| Great River Race. Saturday 17th September 2011 |
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This year Wisemans
Bridge entered two teams for the highlight of the racing year, the
Great River Race, 22 miles of gruelling rowing from the Isle of Dogs
to Ham on the river Thames. The ladies team consisted of Cleo, Helen
Jenks, Tina, Sparker, Sian and Elen who had spent much of the season
rowing together honing their technique and style. The gents, Phil
T, John, Simo, Neil, Brent and Mark had struggled to get together
during the season and were aware that the ladies could prove a real
threat to their pride and cross the line before them. Added to their
lack of race practice, half the men had gone down with heavy colds
and Mark was jet lagged with no idea of where he was most of the time.
Meeting up Friday evening after dropping the boats off at the start
line, everyone headed into Richmond where they enjoyed an Italian
meal before the girls headed off to the hotel for an early night.
The men decided that they should sort out some race tactics and retired
to the nearest pub.
Bright and early the next morning the teams were on their way to meet
their fate. On arrival at the Isle of Dogs, the teams were busy sizing
up the opposition, several of which were dressed in sporty one piece
rowing kit in sharp contrast to the Wisemans’ day-glow headbands
and leggings. More worrying, they huddled in groups scowling with
concentration as they discussed tactics. The Wisemans teams passed
around some flat Fanta and the smokers had a last fag before launching
the boats.
With so many other boats on the water it was a frantic start to the
race, but both boats managed to steer clear of any serious trouble.
With a clear start, it was not long before the two teams started to
cut through the field, the boys boat slightly ahead of the ladies.
After a few miles the river cut up rough around Tower Bridge, and
to add to this the head wind picked up and the heavens opened. Both
boats were taking water over the bow soaking everyone and almost swamping
the mens boat, who never did manage to bail out all the offending
water.
Once clear of the choppy water both crews got into a good rhythm,
only broken by the planned changes of crew as the teams alternated
between rowing, coxing and being passenger. With several other Celtic
Longboats in contention, neither crew could afford to slacken the
pace and managed to overtake some very strong teams and maintain their
position. Both teams used every ounce of energy putting in very strong
finishes, the men just failing to take another scalp at the finish
line.
Both boats had survived several clashes with the opposition during
the race without serious damage, however there was a mixture of bodily
fluids in the bilges of both boats which is probably best to try and
forget about. At the end of the race both crews were truly exhausted,
but their efforts reflected in the fantastic finishing times:
Men 2hr 36 mins giving them seventh place in the Mens Celtic Longboat
class .
Ladies 2hr 41 mins which won them second place in the Ladies Celtic
Longboat class and third place in the overall Ladies race.
Once the boats were safely out of the water, the teams headed back
to the hotel. After showering and treating their blisters, everyone
re-boarded ‘Beryl the Funky Fun Bus’ and headed down to
the post-race party and did what Wisemans do best!
As always there was a lot to organise to take part in an event like
this, a big thanks to John and Neil for towing the boats, Helen for
filling in all the forms and booking the hotel, Cleo who seems to
do all the jobs everyone else forgets and Simon for fitting the new
trailer bearings. Also thanks to the familiar faces in the crowd,
our cheerleaders Sandra, Dawn, Glen, Natalie and Amy . |
| Cardigan Mermaid Race - 27th August 2011 |
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The Wiseman’s crew held onto their 1st ladies position winning
£150 towards the ‘Save Our Quad’ fund, and a lovely
wooden trophy in the shape of an oar.
Time : - 58.52
Overall position, 5th.
Crew:
Cox – Annie
Stroke – Wilson
No. 2 – Gog
No. 3 – Sparker
Bow – Jones. |
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On Saturday 27th August
2011 a confident ladies team ventured north of Pembrokeshire in
a quest for trophies and cash.
The ladies had a race plan which would ensure they’d
return home to Wiseman’s adorned with rowing crowns and pockets
heavy with coins – the plan consisted of:
1. Wear matching kit including teal 1980’s
sweat bands – in the hope that this would unnerve the opposition
– as only sporting gods wear such technical head gear.
