Spitfire at Sudbury Regatta 2022
Last weekend Spitfire assembled for the 141st Sudbury regatta, arriving in sunny Suffolk for a weekend of exciting races. We arrived in style sporting the latest club merchandise and managed to pull together the largest number of Spitfire crews and club members of any event we’ve attended so far! The weekend marked the maiden voyage of our new (and first) Spitfire trailer, carrying as many boats and gear as possible for the 12 events (and potentially 22 races!) we had in store. Faces were beaming from ear to ear and our team was happy and eager for the races and quality weekend to commence!
A large highlight of the event for us was the composite Open 8+ we shared with Huntington Boat Club and Thames Rowing Club. Huntington were kind enough to allow us to use their beautiful 8+ in both the composite crew in Wave 1 and our own Spitfire “Super 8” crew at the end of the day in Wave 3. Wave 2 of the Regatta was also packed with Spitfire members competing in both singles and doubles events, with Luke Towner, Sarah Fry and Mark Latymer (In his own boat “Panda-monium“) performing fantastically during their races. A huge congratulations to Manny and Tsvetelina for winning the Mixed Masters A doubles event and taking home two shiny silver tankards!
This year at Sudbury also marked the first race of our first full Women’s Quad! Made up of club members Sarah, Krista, Tsvetelina, and Jess, a brand new crew who had trained incredibly hard for their races these last few weeks and we’re all incredibly proud of their great performance at Sudbury this year!
Continuing this trend of firsts, our club entered their very first full Mixed 8+ at a regatta, courtesy of our friends at Huntingdon Boat Club who have lent us not just their boat but their experienced coxswain, Alice. We might have not made it past the semi-finals, but it was a lovely experience of fast-paced racing for all involved – well done to Sarah T, Michele, Mark B, Mark L, Luke, Manny, Sarah F and Krista!
A massive thank you to Lea Rowing Club for allowing us to borrow their club member Daniil to cox our Mixed Novice Quad. With his experience and further positivity, drive, and enthusiasm of crew and the like our members Anneka, Amy, Jon, and George, were able to win their semi-finals race and advance through to the finals of their event. It was a special moment for our club from Plucks Gutter. It was the very first race for Anneka and Amy, who performed spectacularly, and everyone at the club is incredibly proud of them. We hope to see many more fantastic races from them and the rest of our crews in the future.
The Regatta was certainly one to remember for years to come. Featuring fantastic views of both the surrounding Stour River and beautiful night sky. Spitfire took the opportunity to pitch our tents and have a two-night camp right on the banks of the river! With food, drinks, and music aplenty we enjoyed a great communal experience for the club and its members and are sure to repeat it again!
