Waterford Boat Club would like to pass on their most sincere thanks to BAM Civil Engineering for their voluntary assistance in making vital repairs to the club’s pontoon. Over the past year it had become apparent that some parts of the ramp down to the pontoon were in need of some remediation work.
BAM are the lead contractor in the development of the North Quays and the building of the new footbridge between Ferrybank and Waterford City. They very kindly sent over their engineers to assess the structure and determine what repairs would be needed and then once an assessment had been completed they made essential repairs to the ramp and it’s moorings.
Repairs of this nature which require specialised equipment and expertise can often be extremely expensive and a huge financial burden on a small voluntary club like ours so it should be stressed how grateful Waterford Boat Club are towards BAM. We wish them all the best with the ongoing works around The North Quays which are shaping up to transform Ferrybank and Waterford City Centre.
More information on BAM and the North Quays project can be found here
BAM’s Press release on this can be found {here}
Mark Phelan (BAM), Tina Darrer (WBC), Christy Hannon (BAM), Cecily Johnston (WCCC), Ger McCarthy (WBC)Mark Phelan (BAM), Cecily Johnston (WCCC), Christy Hannon (BAM), Tina Darrer (WBC), Ger McCarthy (WBC)
This years rowing season culminated in the biggest ever Irish Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Farran, Co Cork. The 2024 event lasted three full days (from Friday, July 12th, to Sunday, July 14th) and featured an impressive lineup of 916 crews, 51 clubs, 1169 competitors, 216 races, and 54 events.
Waterford Boat Club had (5+x+x) crews entered over the weekend. The club performed extremely well against the very best crews from across the country, showcasing their talent. The competition was fierce, and the results reflected the rowers’ high level of skill and dedication. Due to the huge number of crews taking part, races could feature up to 50-60 crews in a time trial setup for all heats with only the overall top 6 times going through to the final. Highlights from the weekend included:
WJ16 4x+ (Kate Lemon, Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitzpatrick, Jessica Cook and cox Aine Power) made it to the final of the WJ16 4x+ and ranked 5th place overall, missing out on 4th place by a mere 0.03 of a second.
WJ18 4x- (Hannah Boylan, Siun O’Mahony, Erin O’Neill, Sarah Power) ranked 9th place overall
WJ16 2x (Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitzpatrick) ranked 9th place
MJ16 4x+ (Henry Brady, Oran Skinner, Harry Whelan and Gosha Shekunov) Ranked 9th overall and missed the final by just 2 seconds. A great showing from a crew in this age category who’ve only been together for a couple of months.
These are only a few of the highlights of a fine showing from the club during the Championships. well done to all of our athletes both over this weekend and over the whole season. The huge effort that’s gone in was clearly visible over the season.
Results
Category
Crew
Placing
Time
WJ16 4x+
Kate Lemon, Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitz, Jessica Cooke, Aine Power
5th
7:59.8
MJ18 1x
Sean Harte
24th
8:18.7
MJ18 1x
Darragh Ryan
48th
9:02.2
WJ18 1x
Sarah Power
27th
9:27.5
MJ16 4x+
Henry Brady, Oran Skinner, Harry Whelan, Gosha Shekunov
10th
7:12.9
WJ18 2x
Hannah Cunningham Boylan, Deirdre McHugh
18th
8:19.6
WJ18 2x
Erin O’Neill, Siun O’Mahony
24th
8:26.5
WJ16 2x
Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitzpatrick
9th
8:12.0
WJ16 2x
Kate Lemon, Aine Power
29th
8:55.0
MJ16 2x
Oran Skinner, Harry Whelan
12th
7:27.6
MJ16 2x
Henry Brady, Gosha Shekunov
15th
7:30.3
MJ16 1x
Henry Brady
32nd
8:12.2
MJ16 1x
Oran Skinner
39th
8:16.3
MJ16 1x
Harry Whelan
49th
8:35.7
MJ18 2x
Sean Harte, Darragh Ryan
20th
7:18.2
WJ18 4x-
Hannah Boylan, Sarah Power, Erin O’Neill, Siun O’Mahony
Waterford Boat Club would like to pass on their sincere thanks to Martin O’Shea from Rent-A-Box Self Storage Waterford Ballinadud for providing us with a vehicle to tow our boat trailer down to the National Rowing Championships at the start of July.
