Lagan Festive Head: Saturday 14th December 2019
On Saturday 14th of December, the Rowing Club competed at the Lagan Festive Head. RBAI has entered in the Senior 8, consisting of Daniel Given – Justin Pornasdoro – Callum Harley – James Smyth – Jimmy Wilkinson – Joshua Welch – Peter McFadden – Mikael McIvor – Matthew Marron. The crew came in an encouraging 4th overall out of 52 Boats and 2nd in their age category in a time of 11 minutes and 51 second over a 2.7km course
The boys are to be congratulated on their performances so far this season and now are to look forward to the their next racing outing in the Lagan Scullers’ Mini-Head on 18th January 2020.
Lagan Sculler Mini Head: Saturday 30th November 2019
On Saturday 30th November, 3 Races were held on the Lagan in cold but acceptable rowing conditions. RBAI was involved in Race 2 and Race 3.
In Race 2, it had 52 finishers with the RBAI Junior Coxed Quad of Cox Peter McCartney – James Smyth – Matthew Marron – Mikael McIvor – Peter Mcfadden, finishing 12th overall but 2nd in their category. The RBAI Double of Mark Austin – Callum Harley finished 19th overall and 3rd in their category.
In Race 3, it had 45 finishes with the RBAI Coxless Quad of Mark Austin – Jimmy Wilkinson – James Smyth – Callum Harley finishing 6th overall and 2nd in their category. The performance of the day for RBAI was Matthew Marron who in his scull finished 24th overall but 1st in his category.
Bann Head of the River: Saturday 9th November 2019
On Saturday 9th November, the Rowing Club competed at the Bann Head of the River. The boys are to be commended for remaining competitive and focused despite the horrendous weather conditions. The Coxless Quad of Mark Austin – Zac Lloyd Humphreys – Justin Pornasdoro – Callum Harley had a solid row over the 3km course coming 1st in their category and 7th overall in a time of 14 minutes and 41 seconds.
The Senior 8 of Cox Daniel Given – Joshua Welch – Matthew Marron – James Smyth – Jimmy Wilkinson – Thomas Dunne – Peter McFadden – Oisin Curran Moloney – Will Nesbitt had a very encouraging row finishing 1st in their category and 2nd overall in a time of 13 minutes and 14 seconds.
Portadown Regatta Results: Saturday 4th May 2019
Last Saturday, in a sunny yet chilly Portadown, the RBAI Rowing Club journeyed to the Upper stretch of the River Bann to compete at the annual Portadown Regatta. The day featured a full schedule of races, running from 8am to 7pm.
This was the first regatta of the season for the club, with the squad eager to show the results of a hard winter’s training.
Results:
J18 4+
Runner-up, lost in final to CGS. The crew raced hard to keep within touching distance of the well-drilled Coleraine crew.
Crew: Daniel Given, Joshua Welch, Zac Lloyd-Humphreys, Chris Hempton, Ben Hammersley
J16 8+
Runner-up, lost in final to ERGS. In the first race for most of the crew, and only a few outings under their belts, they did a fantastic job of defeating MCB in the semis. In the final they raced strongly and never let the Enniskillen crew relax over the 1,000m course.
Crew: Daniel Given, Mikael McIvor, Matthew Marron, Jimmy Wilkinson, Chris Hempton, James Smyth, Matthew Smyth, Will Nesbitt, Peter McFadden.
Club 4x+
Lost in heat to Portadown. Up against a very strong home crew the RBAI boys put in a good performance in a scratch boat to the eventual winners of the event.
Crew: Peter McCartney, Alexis Gowdy. Edward Tang, Thomas Dunne, Callum Harley
J16 4x+
Lost in semis to MCB. The beginner quad couldn’t repeat their heroics of earlier in the day as they lost out narrowly in a very tight tussle that could have gone either way.
Crew: Peter McCartney, Matthew Marron, Mikael McIvor, James Smyth, Peter McFadden
J18 4x-
Lost in final to Neptune. Another tight result went against the RBAI boys as the senior quad lost out to a very slick Dublin crew after a race long battle, where both crews showed a lot of heart and determination.
Crew: Mark Austin, Ben Hoy, William McMullan, Freddie Johnston
Club 8+
Win over Portora. In the final race of the day there was finally some celebrating from the Inst camp. After a long day of near-misses the senior 8 put in a stunning performance to retain the title they took last year by winning the Blue Riband event of the day (for the fastest 8’s race). A powerful start to the race was followed by a dominant display over the remaining 850m to consistently pull away from the Enniskillen club to win by over 3 lengths at the line. A brilliant result after a long day for the boys and coaches.
Crew: Callum Harley, Alexis Gowdy, Freddie Johnston, William McMullan, Jimmy Wilkinson, Mark Austin, Edward Tang, Justin Pornasdoro, Ben Hoy
A special mention should also go to William McMullan and Alexis Gowdy, who took to the streets of Belfast the following day to complete the Belfast Marathon together in just over 4hours and 40minutes. A fantastic achievement after a hard day’s racing on Saturday, with William raising over £2,000 for MacMillian Cancer Support.
Well done also to Mr Warnock, whose Lady Victoria crew were victorious in the Masters 8’s category.
Thank you to all the parents and friends who came out to cheer the boys on during their racing. Thank you also to Mr Caruth for his continued support in towing the School trailer to events.
The next race for the Club will be on May 25th at Belfast Rowing Club’s Sprint Regatta, on the boathouse straight in Stranmillis.