Vesta Rowing Club » blackstaffe

Blackstaffe Club Regatta 2011

Aga — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:48:54 +0000

On Saturday 20th August Vesta held its annual club regatta, with all members welcomed to join in the fun. With a good crowd of supporters on the Vesta balcony the club took to the Tideway in mixed scratch eights and the hotly contested mixed double sculls (AKA the love doubles).

Racing from the Black Buoy to Putney Pier (a whopping, lung-burning 500 metres!), the crews showed an awesome display of brute strength and unstoppable competition. It was a really good turn out with four mixed eights and eight double sculls. Plus an entourage of umpires and organisers.

Winning the mixed eights in Derek the White (yes it does still float), coxed by Ro, from bow, Sarah, Sarah, Stewart, Sabine, Si, Sam, Cheryl and Luke. Competition was fierce in the doubles, but Harry and Ailsa, the Bond and the Blonde, despite not being on top form (again), narrowly defeated, Kitty and Richard (I won’t say what their crew was called). Both crews were awarded smart, shiny, VRC pots, which were christened later on in the evening.

We welcomed a photographer from English Heritage, who was introduced to the Vesta spirit and bar. Everyone enjoyed the fabulous BBQ put on by Dick, ably assisted by Annette and others. A big thank you to them, the organisers, umpires, bar staff and spectators. We look for to the 2012 showdown (which will be in the middle of the Olympics, so we may well be men down).

By Aga and Cheryl

Blackstaffe Day 2009

Gaby — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:43:43 +0000

There was a particularly competitive scent in the air this Blackstaffe Day, with last year’s winners of the mixed doubles event being granted special permission to defend their title. A number of love boats fancied their chances against the reigning champions and by popular demand the rule preventing previous winning crews from entering in subsequent years was lifted. Harry and Charlie showed no signs of giving in (did they even break a sweat?) and cruised to victory in the final against Kitty and Nick Ireland.

The mixed eights event saw a controversial win for the crew of six men and two women over three evenly matched crews. But as Caster Semenya has proved, gender is just something that’s written on your birth certificate. The focus then turned to boat-naming, where Trevor finally named four of the fleet of launches he has kindly purchased for the club over the years. Formerly affectionately known as 199, 299 and so on, they were baptised with a splash of champagne and dedicated to longstanding deceased Vesta members.

And so the fleet was named:

The celebration continued well into the night with the senior women’s long-awaited 90s party, featuring guest appearances from Ab Fab, Where’s Wally, Baywatch, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pulp Fiction, The Matrix… all fuelled by copious amounts of Archers, blue WKDs and Bacardi Breezers. But it was all too much for some.