Support from the local community and businesses is invaluable to our club so thanks to Martin for offering help at really short notice.
If you’re looking for secure domestic or commercial self-storage solutions get in touch with Rent-A-Box to avail of one of their 3 locations in Waterford
Fermoy Regatta took place on Sunday 30th June, the day after the 1K Classic up in Lough Rinn. Our J14 and J15 crews from the 1K rejoined the rest of the club for Fermoy where the club had 30 entries across a single day with heats and finals in most events which made for an extremely busy day for all of our crews.
Fermoy Regatta is a sprint regatta and is held over a 3 lane 500 meter course on The Blackwater through the center of Fermoy which makes for an excellent location and hugely enjoyable atmosphere every year. This would be the final event of the season for our J13-J15 crews and would act as a final tune-up for our J16-J18 crews for the upcoming 2024 National Championships down in the NRC between the 15th-17th July.
An early start was needed for everyone. Lisa and Tony brought our own loaded trailer down on Saturday afternoon and Clonmel Rowing Club were kind enough to transport our boats to the 1K Classic and then down to Fermoy so a huge thanks has to go out to them.
The J13 and J14 events were straight finals but unusually these were timed as well so it offered a good comparison to the other crews taking part in the other finals. For J15 and upwards there were no straight finals but rather a time trial with just the three fastest times in the heats going through to the final.
As always, the straight 500 meter distance made for extremely exciting racing with no room for errors. Some excellent results including 4 wins, 3 second places and 7 third places. Also we had several of our girls and boys J14 doubles racing for the first time.
Well done to all our athletes taking part today and thanks to all the parents and volunteers who helped out on the day. Huge thanks again to Tony for towing the trailer this weekend.
Results
Category
Crew
Placing
Time
WJ18 4x+
Hannah, Siun O’Mahony, Erin O’Neill, Sarah Power, Deirdre McHugh(c)
1st
1:46.3
WJ15 2x
Rachel Weldon, Molly O’Flynn
1st
1:51.3
WJ14 1x
Faye O’Flaherty
1st
2:04.1
MJ13 4x+
Leon Mullins, Hugh Brady, Mads O’Flynn, Ben Weldon, Toby Cooke(c)
The 1K classic is the culmination of the J13-J15 season. This year it was held on Saturday 29th June at Lough Linn Co Leitrim. The 1K Classic tends to move between Cork and Leitrim on alternating years. As a result of this year’s event being held in Lough Rinn a good deal of the Northern Irish clubs have the chance to attend making this an Island wide event
Waterford Boat Club had crews entered in 6 races during the day
Our crew’s performances were excellent again today and competition was very strong in each race as expected. The WJ15 4x+ crew and cox Harry came in a solid 3rd place in a very tough final and gave an excellent showing giving it their best effort. Harry raced really well in his MJ15 1x with tough competition Molly achieved 2nd place in her WJ15 1x final and gave a very brave battle to the line but lost out in a close race to the sculler from Athlone. Rachel took the win in her WJ15 1x final where she led from the start and was very comfortable throughout. Really well done Rachel.
Faye and Hannah got drawn in the same final which is always a bit of a shame when team mates are drawn against each other but nonetheless both girls performed exceptionally well in the final with Faye taking an excellent win after a really tough battle with the sculler from Lee Valley with Hannah following in closely behind in 3rd place. A brilliant result for the girls.
In summary, a fantastic effort from all of our crews today in the highlight event of the Junior 13-15 season. Everyone represented the club well today, gave their absolute best effort and should be proud of themselves. Thanks to all parents, guardians and club members for the support and well wishes.
However there’s no rest for our crews as they make the long journey home only to turn around a few hours later to head up to Fermoy Regatta the following morning to meet up with the rest of the club for an extremely busy day with the WJ15 4x+ girls back racing again at 08:22 am.
