Category: Rowing

This Sunday was the christening of a new coastal rowing boat which is to be used as a training aid for the junior rowers of the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club.

The boat was supported by the Bideford Bridge Trust along with sponsorship by local butcher’s By the Ford of the High Street, Bideford.

The boat was officially named By The Ford by Tina Robertson (owner of By the Ford butchers) and Alice Jackson who started her rowing career as a junior rower at the Bideford Blues and has now gone on to row in the England squad.

Bideford Amateur Athletic Club is truly grateful to the Bideford Bridge Trust and Tina Robertson for their very generous support of the club.

The photo shows Alice Jackson with Tina Robertson, owner of By the Ford naming the new boat.

Crews from the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club travelled to Exeter this weekend to take part in the 2015 City of Exeter Regatta. Good conditions welcomed the crews for the 400m sprint course.

The club had a very successful day notching up four wins and some pretty impressive performances.

The first win of the day for the Blues was by the men’s master’s fours crew consisting of Colin Pennington, Steve Clements, Nigel Cann, Neil Pennington with cox Chloe Pennington.

Colin Pennington went on for another win but this time in the coxswains seat when he coxed the women’s novice crew of Shannon Monaghan, Shelby May, Charlotte Berry and Kirsty Snow to a win in what was a very close race.

In the women’s junior 18’s race Monaghan, May and Snow with Berry being replaced by Joanna Moulder were coxed to victory by Tina Robertson.

It was a very close finish in the men’s junior 16 double scull race with Alex Dualibi-Wilson and James Jordan having to push right to the finish line to grab the win.

It was another good performance from the relatively new crew of Christine Michael, Shauna Thompson, Mandy Mills, Sam Dolby and cox Dave Powe in the women’s novice race, this time coming home in 3rd position.

It was 3rd position also for Declan Monaghue in the men’s novice scull race.

Another great weekend of rowing by the Bideford club.

Wimbleball Lake was the venue for this week’s regatta. Crews old and new from the Bideford Blues travelled to Exmoor and took part in the 1000m course.

It was a busy day for Declan Monaghan who gained 3rd place in the men’s novice single sculls heat and went on to finish 5th in the final.  On his third race of the day he finished 8th in the under 18 single sculls.

It was the first regatta for new crew of Sam Dolby, Mandy Mills, Shauna Thompson and Christine Michael who put in a very good effort and finished in 6th place in the women’s novice fours, they replaced Christine with Keeley Mills to take part in the women’s senior C race and came a very respectable 4th place.

It was two races for Ricky Kelly, Tim Henry, Brian Andrew, James Yeo and cox Charlie Colwill. The crew finished 3rd in the men’s novice race and 8th in the men’s senior C race.

Club wins came from Kirsty Snow, Charlotte Berry, Shelby May, Shannon Monaghan with cox Colin Pennington in the ladies novice race. Their next race, this time with Tina Robertson coxing the girls, they put on a fantastic performance and won the ladies under 18’s race by three lengths over their nearest opponents Plymouth.

It was also victory for Dave Byrnes and Ali Peake in the men’s senior B double sculls. Dave Byrnes also went on to finish 3rd in the men’s senior B sculls.

Rowers from Bideford Amateur Athletic Club travelled to Plymouth this weekend for the first of the season’s regatta. Windy but sunny conditions welcomed the rowers to the 1000m course on the River Plym.

The girls under 18 crew of Charlotte Berry, Kirsty Snow, Shelby May and Shannon Monaghan with Zoe Robertson (cox) came home in first place. Charlotte, Kirsty, Shelby was joined by Kat Keenan along with Zoe as cox again in the ladies novice race, this time gaining a very respectable third place.

It was two victories for James Jordan and Alex Dualibi-Wilson who came first in both the under 15 and under 16 doubles.

Declan Monaghan battled the windy conditions and finished third place in the under 18 single scull race.

It was the first regatta as a crew in the men’s novice race. James Yeo, Brian Andrews, Tim Henry, Ricky Kelly and Charlie Colwill (cox) put on a good performance and finished third.

A great start to the rowing season by all the youngsters.

The photos show the rowers from BAAC with their well-earned trophies.

On Monday 16 March eight students from Bideford College travelled to London to take part in the Schools Head of the River.

The race is the largest head race of the winter season for junior crews and attracts over 300 crews.

The 7 kilometre course started at Chiswick Bridge and finished in Putney and is the actual course for the famous Oxford and Cambridge annual boat race although is rowed in the opposite direction.

It was the first time all eight girls had rowed together in an eights boat and they finished in a very impressive 23 minutes 22 seconds.

The crew consisted of Keeley Mills, Chloe Pennington, Shannon Monaghan, Jo Moulder, Charlotte Berry, Kat Keenen, Shelby May and Kirsty Snow. Apart from Chloe Pennington who trains at the Bideford Amateur Rowing Club (the Reds), all the girls are trained under the watchful eye of Tina Robertson and Barrie White at the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club (the Blues).

The girls faced some very tough competition from very experienced crews but they rose to the challenge with ease and were a real credit to Bideford College and both rowing clubs.

A team of girls from the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club travelled to Worcester this weekend for the Worcester University Head of the Severn.

It was the first time in an eights boat as a crew and the girls certainly did themselves and the club proud. Despite the strong wind, cold temperature and very fast flowing river the girls completed the 4.5km race.

The crew of Keely Mills, Shannon Monaghan, Kat Keenan, Charlotte Berry, Jo Moulder, Jess Middleton, Kirsty Snow, Shelby May and Tina Robertson (cox) competed in the novice race and finished a very respectable 2nd place. A very successful start for 2015.

It was perfect weather conditions for this year’s home regatta. Crews from all over the South West descended on Bideford Quayside.

Four firsts, four seconds and three thirds made for a very successful day for the Bideford Blues.

The first race of the day and the first win was the Masters Handicapped Fours. The Vet D crew of Colin Pennington, Steve Clements, Nigel Cann, Neil Pennington and Chloe Pennington (cox) came home in front of the composite crew from Bideford Blues and Bideford Reds. The crew was made up of Dave Bates, Dave Powe, Dave Godfrey and Alistair Peake.

It was first for Dave Byrnes and Milo George in the Men’s Senior B Double Sculls with Milo going on to win the Men’s Senior B Single Sculls. The fourth win of the day went to the Mixed Senior C Fours. Zoe Robertson, Annie Cook teamed up with Dave Byrnes and Milo George with Tina Robertson (cox).

Second place went to Annie Cook in the Ladies Senior C Sculls while the Ladies Junior 16 Quad Fours of Shannon Monaghan, Shelby May, Charlotte Berry and Kirsty Snow with Zoe Robertson (cox) also settled for second place. Dave Byrnes came in second behind Milo George in the Men’s Senior B Single Sculls with the Ladies Senior C Fours of Zoe Robertson, Frances Lethbridge, Annie Cook and Jess Myers with Tina Robertson (cox) brought home the final second position.

Charlotte Berry and Jo Moulder came in third place in the Ladies Junior 16 Double Sculls. This time it was third place for Alistair Peake in the Masters Handicapped Single Sculls and also for Annie Cook and Jess Myers in the Ladies Senior C Double Sculls.