Twenty MRC masters travelled to England in July to compete on the hallowed waters of Henley-on-Thames. They returned with a positive impression of rowing in the UK, the satisfaction of having completed a long –term plan and, unexpectedly, tanned skin. But unfortunately no medals. However there’s always next year…
Henley Royal Regatta needs no introduction. But not everyone knows about the masters regatta which takes place a week later over 1000m between the dreaded wooden booms from Temple Island to Upper Thames Rowing Club just past Fawley Court. When in the winter I tentatively suggested this as the high-point of our season as an alternative to the FISA World Masters I did not expect the idea to capture the imagination of so many of our training group. But it soon became clear that experiencing the “Henley feeling” on a smaller scale was an attractive prospect.
Leading up to our departure for England there were a few worries that either the boats or the crews wouldn’t make it: A ferry strike a week previously threatened to impede progress of the trailer and just before the bulk of the party left Munich the Lufthansa pilots threatened further strike action. Thankfully neither of these risks materialized and the majority of the party, including a number of rowing groupies, arrived at the Elva Lodge Hotel in Maidenhead near the Queen’s main residence Windsor Castle on Wednesday evening. For Joschi Lerche the first setback in what turned out for him to be a less than ideal weekend was getting stranded at Hayes and Harlington rail station near Heathrow due to a strike. This was simply resolved, but then sadly Joschi had to miss the racing due to illness and returned home early. The hotel, a recommendation passed on by Siu-Chi, was a slightly shabby but charming and comfortable establishment, owned by the President of Maidenhead Rowing Club (once a lightweight sculler, but now approximately doubled in size) and adorned accordingly with blades and pictures.
First thing on Thursday morning we arrived at the regatta site to rig the boats and have a paddle to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings. There is undoubtedly something special about that stretch of slowly flowing water and its banks, even when the hospitality tents have been taken down and the Enclosures transformed into concert venues for Henley Festival. Hunger suitably aroused it was time for our first visit to The Angel on the Bridge for lunch on the sun-drenched terrace overlooking the Royal Regatta headquarters. As an aid to digestion before further training it was time for some sightseeing. The majority of the party visited the River and Rowing museum which offers some interesting exhibits on the history of rowing and of the Thames. Not surprisingly the tributes to British Olympic success are hard to miss. After a second session on the water, this time with eyes in the boat and with concentration on the task in hand, we spent a second pleasant evening dining at the pub opposite our hotel. By this time some members of the party were even voluntarily ordering ale rather than lager. The continuing summer weather having dispelled one prejudice about England, it seemed a decent pint of beer might be making inroads in another.
Finally, the first of the two regatta days arrived. Henley Masters is a knock-out event in which two crews at a time race to see who progresses further and who retires to the beer tent. On the Friday the heats and quarter finals were scheduled. Only three of the six crews were in action, the other events having fewer entries. The non-racing crews nevertheless went on the water either very early in the morning or in the evening. The advantage of the former was that it afforded the opportunity of more tourism and accordingly a select group of oarsmen and spouses headed off to see the sights of Oxford for the day.
First to attach himself to the stake boats at the upstream end of Temple Island was Steve Lowe in the D single scull. Drawn against a Dutch ex-international he was pleased to have a decent row and keep the margin to a respectable 2 lengths. It was then the turn of Stas Tkachev and Thomas Eder in C double sculls who despite a tidy row were knocked out of the regatta by a similar verdict. Then the group’s flagship C eight took the stage. Tilman Probst, still waiting for his first race in coxless fours, subbed in for the ill Joschi Lerche. The rest of the crew comprised Henrik Loth, Alexander Kersten, Matthias Heinau, Sören Schröter, Volker Walz, Cord Willhöft and Holger Gerhardt with Mareike Adomat in the cox’s seat. Despite the last minute change the crew powered off the start to leave their opponents, Rob Roy RC from Cambridge, trailing all the way down the course for a win by one and a third lengths. Some of those not rowing elected to follow the race from the umpire’s launch as used at the Royal Regatta. This is in itself a great experience the only disadvantage being a ban on cheering. As one umpire said to the passengers: “We’re like Switzerland in the launch – completely neutral.”
For those due to race on the second day, Friday evening’s socializing was a little more restrained. The eight was up before breakfast for a practice with another crew change – Thomas took Tilman’s seat, to allow the latter to concentrate on the four. The C quadruple scull comprising Hans Weytjens, Tim Conley, Wolfgang Paschke and myself met the eight just as it came off the water. Our race was against last year’s finalists Maidenhead and despite leading for the first 300m we were unable to match their sustained pace. After the race they came to shake our hands and thank us for a good race, putting us in the position of having to be “good losers” which in Britain is traditionally more honorable than “bad winners.” Next it was Claudia Scherer’s turn and in her first race she was unfortunate enough to meet a very strong sculler from Reading who went on to win the event.
At lunch time, with a stiffening headwind the eight raced their semi-final, which as it turned out was really the final. Their opponent was Molesey Boat Club, one of the GB team’s main feeder clubs. Molesey are regular winners at the Royal Regatta and have not until this year attended the Masters event, their active older oarsmen preferring to stick with the full 2112m. Their crew comprised several Olympians spanning games from 1980 to 2012 as well as a number of ex World Champion medalists including a member of the winning eight from 2013. Undaunted, the MRC crew had a cracking start, but this time their opponent was able to match their speed away from the stake boats. It was neck-a-neck for the first half of the course and then Molesey gradually edged ahead to win by three-quarters of a length. As they firmly trounced their opponent in the final by four lengths, MRC was the moral runner-up.
By the time the coxless four of Christian Salmen, Tilman Probst, Marcus Steiner and Lu Krämer took to the water for their straight final the wind had become strong and gusty making conditions difficult. The opposing crew from Upper Thames Rowing Club were rowing on their home water, so they knew what to expect on the choppy course. It was a similar story to a number of MRC’s other races: a lead after a strong start, only to be reeled in further down the course. In this race a crab followed by a boat-stopping gust of wind which mysteriously only seemed to affect the Berkshire station lead to a sudden reversal of the boat in first place. UTRC were then able to hold the advantage to the finish line in front of their own boathouse.
We gathered in the Angel for a concluding dinner on Saturday evening. Despite having no medals to pack that night the mood was buoyant and there were numerous conversations about coming back next year to win something. The effort and cost of the enterprise was considerable, but I think I can safely say there was no one who regretted making the trip. Thanks to all who contributed to the preparation and organization, especially Christian, Constanze, Ludwig and Claudia who towed the boats there and back and Matthias Becker our dedicated coach. Sorry we didn’t win anything for you Matze, next year we’ll make amends!
