On Saturday 17th September four intrepid scullers from Poplar raced in the Scullers head over the championship course from Mortlake to Putney. 6.8 Kilometres of challenges, changing conditions and 500 plus other scullers all hurtling down towards Putney in fairly benign weather.
Lizzy: “When I received my allocated race number 484 (out of 500 scullers) in the draw, I knew I was in for a long wait. We boated at 9am at the finish line near Putney Pier – that was an hour before the start of the race – but my turn to get going didn’t arrive until 11:45am.
As I tapped my way upriver to the starting line, I decided to simply try my best and enjoy following the same route as the historic Oxford vs Cambridge boat race.
By the time I did get started, I hadn’t quite bargained for the spectacle of scullers (who had already finished) rowing back to the starting line along both sides of the river under a dazzling midday sun. The just-under 7k-course certainly tested my focus and fitness levels, so seeing my husband Dave on Hammersmith Bridge, hearing an unknown man shout: ‘Go Poplar’ (thank you) and recognising the familiar outlines of Mo and Paddy waiting for me on the shoreline at the finish gave me just the boost and the stamina I needed to finish the course in a respectable 27:58 and 7 out of 8 category women’s masters aggregated light-weight finish and 432nd overall position. This was my first scullers head and I’m so glad I did it. Go Poplar!”
Mo: “Having prepared for a whole three weeks, off we set to race 6.8km in the scullers head. As we boated on the high tide I couldn’t help but notice how calm the water was despite the wind. Maybe due to the huge notices warning boats not to create washes. What a luxury. After a long row to the back of the queue we watched as the senior men made their way down the course. There was plenty of overtaking, a few crashes and one capsize! Then came Paddy and Bob storming down the course.
I was next up. I had a good start and found myself overtaking a lady in my category. Then, disaster struck. Just as I made my way past my opposition, I found myself squeezed by another boat. Before I had time to call out, we were both tangled. His blade under my boat and my blade on his torso. After a complete stop and some delicate manoeuvring, I could see one, two, three boats pass me by and a lot of ground to makeup to re-overtake.
Determined, I put my head down and found myself re-overtaking. Unfortunately, it was the only one I could get back. So managed to place 5th in the division. A fantastic race with fantastic company.”
Bob: “Entered as masters H finishing 2nd of 9 starters. A solid scull with no big errors, managed to overtake 7 scullers but got caught on the outside of a bunch going round the big surrey bend, but that’s the way the head goes. finished 258 overall, up 100 places on the start number of 367. I didn’t fall in, didn’t hit anything apart from number 364’s blade when he wouldn’t move out of the way (until verbally and unambiguously communicated with) but not a boat stopper so little time lost. A fair result all in all. “
Paddy: “The morning of the Scullers’ Head was a chilly one. Lizzy, Mo and I had de-rigged the evening before; had help from Bernarda in the 6am outing to move the trailer so loaded and then left by 6:30. Despite meeting a width restriction, that required some trailer reversing in a restricted area and then a diversion, we made it in time to still get a parking space in Putney. We rigged and were ready to go afloat at 9am. Bob, being the ultimate independent spirit, went separately and completely under his own control. Conditions were quite good for the race, despite the forecast north-westerly wind. The water was mostly very flat aside from the middle section of the race. Marshalls were in short supply, so boats were unevenly distributed along the course, five or six deep in places. There were at least 6 capsizes before or during the race, so a busy time for the safety launches.
Seeing 501 single sculls on the river was an amazing spectacle. I went off first in 344th place, steered very conservatively but didn’t hit anything for a change, finishing in a time of 25:54 in 312th place. Maybe too much focus on stroke rate and not enough on really putting in good power and shifting the boat. Expecting a winner in the Scullers’ Head is a tall order given the competition there. Three of our four Poplar competitors were racing in this race for the first time. With the race now taking place in September, rather than its previous December time, it is necessary to switch from regatta training to head training earlier in the previous season. Next year we will hopefully have more Poplar entries for what is a great race. With top competition and a classic course. This is an incredible event to take part in.”