The 27th of March will go into history. Perhaps, not into rowing history, but for 9 Poplar members it will mark the return to the Vets Head after two years of Covid.
In best Poplar tradition the racing crew that competed had never been together in a boat before. Although weeks of training preceded the event, Covid, work travel and injuries meant that the crew relied on the support of the sculling community at Poplar to make up for those that couldn’t make the pre-race outings. Special thanks to Nalin, Lizzy S, Lizzy N, Kate, Sara and Swampy, who all stepped up to the challenge to board the Poplar silver slug express.
The race day started colder than expected, but a bacon & egg sandwich with a cup of coffee was able to motivate the crew to give their all. Well, although the race finished in a respectable 23:10.2 min (adjusted 21:54.2 min), it was only 5th place in the category.
The cox provided positive feedback after the race, but then again it seems he wasn’t off with the fairies in respect of his expectation of the performance potential.
“Hi guys, regardless of my abuse before, during and after the race, I must admit that you all did far and above what I anticipated, well done everyone.” Ron
Vesta Rowing Club was again kind enough to host Poplar. And a great host they are, allowing the use their facilities. In return the crew were much obliged to spend money at Vesta and so a couple of pints of Guinness had to be bought, which gave them time to reflect and deliberate before heading back to the East End again.
