Fun, Fine Food, Fire (and Five Medals) at Frostbite
A posse of 21 Eskmuthe rowers ventured south to secure five gold medals in a fun-filled “Frostbite Regatta.”
The event, hosted by Alnmouth Community Rowing on the Northumberland coast, saw a range of races in a harbour and river designed to test the strength and skill of both rowers and coxes.
With gusty and chilly conditions, racing got underway early as the tide was still coming in (very fast!) which resulted in some boats in the first sprint race being stranded on sandbars. The Eskmuthe crew got over the line ahead of the hosts before being stranded themselves after a crew change.
After two brave Eskmuthers (purple-legged Josh and Milk Tray man Damian) waded out to help the stranded boats, racing got underway with a fourth place for the club in the 160+ sprint.
Golds followed for Eskmuthe crews in the 1,200m pursuit race and the 3k time trial, with the 3k crew finishing a minute ahead of their nearest rivals in a race that involved several turns and going through (and back through) a low bridge.
A silver for the 2k Open Women was followed up by a gold for the 2k Open Men. Three of the winning crew’s ages (Adam, Logan and Leo, aged 17, 18 & 19) added up to 54, the age of the 4th crew member, Damian!)
In the final race of the day, the Candlelight Sprint, crews not only had to race, but keep a burning candle alight for the duration of the row.
Eskmuthe pipped the hosts Alnmouth across the line by less than a second to earn another medal, but neither club kept their candle alight. This left third-placed crew, Queensferry, to claim victory as the only club to keep their candle lit.
After the races, all crews were welcomed to Alnmouth’s Boatshed in a Victorian lifeboat house for soup, chowder, delicious cake and a nip of whisky while medals were given out around firepits.
Thanks so much to Alnmouth for a brilliant day and their fabulous hospitality - and to all the rowers from Alnmouth, Queensferry and Newhaven for a great day of racing and friendship.
