Rutherglen Regatta

Sometimes it is not just about the rowing…..
Awesome effort to everyone who saddled up for the Rutherglen regatta, held in “maybe-there’s-something-to-this-global-warming-malarky” weather. Dennis’ digital thermometer happily informed us that we hit 43 degrees in the shade of our tent on Saturday, and 45-46 degrees on Sunday.  On-water temperatures even higher.
It was truly draining stuff. And well done to all the RRC rowers who took care of each other and made sure we got through the weekend with only a couple of heat related incidents.
But to the rowing, and RRC made their presence felt once again, with great racing and a higher-than-usual number of close finishes. Definitely showed our crews are on the pace so far this season. In terms of wins, bling was grabbed in the men’s B Quad, men’s A eight, women’s D pair, women’s D four, womens D eight,  and the Mixed Eight. Regatta was especially pleasing for the number of newer club members landing their first racing wins – always nice to see!
Despite the heat, hardy club members still found time to sample some of Rutherglen’s famous fortified wines, and the Rutherglen scavenger hunt proved very successful.
Huge thanks goes out to Anthea Amos and others who pulled the regatta together. And also to Simon for arranging bus transport, which certainly made life simpler for all.  And thanks again to the Schoutens for getting our boats to and from the regatta.
And finally a big thanks to the coxes who had to get out there in the worst of the conditions to motivate and navigate our crews over the line.
Jim Cooper