2. Neck as many pain killers and energy gells as physically possible
prior the race.
After the calamity that was Llangwm – the
ladies made sure that they left Wiseman’s Bridge in plenty
of time for registration. However they needn’t have worried
as apparently Cardigan have worse timekeeping than Simon!
The ladies rocked up as registration opened and
believe it or not were the first boat to register, leaving them
enough time to fuel up with cake and caffeine at one of the quay
side caffees. Annie did the team proud downing shots of double espresso
– apparently it helps her nail the buoy turns.
The ladies ventured back for the Cox’s briefing
- which was an hour late Wisely the ladies used this time to their
advantage, checking out the opposition and their kit.
At 17:00hrs (with help from Llangranog boys ;))
the ladies launched the boat. There were 12 boats in total, and
due to a 5 arch bridge at the beginning, it was a staggered start
based on handicap. As the ladies were the least handicapped they
got to go off first, with the only other ladies team, NewQuay.
Due to rough seas the race was cut short from 11
to 7 miles. Undeterred by what was to come, the ladies lined up
eager to burst into life at the sound of the horn, only to have
the race start delayed again due to a blockage downstream……
At 17:40hrs the horn sounded and the Wisebird’s
were off. NewQuay took the lead for a short period of time, but
the girls soon got into their groove and after the 5 arch bridge,
which challenged Annie’s coxing, took back the lead, leaving
their opponents behind.
The 3 mile row down the river to Poppitt Sands was
tough, the tide and wind were both against the ladies. Despite the
challenging conditions the ladies held their position, but for the
majority of the row out to sea NewQuay were in the crew’s
sights driving them on.
Annie did a sterling job of coxing her crew through
the network of buoys and moored boats. Her best feat was navigating
the team through the horrendous sea conditions, and tackling a turn
around a make shift buoy (a rib) – the original buoy had been
blown away, consequently making the race a mile shorter. Gog only
just managed to avoid knocking one of the rib’s passenger’s
off his craft with her finest Chinese oar ;).
Pulling away after the rib turn was like rowing
through treacle, but the strong wind and tide quickly pushed the
ladies back into the mouth of the river where the wind and tide
swung in their favour. NewQuay ladies no longer became a threat
as they vanished out of sight, but the crew kept the pressure on
in response to Annie’s echoing order that no boats would pass
Oarsome.
Cardigan quay side was bouncing as the proud Wiseman’s
crew crossed the finish line. There to meet the girls was live commentary
and the infamous Parker whistling chorus.
The Wiseman’s crew held onto their 1st ladies
position winning £150 towards the ‘Save Our Quad’
fund, and a lovely wooden trophy in the shape of an oar.
A few people deserve a special thank you, namely:
Annie for coxing.
Chris for towing.
Peter & Sue Paker for whoop whooping!!
Last but not least – Cardigan Quay’s
Festival for putting on a epic race!!!
www.mermaidrace.co.uk
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| Wisemans bring home the silverware…..Again!
(August 20th 2011) |
Saturday 20th August was a big day for the mixed team competing
in the Milford Marathon row, a distance of 22 miles from Haverfordwest
to Dale. With the wet and windy weather promising a hard race, the
team under the Captaincy of Cleo set off at a steady pace while
several other teams pulled ahead. After the first few miles the
wind against tide was producing choppy, difficult conditions and
the Wisemans team soon started overtaking other boats.
As the rules of the race require a passenger, the team made some
smooth change-overs allowing the rowing duties to be shared and
a good pace maintained throughout the race.
The last stages were hard rowing with a large swell on the beam
of the boat in addition to the choppy seas, but with one last
crew change the team scented home putting in a strong finish.
Last year the club won the mixed title, but it wasn’t until
the team arrived ashore that they realised that they had finished
3rd in the overall race and retained the mixed trophy. Having
fished out the dog ends and toffee wrappers, the winner’s
cup was soon put to good use as the wet and tired team shared
a bottle of bubbly kindly donated by Marja.
