Erne HOR 2010

On Saturday crews gathered to take on the gruelling 7k Erne Head course. Conditions on the day were calm, with crews having to battle only a light head-wind. The 53rd Head had 10 fewer boats competing compared to last year, with the notable absence of UCD and NUIG men. Despite this, a great days racing ensued with very aggressive tactics from the off-set.

Queen’s men’s senior VIII led the field and gained exactly one minute over second placed Queen’s ‘B’ crew. The ‘A’ crew won in a time of 20:19. This was the first Queen’s one-two in many years, and the second on the trot for the club. The novice men’s VIII won their category convincingly, although they were presented with little competition as Carlow finished almost 4 minutes behind. The novices will face stiffer competition in Dublin next week, so they must build on this performance. Bann men’s junior 18 VIII were once again a stand-out crew, finishing fifth overall, beating Neptune and DUBC intermediate eights in a time of 21:38.

The novice ladies continued their form with a solid row to win their category in a time of 25:05. This time equalled that of NUIG senior ladies, a good measure of their performance. However, Portora women’s junior 18 were the fastest ladies crew of the day, beating the novice ladies by 3 seconds on home-water. The ladies ‘B’ crew finished in a time of 28:17.

The Queen’s crews’ thoughts are still with Donall Murphy’s family and we hope Saturday’s performance will pay small tribute to all that Donall gave the club; a Queen’s man through and through.

Queen’s novices will take part in Dublin HOR (20TH March). The men’s senior crews will now aim towards HORR with 400 eights taking to the water on March 27th. Queen’s A start 16th in the order, with Queen’s B starting 82nd. Queen’s hope to build on last year’s performance but will face tough opposition in the shape of Durham, Imperial, Oxford Brookes, Reading and the like. Hope to see you all there.