Big wins for top crews at 2024 Masters Head
This year’s Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race saw 248 crews eights and quads race over the Championships course on Sunday, 24 March
Royal Chester/Kingston - teh fastest crew at the 2024 Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race. (Photo: Ben Rodford Photography.)
Royal Chester – who won the Jackson Trophy at the Head of the River Race on Saturday – are clearly on a roll. Their Open MasA eight (a composite with one Kingston member) was fastest overall yesterday, finishing in (17:33.4), a full 4.3 seconds ahead of second-placed Thames RC (17:37.7).
A composite MasB crew from City of Oxford/Falcon/Leander won Mixed eights, finishing 10th overall with a time of 18:38.0, and Upper Thames (MasA/B) had the fastest Women’s eight, which was 31st in a storming 19:13.7 – a hugely impressive 25.3 seconds ahead of the next boat in that event.
Newark/MAA – the fastest quad at the 2024 Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race. (Photo: Ben Rodford Photography.)
In the quads category, the fastest crew was actually Mixed (MasA) – a composite from Newark/Mortlake Aglian and Alpha, who came 23rd overall in 19:01.8, winning their event by a comfortable 12.6 seconds. London (MasC) won the Open quads (27th, 19:08.5), and Marlow (MasC) the Women’s quads (120th, 20:53.3).
A stiff tailwind for most of the course and favoured those with the technique to cope. The Port of London Authority ebb tide flag status had gone back up to yellow on the morning of the race, so times were quick times for the top crews in the late afternoon sunshine.
Sudbury RC won both Novice eights events. (Photo: Ben Rodford Photography.)
Overall, there were 29 events, although a few of these only attracted one entry. Quite a few other pennants were won by very substantial margins, of which the largest was Sudbury’s win in Women’s Novice Eights by 1 minute 3.7 seconds (170th, 21:48.3). Sudbury’s Open novice eight also won, finishing 52 seconds ahead in their event (67th, 20:05.2). A composite from Danube Sport/Guildford/Strathclyde Park/Stratford Avon/Upper Thames/Walton – who had won the Masters pennant at the Women’s Eghts Head comfortably – took the Women’s MasD eights by 51.3 seconds (61st, 19:59.0).