The team were: Cleo, Sarah, Helen, Jon, Neil and Mark.
The following day the club hoped to field a ladies team in the
Dale Three Forts race, unfortunately they were one short to make
up the numbers and had to borrow a male rower from another club
and became a mixed team.
The Wisemansbridge boat was quickly off the start line and at
the front of the pack heading out of the bay. However despite
the best efforts of the team in difficult sea conditions, their
early strong showing ebbed away during the race and they finished
towards the end of the field.
The ladies would like to thank Julian from Dale who stepped into
the breach and enabled them to race.
The team were: Cox Dawn, Stroke Bryony with Marja and Sian. Julian
from Dale as guest rower.
Thanks to Peter Parker for towing the boat to Haverford and Neil
for towing the boat home.
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| Dale Marathon (August 20th 2011) |
Crew - Sarah, Neil, Cleo, John, Mark, Helen
The weather conditions were less than ideal as the 6 man crew prepared
for the 22 mile race from haverfordwest to dale. Cox (Cleo) and
passenger (John) were fully kitted out in wet weather gear as the
team set off on the first leg of their journey. The wind was kind
to them though and they made good progress down the river until
they approached Llangwn were they were met with howling gales blowing
up stream. Condtions were tough and although stroke (Sarah) resorted
to rowing with her eyes closed, the team remained strong, gaining
ground on other boats struggling in the chop.
After Llangwm it was time for the first change around which gave
Sarah a well earned rest in the cox seat while Mark did some excellent
back seat coxing from the passeneger seat. past neyland and the
2 person coxing effort went slightly off course though, causing
the over-tired neil to have a minor tantrum in the middle of the
boat! no severe damage was done and the team were soon back on track,
seeing off their closest rivals, Dale.
Neil soon got his turn in the coxing seat and Helen a chance to
eat some banana cake at the back of the boat. As the team hit the
open seas for the final leg, they were greeted with a side on 2m
swell of the kind rarely experienced when rowing at Wiseman's! although
slightly fearful for their lives, they pulled together and kept
the foucs right to the end, finsihing 3rd overall and the fastest
mixed team with a time of 3h 36m. It was an excellent effort by
all involved and a big thanks goes to all our supporters (human
and canine) and especially to Sarah's parents for towing the boat.
The club's second trophy of the season stands proud in the pub!
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| Ramsey Island Race. 7.5 miles (Saturday 30th
July 2011) |
27 boats in total.
Ladies Team. Time – 1.17.38 – FIRST!!
Cox – Dawn
Stroke – Cleo
3 – Elen
2 – Sarah
Bow – Annie
The ladies were feeling fit and after consuming their own body
weight in pasta (which in stroke’s case, nearly made a re-appearance
after 5 minutes of rowing) set off at a strong pace. As they reached
the island they managed to shake off the rest of the ladies boats
and got to work on the mixed and mens crews. After picking off
another crew or two, they had an exciting time navigating ‘the
bitches’ but with Dawn in the cox seat, came to no mishap
and carried on. Rowing around the far side of the island there
was time to take a couple more crews on before setting off at
a cracking pace for home.
The ladies had a fantastic race and only required one trip to
hospital (Annie) and one physio appointment (Sarah) in the days
following, although Elen was reported to be seen hobbling around
the office on Monday. But the main thing was – they won!!
Their (slightly wonky) winning tropghy is standing proud in the
club house (pub) sp well done to them all.
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Ramsey – Mens Team. Time – 1.12.23. 5th place
Cox – Phil (as brilliant as ever)
Stroke – John the machine
2 – Angry Neil (trying to snap an oar)
3 – Brent – our secret outboard
Bow – Simon – best number 4 in the race.
Weather – Cloudy with sunny spells, with fantastic
scenery and blue sea.
Report lodged in by Phil Thomas.
