A blustery day today at Hammersmith and also a good one for the small Poplar contingent, with many learning opportunities for those of us less experienced at racing. Annika and Molly won their heat in the double by 1 and ¾ lengths. Then came George who after having seen previous races cancelled for reasons such as lightning and insufficient water to row on (a first for most of us) finally got his first regatta out of the way. Victory was not on his side despite a very solid finish where he caught up with his opposition quite a bit. We look forward to seeing him racing and winning many times in the near future.

At this point racing was suspended due to the strong wind over tide. The possibility of small boat races being scratched loomed large. Fortunately racing resumed an hour and change later on a reduced course slightly downriver, with still strong winds over tide but lower water. It was Dan’s turn to race on the single and beat his opposition by ½ length. Molly and Annika came next on their final which unfortunately they did not win. And finally I raced on my single. Very windy and choppy conditions, but then, windy and choppy is what we do at Poplar, is it not? I won my race.

Thanks Dan for driving us to the race and thanks Molly, Annika and George, it was a really fun day. Looking forward to seeing more Poplar boats racing this season!