicked off this weekend with the Scullers Head. Quintin had eight entries but Ken Almand did not take to the water on the day. Our scullers were largely competing in masters categories and – surprise, surprise – Tom Bishop came home with a win in the Open Masters I category. Tom was also the second fastest sculler in the club with only Dov Ohrenstein posting a quicker time. It was good to see Emily Ford flying the women’s flag for Quintin in the women’s novice division.
Tom Bishop reports that there was some drama at the head of the race when sculler No. 5, Swiss of Upper Thames RC, hit one of the green buoys early in the race and broke a blade. Until he was rescued by a safety launch he created quite an obstacle for a number of scullers vying for the title of Champion. Determined to take part in the race, Swiss obtained a second pair of sculls and completed the course, finishing 52nd overall. The fastest sculler in the race was Copus of Oxford Brookes University in a time of 20 min. 37.02 sec.
Here are the results for the Quintin scullers:
| Finish | Bow No. | Sculler | Category | Time | Posn. in cat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 207 | 254 | Dov Ohrenstein | Mas D | 23:32.43 | 11 of 22 |
| 216 | 403 | Tom Bishop | Mas I | 23:37.70 | 1 of 4 |
| 236 | 369 | Steve Aquilina | Mas F | 23:45.61 | 6 of 20 |
| 249 | 271 | Mark O’Brien | Mas E | 23:52.20 | 7 of 21 |
| 416 | 318 | Graham Bagnall | Mas Lwt | 25:41.95 | 4* of 25 |
| 491 | 522 | Emily Ford | W Novice | 27:48.75 | 9 of 10 |
| 501 | 439 | Doru Procopiu | Mas Novice | 29:41.03 | 16 of 16 |
* after age handicap applied
The full results may be found at https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=329587&did=409966&cid=2036821.
Tom joins Steve Aquilina in the new list of 2023-24 Head and Regatta Wins. It should be noted that Tom was faster than all the H scullers, all the G scullers and all but one of the F scullers.