Start of race we stayed out to the starboard
side of the race line to get a good start and after the first 10
minutes, with a few boats over-taking us, we got to St John’s
point in about 13th place, rowing against wind and tide. While going
up through Ramsey sound we started picking off the boats who dared
to over-take us in the earlier part of the race. Getting to the
far side of the island and through the narrow gap that marks the
half way point we then had the wind and tide on our side. The WMB
men’s team pushed hard to gain position and had to row hard
to hold our position, with Cornish gig Ralph Bird pushing us hard
all the way. On rounding the north of the island it was an out and
out dash for the beach 2.5 miles away. There was a cross tide and
choppy sea but still the Bridge men dug in and all the training
that had been done was paying dividends.
Again the Ralph Bird pushed us but we responded and held them off,
crossing the line in 10th place after 1.12.23 in one of the best
races we’ve entered, and only 2 minutes behind the winning
celtic long boat rowed by our good friend Llanion.
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| Return of the Cleddau (May 14th 2011) |
Team
Cox Bryony
Stroke Cleo
2 Neil
3 John
Bow Annie
With John having only a months worth of rowing under his belt
and bryony coxing her first race, it was a relatively inexperienced
yet keen crew that arrived in haverfordwest ready for their first
race of the season. The team got a good start and after only a
minor collision with the first bridge, settled into their pace.
Conditions were mixed going down the river until the team reached
the Cleddau Bridge where they became near (but not quite!) impossible.
The team gritted their teeth and pulled through the choppy seas
until they finally reached the finish line at neyland. Finsihing
towards the back of the field, the team were just pleased to finsh
at all! It was an excellent effort by all involved and a reminder
of the value of fitness training!
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| Cardigan 11 miles (Saturday August 21st
2010) |
The Cardigan race is a hard 11 mile row, made more difficult as
much of the time the boats are fighting against the tide and difficult
sea conditions. Not unusually for Wisemans, a scratch team was put
together consisting of Bev (Cox) Richard (Stroke), Phil T, Cleo
and Mark. Under the rules this counted as a mens team, which together
with the handicapping meant they were in the last batch of boats
to cross the startline.
Starting in the town centre, the large crowds were entertained by
a fair amount of ‘argy bargy’ as the boats started the
race. Unfortunately for the team, they seemed to come off second
best and found themselves second from last as the race got underway
down the river. Struggling to find any decent rhythm Bev had her
work cut out keeping the team together, then there was a brush with
a moored motor boat which seemed to sober the team up and they started
to pull together at a reasonable pace. The tactics (yes we had some!)
were to set a steady pace down the river and out to the island,
then to ‘up the pace‘ once around the Island and make
a final push when the boat was back in the river.
Clear of the river the sea conditions were a bit choppy making the
row around the island hard work, but spirits were soon lifted as
Cleo’s mum and dad appeared in a fishing boat they had hitched
a lift in to take photos and cheer the team along. Once around the
island Bev had other boats in her sights and pushed the rowers to
overtake one at the mouth of the river, then skilfully dodging moored
boats and buoys pulled passed a second boat in the river. The last
couple of miles in were a hard slog and everyone relieved to pass
the finishing line in about 1hour 40 minutes.
As usual, Bev did a great job getting the best out of a motley bunch,
Richard in his last race before heading abroad for a year put in
his usual strong performance forcing the rest of the team to follow
suit.
Thanks to Simo for support and towing duties, despite the dodgy
curry the night before!
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| Wisemans Bring Back Trophy |
| Saturday July 31st 2010 Wisemans Bring
Back Trophy |
The Wiseman’s Bridge Rowing Crew were :- Phil Thomas, Cleo
Wilson, Simon Collings, Sandra Ayris, Richard Hall and Elen Jones.
A big thank you to all club members who came to support us and help
with the boat!
On Saturday July 31st a gaggle of eight Celtic Long Boats competed
in the first Haverfordwest to Dale Rowing Race, 22 Miles of river
and sea rowing. Teams set off at 10:30am from the Bristol Trader
after a pre race bacon buttie.