Winners WJ15 1x – Rachel weldon, WJ14 1x winner Faye O’FlahertyWJ15 1x Winner – Rachel WeldonFaye O’Flaherty – Winner WJ14 1xWinner WJ14 1x – Faye with coaches Ger and LiamWinner WJ14 1x – Faye with coaches Ger and LiamWJ15 4x+ quad pushing off for their raceWinners WJ15 1x – Rachel weldon, WJ14 1x winner Faye O’FlahertyMolly launches for her MJ15 1x finalFaye helps Rachel launch for her WJ15 1x finalHannah launching for her WJ14 1x finalWJ15 1x Winner – Rachel WeldonWJ14 1x Winner – Faye O’FlahertyWJ14 1x winner faye O’Flaherty with coaches Ger and Liam.View from the pontoon Lough RinnView of the course from the pontoon 2
Now a regular event for the club WBC took part in Carlow Regatta on Sun 02nd June. Luckily the weather was really good on the day with no rain or wind. This was a great help on the Carlow course which can be a tricky one to navigate on the best of days given the number of bends throughout the 1200 meter stretch of the Barrow.
Attendance was down on previous years due to other postponed regattas being moved to the same weekend which meant that Carlow regatta was just held over the single day rather than the full weekend but nonetheless there was plenty of exciting racing packed into the Sunday.
Waterford performed extremely well on the day and won a total of (x) finals. Notable mentions have to go out to a recently formed MJ16 4x+ who won their race as well as our WJ13 4x+ who took their maiden win this season (albeit in the older WJ 14 4x+ category). Our MJ13 4x+ crew won their third race in a row, but again racing in the older J14 category. Well done to all of our crews and thanks to Carlow Rowing Club for hosting such a good event as always.
As always thanks to Mick for getting the trailer safely to and from the event.
Next event for the Club is Cork Regatta which will be held in the NRC on Sat 22nd June.
Results
The full official results from Carlow Regatta 2024 can be found here or here (not updated yet)
Category
Crew
Placing
MJ18A 2x
Sean Harte, Darragh Ryan
1st
MJ18A 1x
Sean Harte
2nd
MJ16 4x+
Gosha Shekunov, Harry Whelan, Henry Brady, Oran Skinner, Deirdre McHugh(c)
1st
MJ16 1x
Oran Skinner
1st
MJ14 4x+
Sean Fitzpatrick, John Brady, Tadhg Hawkins, Sam O’Neill, Sofia Mullins(c)
1st
MJ14 4x+
Leon Mullins, Hugh Brady, Maksym Indiuchenko, Mads O’Flynn, Toby Cooke(c)
1st
WJ18A 2x
Erin O’Neill, Siun O’Mahony
1st
WJ18A 1x
Sarah Power
1st
WJ16 2x
Edie O’Flaherty, Katie Fitzpatrick
1st
WJ16 1x
Aine Power
1st
WJ15 4x+
Rachel Weldon, Molly O’Flynn, Hannah Lemon, Faye O’Flaherty, Harry Grant(c)
1st
WJ15 2x
Molly O’Flynn, Rachel Weldon
1st
WJ15 1x
Rachel Weldon
1st
WJ14 4x+
Amelie Mullins, Leah Trant, Amy Trant, Sofia Mulling, Siri O’Flynn(c)
Waterford Boat Club attended our fourth even of the year – Lee Regatta on Sat 18th May 2024. We had a total of 30 entries on the day with 9 wins overall as well as a significant number of second and third places which is a remarkable achievement for such a hard fought regatta as Lee.
Some of the highlights of the day included the WJ18 4x- crew getting the day off to a great start with a comprehensive win to keep their winning run going.
Ben Weldon and Toby Cooke achieved a very respectable 4th place in their MJ13 2x double which was an excellent result as they’d only been out in a double once before the race.
Edie O’Flaherty and Katie Fitzpatrick won their WJ16 2x final. Sean Harte won his MJ18 1x heat and progressed to the final where he finished 3rd. Molly O’Flynn and Rachel weldon both took 2nd in their WJ15 1x finals. Sarah Power finished 2nd in her heat and qualified for the WJ18 1x final where she came in third.
Oran Skinner took 3rd in his MJ16 1x and Henry Brady took 2nd in his MJ16 1x. Later in the day Henry and Gosha Shekunov would win their MJ16 2x. Congratulations to the lads and to Gosha on his first win.
