Newport Rowing Club

South Coast Championships 2007

Pictures from Dorney Lake (thanks to Gordon Groves) Report to follow shortly...

Westover Regatta

Two crews entered at Westover Regatta. Men’s junior four contest the lead in the opening 500 metres of their final, before the rough conditions get the better of them. The crew eventually finish sixth from eight starters.

The men’s senior four again prove their credentials by pushing current champions BTC all the way to the line, with Itchen Imperial in third.

Christchurch Regatta

Another first for Newport R.C at Christchurch regatta. The entry of a ladies senior four. Michelle Durrent, Ellie Garratt, Kim Salter, and Claire Salter at stroke had the bad luck to come up against championship leaders Coalporters. With a sit-in coxswain, the ladies put in a good effort, but were unable to resist the class act of the year.

The men’s junior four had a bye in to the quarter-finals when opponents Poole failed to turn up on the start line. Newport then came up against the powerful Christchurch A crew. The hosts took hold of the race from an early stage and ran out winners by three lengths.

The men’s senior four continued where they left off the previous week. Easily disposing of Itchen in their heat, an encounter with BTC lay in wait for the semi-final.

A thrilling race saw Newport beat BTC, and in the process, end their championship run, handing the title to local rivals Ryde.

It was Ryde who took their position alongside Newport for the final, producing another spectacle of quality Island rowing. Ryde took the race by half a length, and were cheered back to the shore by the sporting crew of the day, Newport.

Henley Royal Regatta

A BUSY week for Newport Rowing Club started when two members, Steve Salter and Nick Challinor-Halford raced for the City of Oxford A crew at Henley Royal Regatta.
Rowing in the Wyfolds Challenge Cup for club coxless fours, they comfortably beat their B crew on the first day. Thursday saw a major challenge from Leander, one of the UK’s premier clubs and home to many Olympic rowers.
Undaunted, Salter and Challinor-Halford, along with their crew-mates, pulled off a magnificent win, aided slightly by Leander clipping the booms along the course. more....

Itchen Imperial Regatta 23rd June

The men’s novice four of Andy Howard, Daryl Jenner, Kev Bennett and John Kerr, with coxswain Clare Salter, dominated their heat against Coalporters A and Poole B to claim a semi-final spot.
Another good row in the semi against Itchen Imperial saw Newport reach the final against Poole A. It was Newport who got off the start line quickest and led all the way to the turn, going in to the markers with three quarters of a length advantage.
However, an uncharacteristically slow turn allowed Poole to go ahead. Driven on by a vocal Clare Salter they managed to get back on terms but the finish line came too soon and Newport were pipped by two feet.
Clare Salter also steered the Lymington men’s senior four in their final against Ryde and BTC. She looked to have guided them to a win before having to take evasive action to avoid a clash of oars with the Ryde boat.
Newport head to Milford Regatta tomorrow (Saturday), looking to field their ladies’ junior four after a recent illness to one of the crew prevented their participation at Woolston and Itchen.
The men’s novice four will also be joined again at the event by the ladies’ senior pair of Kim and Clare Salter.

Newport, having been founded in 1863, is the oldest rowing club on the Isle of Wight, and one of the longest established on the whole of the south coast. The club & boathouse is located in idyllic surroundings, on the banks of the river Medina, approximately 1 km north of Newport quay.
Newport Rowing Club, with its sheltered river situation offers many advantages. Firstly and most importantly is the safety aspect. Newcomers to the sport are able to learn on waters that remain flat in all but the highest winds, and that are not subject to sudden washes from passing ships. While all members can testify to the joys of an early morning summer row as the dew burns off. Another highlight must be an early evening spent on the clubhouse balcony with friends, watching the racing crews training for the next regatta. If someone has remembered the charcoal, there might just be a barbecue on the go too.

Newport Rowing Club welcomes all potential new members, male, female, young, young at heart, competitive or recreational. Our membership fees are among the lowest on the south coast. We train on Sundays, throughout the year, with sessions from 10.30 and 14.30 on alternate weeks. Mid week evening sessions on the river are also available during the summer, and dry training (weights and rowing machine) through the winter.

As is the case with most of the clubs affiliated to the Hants & Dorset Amateur Rowing Association, we are predominantly involved with coastal rowing. Coastal boats look similar to those you may see in Olympic events, with sliding seats and riggers for the oars to locate, but tend to be a little wider and stronger. This is to make them a little more seaworthy and able to deal with the challenging conditions often found during a coastal regatta. Newport Rowing Club own a number of coastal boats from single sculls and pairs, to our fours. Our river boats include single and double sculls, a river four and two eights.
For those less familiar to rowing, and rowing terminology, sculling is where an oar is held in each hand, while rowing involves both hands working one oar.
Each year we compete in a number of Hants & Dorset regattas, including our own event which is staged on East Cowes seafront (unfortunately, there is insufficient space at the club itself). The event can attract up to 150 of the south of England’s finest oarsmen and women from 11 visiting clubs, and is an exciting spectacle for the viewing public and competitors alike.

As a warm-up exercise for the racing season, crews from Newport R.C usually travel to the river Stour, home of Christchurch Rowing Club in Dorset, for their annual Head of the River Races. A Head race is primarily a time trial where the crews compete over a course of around 4 kilometres. Crews in each category are started at ten second intervals, with the winners being the fastest over the whole course, and not necessarily those crossing the line first.

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