Henley Dragons at Exeter Quayside.
(Photo courtesy of Penny Thompson)
Henley have always made a bit of a weekend of the racing in Exeter, and in 2007 it was no different. An advanced party of keen ramblers (some in the verbal sense [you know who you are] others in the activity sense) headed down to the South West on Friday evening, to take advantage of the Summer conditions forecast for Saturday and some hiking on Dartmoor. For the rest of the Henley clan, it was a staggered start in small convoys throughout Saturday, with everyone congregating at the rendez-vous camp site late afternoon.
After the assembly of a small tented village and the aquisition of some essential provisions (Pimms, strawberries etc), a fleet of cars headed out into the depths of Devon for a BBQ at The Wyatt Residence, 6 miles from the camp site. Most of the fleet arrived relatively quickly, with guests able to enjoy the ambience and surroundings of our hosts garden during daylight hours. One geographically challenged car however, spent 75 minutes driving up and down single track roads in the depth of the Devonshire countryside, trying to locate the gathering. In the absence of satnav technology, mobile signals and road names, watch compasses were used until the said car almost did a full circuit back to the camp site. In an act of desperation, one of the passengers flagged down a passing local and was surprised to learn that they didn't know of The Wyatt Residence. How could this be ? With some basic directions from the passer-by, we began lap 4 in the hope we might arrive at least some time before nightfall. Suffice to say, that the remaining car did eventually locate the BBQ before the coals expired. Special thanks should go out to Steve W for organising and hosting the BBQ and for putting on such a great spread.
Although only 20 minutes outside Exeter, Sunday saw another early start for Henley as adequate time was needed to pack away Camp Henleywood for another year. After a quick breakfast, the fleet headed to central Exeter for the infamous unloading of the boat challenge (a warm-up exercise of carrying the boat from the trailer to the water). Once on the water, the team headed for the quayside to set-up base camp for the day.
The usual shaded base camp for many of the teams - underneath the Transit Shed - was roped off for a jazz festival this year, so all participating teams had to line the banks of the quayside with a variety of tents and gazebos that are now familiar at BDA races.
No sooner had base camp been set-up, it was time to warm up for the first 200m race, competing against Typoon Tigers and Severn Warriors. After executing a flawless start, Henley challenged Typhoon Tigers down the length of the course, but were pipped to the post at the last minute by a fraction of a second. The race was hard and fast over such a short distance and the excitingly close finish had left our helms legs trembling with excitement.
A loss in the first race meant a trip through the repechage, but with an upbeat and motivated team we relished the challenge. Throughout the rest of the morning, the 200m heats continued and there was yet more exciting racing to come. In the 200m semi finals, we encoutered Typhoon Tigers again, and after the close race at the start of the day, Henley were even more determined to beat them. Despite another good start from Henley and some drives down the short course to challenge Typhoon, the Tigers pipped us to the finish line again - how frustrating.
Our semi-final result put us into the Minor Final against BA Hurricanes and Bristol Empire Dragons. Based on the timings of the 200m heats it was anyone's race. Excellent starts from all 3 crews saw some fast and furious racing and down the 200m stretch of water and at times it was difficult to call who would win. A well timed push by a strong BA crew saw them edge forward to secure first place, quickly followed by Bristol Empire Dragons and Henley.
After a quick break to take on some food and much needed fluids, the main event (500m races) was upon us. Imagine our surprise then, when in our first heat we were to race against Typhoon Tigers and Severn Warriers - haven't we been here before ? Would Typhoon be able to sustain their 200m performance over the longer course ? Would Henley be able to pull out that little bit extra ? On this occasion, sadly not. In an almost identical race to the first 200m race, Henley challenged Typhoon down the length of the course, but a drive in the last 50m by Typhoon saw them take the lead over the finish line. Disappointed, but not dispondent, Henley were faced with another set of repechage, this time for the 500m event.
More exciting races followed in the 500m repechage and semi-final, placing Henley in the Minor Final with Bristol Empire Dragons and yes, you guessed it - Typhoon Tigers. It was our last race and Henley prepared to pull out all the remaining stops. In what had to be our most exciting (and closet) race of the day, all three crews delivered flawless starts, racing down the narrow quay. As the finish line approached all three boats called for a drive to try and take the lead, but as we crossed the finish line, no one was quite sure who had secure which place. It wasn't long before the official times were announced confirming Typhoon Tigers in 1st place, Bristol Emprire Dragons in 2nd place and Henley in 3rd.
Although a little disappointed that we weren't able to beat Typhoon Tigers in at least one race during the day, the overall 6th position in the days event was a marked improvement on 10th place at the previous event in London.
