Jim Farrell wins his first race for 15 years
This year’s St Neots Rowing Club Small Boats Head attracted 350 competitors from 11 rowing clubs, competing in 39 categories.
St Neots Rowing Club’s newest member, Jim Farrell, entered his first race for 15 years – and won!
Jim (60) joined the club in August, after spending the past few years living overseas. A regular rower in his younger days, he hadn’t held an oar for 13 years and hadn’t competed since 2001, but that didn’t stop him winning the Masters D/F single sculls category at St Neots Rowing Club’s Small Boats Head.
Jim was the home club’s only winner at this year’s event, which attracted 350 competitors from 11 rowing clubs, competing in 39 categories. They all had to complete the same 2.6-kilometre course in the shortest time possible, although a tricky headwind and gusty conditions made life difficult for many of them.
Nottingham and Union Rowing Club won the Harry Evans Memorial Trophy for the most category wins (12), beating Bedford Modern School by just one. However rowers from Bedford Modern School won all three pennants for the day’s fastest times: Alex Ventisei (fastest male single sculler, 10 mins 30 secs); Nathalie Graham (fastest female single sculler, 12 mins 1 sec); and fastest time overall (8 mins 55 secs) set by the school’s J18 coxless quadruple scull crew.
“Well done to Jim and everyone who took part,” said Josh Dexter, who led the event’s organising committee. “Conditions were pretty tough for the competitors, with there being an awkward headwind for much of the day, but most crews did well to cope and posted some pretty fast times.”
St Neots winners
| Category | Crew and time |
| MasDF 1x | Jim Farrell, 11 mins 46 secs |
Other St Neots results
| Category | Crew and time |
| IM3 4+ | Trevor Rickwood, Bob Hetherington, Kieron Marriner, Karl Zwetsloot and Tash Holdaway (cox), 11 mins 4 secs |
| IM3 1x | Dom Chapman, 11mins 20secs |
| NOV 1x | Harry Beet, 11 mins 39 secs |
| WNOV 2x | Kat Harris and Jade Hellett, 11 mins 51 secs |
| WMasCE 2x | Alison Brown and Helen Knowles, 11 mins 58 secs |
| MasDF 1x | Stuart Williams, 12 mins |
| J16 2x | Dominic Holdaway and Alex Johnson, 12 mins 8 secs |
| J16 1x | Andrew Lawrence, 12 mins 30 secs |
| WJ15 1x | Etilly Pigg, 12 mins 33 secs |
| WMasDE 4+ | Alison Brown, Marlene Taylor, Corinne Henson, Sarah Davies and Deb Hellett (cox), 12 mins 54 secs |