Race Report – Norwich Small Boats Head and Norfolk Sculls

On Saturday 17th October, a group of IoERC members travelled to Norwich for the Norfolk Sculls head of the river race. Set on bendy tidal waters with both a 3km and a 7km division, this event is a little different to our more regular races in the Fens, with some serious steering requirements! 

Autumn had set in, with a feels-like temperature of 7 Celsius due to a strong northerly wind, and showers forecast. The course heads eastward upstream, and the wind made the conditions particularly difficult and the river very rough in some parts. Because the river Yare is tidal, competitors have to wade out in wellies for a slightly daunting wet launch and landing. 

Ely entered six crews. Those competing in the 3km course were WMasE 4x- King, J18 1x Turrell, WJ18 2x Mason, and J151x Golding. Those competing in the 7km course were W4x- Palmer, and MasD1x (A-D) Woodford. 

Despite fears of storms, the weather was relatively kind on the day, the wet launch easier than some anticipated, and the course beautiful. Although all but one of our entries didn’t have competition (3 or more entries), all those who took part did amazingly well and should be proud of their performance. The only crew that had competition on the day was our marvellous MasD single sculler, Pete Woodford, who squeezed a victory over his younger opponents to defend his win from last year. Three cheers for Pete! 

The event gave all the racing crews a chance to chase progress and speed in unfamiliar conditions. We send our thanks to the hosts and organisers, who were helpful and efficient throughout. We had a fantastic day out! Huge kudos to all who raced and especially to Pete Woodford for bringing home a pot!