As regatta season carries on WBC continued their previous fantastic success at Lee Regatta with another 8 wins at Castleconnell despite have several less entries this time around.
On a cloudy but warm morning things kicked off early with the WJ16 4x+ (Erin, Deirdre, Sarah and Siun) first out of the blocks in race 4. In what would be the closest race of the day the girls were pipped to the line by Lee after the photo finish was rechecked. Really hard luck but a great race nonetheless.
Next up were Sean and Darragh in the MJ16 2x. In yet another very tight race the lads were pipped to the line by hosts Castleconnell. Marianna was next out in the WJ18 1x and took third in her race.
Colm Brennan was next to take to the water in the MJ14 1x for his debut race in a single. Colm had an excellent race and came home 2nd. A great debut all round.
The MJ15 2x double of Oran and Henry took to the water next and scored WBC’s first win of the day with a fine race. This was quickly followed up in the very next race by Faye in the WJ13 1x where she took a dominant win finishing a few lengths clear of the competition to add to her recent WJ13 1x win in Lee.
About an hour later Sean Harte took to the course in the MJ 16 1x and took a brilliant win. A step up in rate in the 2nd half of the race saw Sean power through and take the win. Daragh was next up two races later and took 3rd in his race.
Next up was the WJ15 4x+ (Edie, Katie, Aine and Jessica) who took their third consecutive win in their category in a tough race. Another great result, well done girls.
The next race was the WJ16 2x which featured two waterford crews. In a very close race overall Waterford B (Deirdre and Sarah) took third just ahead of Waterford A (Siun and Erin) who came back really strongly at the end and almost pipped their teammates to third. A bit of a shame to have our two crews paired against each other in the same heat but a really good race overall.
Not too long after that race Sarah was back on the water in the WJ 16 1x and came home third.
Oran was next up and took another win in the MJ15 1x to add to his win from the doubles earlier in the day. Henry was up two races later and came in third after a very tough race which was made that little bit harder by a draw out in lane 5 next to the bank.
But Henry wouldn’t have to wait too long to register his 2nd win of the day as the MJ16 4x+ (Oran, Darragh, Henry and Sean) took a brilliant first to cap an excellent day for the quartet. Great job lads.
Coming towards the end of the day we were treated to 4 WJ15 1x races featuring Waterford rowers. First up was Katie who came in 3rd in a very strong field. Jessica took to the water next and came in 2nd in a really tight race. In the very next race Aine took a fantastic first place to add to her WJ15 4x+ win earlier in the day. The remaining member of that crew, Edie, was in the final WJ15 1x race of the day and came home third in a really good showing.
In our third last race of the day a young MJ14 4x+ (Colm, Toby, Sean and Mads) took to the water. After a slow start the lads put together some good momentum and finished strongly overtaking Castleconnell and finishing fourth. Special mention for Mads taking part in his first race after his coxing debut two weeks ago and to Alex who coxed his first race today. Well done lads.
Even as the day drew to a close and with only two races left the WJ15 2x pair of Aine and Jessica took yet another win. This was shortly followed up by an excellent 2nd place from Edie and Katie in our final race of the day capping a series of great performances from all of our crews
All in all another hugely successful outing with a total of 8 wins (despite us running several less boats than Lee) and numerous second places with all of our crews being extremely competitive in all races.
The hard work being put in by all of our athletes over the past few months is really paying dividends this season and each and every one of them should be really proud of their performances. We look forward to Carlow in two weeks time.
Also, just a quick note to wish all of our athletes well in any upcoming Junior or Leaving cert exams. Best of luck in your efforts.
Placings
Full results for the whole regatta can be found here
| Category | Crew | Placing |
| MJ15 2x | Henry Brady, Oran Skinner | 1st |
| WJ13 1x | Faye O’Flaherty | 1st |
| MJ16 1x | Sean Harte | 1st |
| WJ15 4x+ | Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitzpatrick, Aine Power, Jessica Cooke | 1st |
| MJ15 1x | Oran Skinner | 1st |
| MJ16 4x+ | Oran Skinner, Darragh Ryan, Henry Brady, Sean Harte | 1st |
| WJ15 1x | Aine Power | 1st |
| WJ15 2x | Aine Power, Jessica Cooke | 1st |
Gallery
