Seine boat race was fitting feature of Portmagee regatta

THE annual Portmagee regatta went ahead on sunday in glorious sunshine. A huge crowd attended and the long bridge and waterfront allowed the spectators to enjoy the racing while socially distancing.

The racing was ultra competitive with no quarter asked or given on the course while off the water, the banter and camaraderie between the clubs and crews made it a special day. The day kicked off with the senior men. Callinafercy dominated with their two crews coming first and second in a tight finish. The host club won a tough race to the finish line in the U-12 mixed and then won the U-16 girls with inches to spare in a three-way battle.

Callinafercy struck again in the U-14 mixed race with a commanding performance and Sive then edged a tight battle in the minor boys with a very stylish display of rowing. This race was for the Gearoid Coakley memorial cup, a young man who rowed and won many a race for the Portmagee and Sive rowing clubs. Portmagee took the U-18 girls race with a powerful performance and continued with another fine win in the U-14 girls race.

The senior ladies next had a lot of entries, but the powerful Sive crew again romped home to a commanding win. The U-16 boys race was won by Callinafercy.

The feature race of the day was the seine boat. A crew from Kilmacsimon came down to take on a Kerry crew in a challenge. While both crews had rowed in the 4-oar, no one had trained all year in the seine boats and the Cork lads had about 30 minutes to figure it out before the race started. They didn’t take very long to get the hang of it and had a length of a lead at the first rounding. They extended the lead on the way home and rowed under the bridge to victory accompanied by the roars of the cheering crowd.

There is great credit due to these men to accept the challenge and they were steered by Kieran Cap Murphy, son of the legendary oarsman and seine boat captain, the late John ‘Cap’ Murphy. The Cork lads also had Maurice Fitzgerald on board and Murphy from Sneem and young Brendan Kelly from Renard. The cup was presented to the winning crew by DJ O’Driscoll, another great oarsman from the great Cnuicin crews of the late eighties.

The next race was the U-21 girls which was won by Portmagee with Callinafercy piling on the pressure all around the course.

The last race was the family race and it was another brilliant success. A tight race to the rounding followed by all crews trying to navigate around and gain the advantage. It was very close on the way home with the Husseys in the Portmagee boat just about holding off the Fitzgeralds of Caherciveen. All in all, a brilliant success and such enjoyment for everyone in our traditional sport.

The action continues next week in Caherciveen next sunday and we are all looking forward to another great day of racing. The first race is at 12.30 and we wish the Caherciveen club the best of luck with their big day.

RESULTS

Senior men: 1st Callinafercy, 2nd Callinafercy, 3rd Cahersiveen, 4th Por tmagee

U-12 mixed: 1st Por tmagee, 2nd Sive, 3rd Callinafercy

U-16 Girls: 1st Por tmagee, 2nd Sive

U-14 Mixed: 1st Callinafercy

U-18 boys: 1st Sive, 2nd Cahersiveen U-18 girls: 1st Por tmagee, 2nd Callinafercy U-14 girls: 1st Por tmagee

Senior ladies: 1st Sive, 2nd Callinafercy U-16 Boys: 1st Callinafercy

Seine Boat: 1st Kilmacsimon, 2nd Por tmagee U-21 Girls: 1st Por tmagee, 2nd Callinafercy, 3rd Sive

Family Race: 1st Husseys (Por tmagee), 2nd Cathy Fitzgerald (Sive), 3rd Julie Murphy (Sive)

Some young rowers who competed in the Portmagee regatta last weekend