Arklow fly the flag
Silver medal just one of the highs from busy weekend
IT was another busy weekend last weekend as members from Arklow Rowing Club hit the road yet again. This time it was to Portmagee, Co. Kerry, where the Rowing Ireland Offshore Rowing Championships were being held.
This was attended by clubs from counties Antrim, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Wexford and Wicklow. With all other national rowing events cancelled this year due to Covid-19, everyone was grateful that this event was able to be held while also following Government and Public Health Guidelines.
This event ran over two days, the Saturday comprised of heats for the men’s and women’s single as well as the men’s double and quad where the first five of each heat progressed to the finals which were held on Sunday.
The finals of the women’s double and quad and mixed double were also held on the Saturday.
Arklow Rowing Club had crews competing in all seven categories that were run over the weekend, with the first ever men’s quad crew to be fielded by the co. Wicklow club this year.
It was a great show for Arklow crews despite the disruption to training this year. All competitors had to navigate a challenging 4km course.
The Arklow men’s crews did very well over the weekend with everyone progressing to their finals on the Sunday. Cormac Kelly was out in the men’s single against a strong field of rowers and finished in fourth place, just missing out a podium finish.
Cormac had a quick turnaround as he coxed the men’s quad, made up of Sean O’Leary, Adam Shanley, Adam Neill and Gavin Walker, shortly after his race, leading them to an eighth-place finish. This was a strong finish for this crew who are the club’s Junior quad crew and was a great experience and result against a very strong and experienced field of rowers.
Adam Shanley and Adam Neill had a busy weekend as they also competed in the men’s double who also finished eighth in their final.
The women’s crews also pulled in great performances during the weekend. In the women’s single, four crews were fielded, with three making the finals.
Síonna Healy had podium finish, crossing the line in third in a tough race which included Irish International rower and former world champion in this category, Monika Dukarska who represented Killorglin Rowing Club at the event and came first.
Xena Jordan and Mary Ann Kent also had strong performances, coming fourth and eighth, respectively. Jeanne O’Gorman came sicth in her heat, just missing out on a spot in the final.
The women’s double and quad were run in straight finals on the
Saturday. Tilly Jordan and Debbie Reid had a strong performance in their category, finishing ninth.
The women’s quad which comprised of Mary Ann Kent, Tilly Jordan, Patricia Doyle and Debbie Reid, coxed by Xena Jordan came in at a close seventh place.
The mixed double also had a podium finish over the weekend, with Cormac Kelly and Síonna Healy coming second, bringing home a silver medal.
The club members who attended would like to thank Eamonn Kavanagh and Jason Reid who assisted the crews over the two days with boat handling.
The club would also like to thank the parents who brought Junior members across the country yet again to compete in these
events.
All their members are eager to get back to training to start preparation for next year’s season.
The club also reached a major milestone over the week, with the club celebrating 30 years in action.
The club began with a borrowed boat from Greystones Rowing Club in 1990 and has since grown to the current fleet of three traditional wooden East Coast skiffs, a Cornish pilot gig, both of which were handcrafted by Arklow’s very own Peter Kavanagh, two Celtic long boats, two offshore quads, four offshore doubles, two offshore singles, a club safety boat as well as a fully functional gym with a variety of weights and ergs.
It all started with the wooden skiffs, competing in east coast
skiffs regattas all along the east coast, as far as Skerries to Ringsend and down as far as Wicklow, with Arklow holding their fair share as well. The pilot gig has been brought to the Isles of Scilly on a number of occasions to compete in the World Championships for this particular boat.
The club has competed in its fair share of Celtic Challenges, which is an overnight race from Arklow to Aberystwyth, where Arklow men’s crews have finished as overall winners twice and Arklow women’s crews have won in their category on four occasions as well as being the only women’s crew to finish first across the finishing line in Aberystwyth.
Arklow also competed in the All Ireland One Design across the
country but have recently sold these to invest in offshore rowing. Another major achievement of the club was when members and founding members Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh competed in the first ever trans-Atlantic rowing race in 1997 which was a grueling challenge that began in Tenerife and concluded in Barbados.
In recent years, Arklow has started to concentrate on the offshore rowing, being one of the first clubs in Ireland to have these boats. Members have travelled all around the country, and world, having competed in Montpellier, Mandelieu-Cannes, San Remo, Plymouth, Bari, Thessalonica, Helsingborg, Lima, Monaco, Lake Geneva, Canada and Hong Kong at World Championships.
The rowing club has also had great success over the years and Irish Offshore Rowing Championships and have held the event twice. The future is bright for the club as there are many up and coming Junior members coming down the line. While they might not be able to celebrate this milestone together this year as a club, they look forward to the celebrations when they can again.
If you are interested in learning how to row, whether it is to get fit, meet new people or to get involved in all the exciting things Arklow Rowing Club get up to throughout the year, don’t hesitate to call down to the clubhouse where club members train every Sunday at 9.30 a.m. or contact their Facebook page and get in on all the action.