The first 10 miles of the race made for easy rowing down the
river with the tide. Wiseman’s Bridge played the conditions
to their advantage and passed two boats taking them into third
position. Challenging sea conditions faced the crew after the
Cleddau Bridge but this didn’t stop them passing Neyland
RC, placing them in second position. Feeling confident the Wiseman’s
Bridge crew set about closing down the gap between them and the
leading boat, Llanion RC Men’s crew. The remaining four
miles of the race were a battle, but Wiseman’s remained
strong keeping the pressure on finishing with a two mile sprint
into the bay, crossing the line minutes behind Llanion. Wiseman’s
Bridge won the Mixed Team event, and take home their first trophy
which will be displayed in their ‘club house’ The
Wiseman’s Bridge Inn.
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18th July 2010 – Llangwm Black Tar
Men’s Team – The Knot So Wisemen
Cox – Bev (I don’t mind whose boat I go in)
Stroke – Richie H
Crew – Philly T – Simo – Marky Mark
Wisemans managed to convince 2 new male members to row for the Men’s
Race from Black Tar down to Benton Castle and back. Weather conditions
were poor with very strong S/W wind and intermittent showers. None
of us had rowed together before which seems to be a set standard
for any Wisemans Bridge Crew. The outward leg proved hard going
against the wind but the Wisemen held a mid pack position and with
Bev picking her lines around the buoys, the trailing boats were
kept at bay! So with Richard (24 non smoker) at stroke determined
that no other boats would pass even if it killed the rest of us,
and Bev Screaming “10 more hard” and “PYC must
not Pass” I’m sure we all wished Foxy Coxy Dawn Freebury
was at the helm instead!
Finishing in 6th place (we think?) and time to be confirmed, we
were pleased with the effort and result.
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18th July 2010 – Llangwm Black Tar
Ladies Team – The Wisebirds
Cox – Philly T
Stroke – Eli G
Crew – Bev – Dawny – Bryony
Yet another experimental ladies team, with the young Elen stroking
her first race and the tide had turned resulting in a choppy river
surface and a energy draining wind.
A big effort was required by all on board and the ladies crossed
the line at the back end of the field.
Well Done.
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18th July 2010 – Llangwm Black Tar
Mixed Team
Cox – Bev
Stroke – Dawny
Crew – Rich – George – Bryony
The Sadomasochist within the club wished to go back out on the water
for one last splash so with the kind help of George from Llanion
Warriors the guys once again went out. (Unsure what place they came
as we were in the beer tent by this time!) But well done to all
– And thanks to Sian and Mark for towing the boat and spraying
their van the same colour as the club boat Ready Oar Knot (Yellow)!
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June 20th 2010 – Fishguard
Cox – Dawny Freebury
Stroke – Tina G
Elen J
Bev
Helen J
A warm but windy day for an experimental ladies team,
for which it was Tina`s first race for a few years, but her experience
at stroke proved invaluable and for Helen it was her first race
ever and never stopped smiling (even when told by Dawn she would
not have time to eat her jelly babies on the way round!). For Bev
it was her first race for the club since defecting to the Bridge
from PYC, and young Jones pulled hard in the Engine room.
The race had to be shortened to 3 ½ miles due to an ever
increasing wind, but with Foxy `Coxy` Freebury at the helm, the
ladies were in for a baptism of fire, and guaranteed respectable
finish.
From a field of 11 boats the `Wise Birds` came 5th
close on the heels of 3rd and 4th place.
An excellent result, well done all …
And remember don’t leave pillows in the boat
when driving along the A40 at 60mph ? ! more photos on the gallery
page.
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May 22nd 2010 – Return of the Cleddau
Cox – Elen Jones
Stroke – Sandra A
Philly T
Simo C
Bryone J
A hot day to do the first race of the season, with
minimal training so expectations were low, we were anticipating
a 2 hour + finish and just hoping not to come last!!
The crew consisted of mixed sexes and mixed experience as some had
never raced together before.
So, 1hour 54 minutes later and some severe blistering to hands (Remember
gloves next time Simo) Wisemans Bridge crossed finish line.
This result gave Wisemans a 2nd place finish in the
Mixed field which consisted of 8 boats.
Congratulations all … ( Imagine if we had trained
? ) more photos on the gallery page.
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