Growing up I never pictured myself as the sort of person who dwells at the side of the Thames during Henley, let alone races in it, but you must never underestimate the unpredictability of life and the change a year can make. And so there I was on the 3rd of July; sitting parallel to the Thames Tradesmen eight ready to race the first race of the tournament. Some of you will know me as Neil, unfortunately most probably know me as “magic” by now, for reasons I won’t disclose on the boat club web site. This is a quick piece about Henley from my perspective.
Our boat consisted of Lee Turner, John Higgs, Tom Westcott, Myself, Chris Gilligan, Josh Kerman, Chris Teasdale, and Mark Buchinger at stroke with 13 year old Bruno Hallwood in charge as cox. Together we made up the Molesey “C” boat, rowing’s equivalent to a spare part shop, lol, only joking. I remember our first outing and the worried faces of the more experienced rowers amongst us. I’m sure at that point no one expected us to qualify, except maybe Olly, though even he was probably more appalled with the rowing than he let on to us.
However, over the few weeks that followed we improved dramatically. Each week we stepped on more than the last. The focus was mostly good, and if it wasn’t, then I and Westy would take the brunt of it from Higgsy the ‘Volcano’.
We underwent the transition from a crew that would struggle at novice, to a crew who could compete in S2. The main components in this change being Olly’s belief in us, and our undying determination to reach our goal of qualifying. Our qualifying row was not the greatest technically, but in tricky conditions it was good enough, and capped off with brute strength and determination. The cheers as we realised all Molesey eights qualified were phenomenal, I could even hear them as I aimlessly wandered around the car park lost while looking for my old man! Needless to say that when I got back and saw the guys I went nuts, one of the best feelings of my life!
I’m sure for each person who qualifies for Henley it is just as important as the next, I would say the older rowers amongst us were ecstatic to compete in one of the most prestigious rowing events in the world once more. For Westy, Lee and myself, it showed a progression, a clear platform in which we could see that we had moved on. If I’m being honest, qualifying gave us a much needed boost after watching the success of the other Giants from the sidelines through most of the regatta season. I know that at times, this regatta season has thrown doubts over my future, and self belief has been hard to find; but that terrifyingly hard seven minute race made my struggle to improve as a rower worth every minute.
The Molesey representation at Henley was enormous. Everywhere I went I saw black polo shirts with “The Black Death” written on the back. Every race I saw I could hear the Molesey chant the loudest, and every time I passed Remenham the Molesey contingent was the strongest. As a relatively new member of the club I felt very proud to be part of such a strong traditional club.
We were knocked out in our first heat by the Tradesmen but not by the sort of Margin they were hoping to beat us by. We didn’t get the start we needed to compete in the race but we never let our heads go down and never let Tradesmen get more than three lengths out of touch, even reducing it to nearly two with a halfway push. We were disappointed after the race, I know many of us thought we could have done more but we hadn’t been rowing together very long and could not let the loss take away what we had achieved.
So now it was time to get suited, get psssed, and watch the Giants. What a display from the guys, it was in my opinion the most valiant performance of any crew throughout the tournament. To race a selected boat and come as close as they did (even leading at one point) left me astonished. It was a great performance and I must say that I and undoubtedly others; have never wanted to be on the loosing team more. Well done!
I had a great time watching Molesey race, all crews raced well and progressed far in the tournament. I enjoyed every race, although there was one race in particular that no one will forget for a long time. Seeing the coxed four win that Sunday was inspirational, despite the rain, Molesey club members turned out in force to support our boys Richard Ockendon, Callum Wright, Ben Pugh, and James Foad compete in the Brittania cup final coxed by Tory Sethard-Wright. They raced like champions constantly pushing away the other crew. They led and raced by example and were an inspiration to the other rowers at the club, and proud bragging rights to all supporters. Congratulations!
I , on behalf of the Giants, would like to thank Molesey Boat club and especially it’s coaches for helping us progress. It says a lot for the club that there are top class athletes and coaches around us all the time to remind us what can be achieved with the right training and determination.
I am running out of time so will have to wrap this up and apologise for mistakes as I banged it out pretty quickly but had a lot to say. I will write another short piece about the nightlife and socialising at Henley that you won’t want to miss. A few secrets could be spilled!!!!
Watch this space
