Aber Rowing do the treble at Cardigan!

Sunday 10th May was the opening fixture for the Welsh Sea Rowing League Southern Section, and Aberystwyth showed up in force.

The organisers were hoping to run the race around Cardigan Island, but Blustery conditions dictated otherwise and a timed race up and down the Teifi was the fallback option.

First off were the ladies and despite the race being run in the shelter of the Teifi valley, the strong winds made the race extremely challenging. Nevertheless, hard winters training paid off and the ladies recorded some creditable results with the senior boats finishing 3rd, 7th, 12th . A university crew of novice ladies also participated and came in 18th, but only one minute behind the ladies B team.

Next up were the mens – the race was led off by the senior men and immediately they showed their form, pulling out a commanding lead over the trailing boats. The B crew and vets followed close behind and they too increased their lead over the trailing boats. By the end of the race, Aber recorded stunning result – The A and B teams were first across the line, closely followed in third place by the veterans boat. The university section also fielded a crew in the mens race, and despite a damaged footrest managed to cross the line in 10th place.

By this time conditions had deteriorated further and played their part in the remaining races. It was considered unsafe to run the junior and novices race and with high winds taking their toll, the mixed race was run over a shortened course.

The success of the earlier races spurred on the crews and the A team came in 3rd overall, the mixed veterans crossed the line in 6th place, winning their category. The two remaining crews came in in 13th and 18th place.

Overall a very successful day despite the challenging conditions. Next race – Wisemans Bridge on the 17th May.

Junior and Novice rowing takes place every Friday evening at 5.30 at the harbourside – please come along and give it a go.