Following up their victory from Castleconnell, the MJ13 4x+ crew of Leon, Hugh, Maksym, Mads and cox Sofia took an excellent win where they won well after a great start. Great display from the crew, most of whom have only started rowing in the past few months.
Harry Grant and Colm Brennan took third place in their MJ15 2x final. In the MJ16 1x final Jessica Cooke took 2nd and Aine Power placed third. Then towards the very end of the day Rachel Weldon and Molly O’Flynn rounded off another very succesul regatta with a great win in the WJ15 2x.
Special mention has to go to Faye and Hannah who competed and won in three different categories over the space of 70 minutes and won all their races in the WJ15 4x+ (with Rachel and Molly), the WJ14 2x and also both girls won their individual singles as well. Fantastic display from the girls to keep their winning run going.
A great days racing yet again from all of our crews. Well done to all who took part and represented the club so well. As always thanks to all of the coaches for their ongoing hard work and for all the parents and guardians for helping out on the day
Big thanks to Tony for providing the jeep and towing the trailer up and down to Cork and also for the excellent photography on the day. Hugely appreciated by all.
The races are coming thick and fast now with the club travelling to Blessington on Sat 25th May for Dublin Metropolitan regatta for the second of three consecutive weekends of racing.
MJ13 4x+ winners – Maksym, Leon, Sofia(c), Hugh and MadsWJ18 4x- Winners – Siun, Sarah, Erin and HannahWJ16 2x Winners – Edie and KatieWJ15 4x+ winners – Rachael, Molly, Mads(c), Hannah and FayeWJ14 2x winners – Hannah and FayeWJ 1x winner – Hannah LemonWJ 1x winner – Faye O’FlahertyMJ16 2x winners – Henry and GoshaMJ16 2x winners Henry and Gosha with coaches Lisa and DermotMJ16 2x winners – Henry and GoshaWJ15 2x winners – Molly and Rachel
Saturday 11th May 2024 – Waterford Boat Club held a collection in Ardkeen stores to raise funds for the club. The stand was manned all day by our athletes taking 2 hours shifts between the various crews. We even had a surprise visitor, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, pictured with some of our members in the photo below.
Huge thanks to Ardkeen Stores for allowing us to set up in the entrance to the store again this year. It’s hugely appreciated by the club.
Also, thanks to all our crews, supervising parents for manning the station all day and of course to Louise for organising another hugely successful fundraising event. And the biggest thanks of course goes to the public who donated so generously on the day.
Waterford Boat Club took part in our first regatta of 2024 with a trip to Skibbereen Regatta which was held at the National Rowing Center in farran Woods in Co Cork. This event takes place over 2 days. As this was a Grand League event all competitions for J16 and upwards would be held over the full 2K distance. For the J14 and J15 groups the race would be held over a 1K course.
The club would be well represented over the weekend with XX crews entered for racing.
NotesDay 1 (Clean up later)
WJ18 4x+ crew won their category, coxed by Deirdre
WJ16 4x+ crew qualified for their final finishing
Faye and Hannah leading well in WJ14 2x until an oar came out of a loose gate
Very competitive race for MJ14 4x+, finishing 3rd, first race for John Brady
Special thanks to Toby Cooke for coxing 3 boats consecutively – WJ16 4x+ heat, MJ14 4x+, Wj16 4x+ Final
Results
Category
Crew
Placing
WJ18B 4x+
Hannah Boylan, Siun O’Mahony, Sarah Power, Erin O’Neill, Deirdre McHugh(c)
1st
WJ14 1x
Hannah Lemon
2nd
WJ14 1x
Faye O’Flaherty
2nd
MJ13 4x+
Leon Mullins, Maksym Indiuchenko, Hugh Brady, Ben Weldon, Sofia Mullins(c)
2nd
Gallery
Rachel and Molly win WJ 152xRachel and Molly WJ15 2x winners with coach GerWJ15 4x+ winners – Faye, Hannah, Harry(c), Molly and RachelWJ15 4x+ winning crew with coach GerWJ15 4x+ launchingWJ18 4x+ winners – Erin, Sarah, Deirdre(c), Hannah, Siun and coach DermotFaye and Hannah with Sanita PuspureWJ18 4x+ launchingWJ16 4x+ launching
