Henley dig deep to ensure season off to winning start at Caldecott Lake

HENLEY Dragons picked up two wins as the British Dragonboat Association (BDA) season got under way at Caldecott Lake, Milton Keynes, last weekend.

The morning races consisted of the 200m sprints. Crews were entered into the open or mixed categories — the mixed being 50/50 split men and women, and the open any combination. Henley entered a mixed crew for both the 200m and 470m distances.

Despite the challenging wind conditions, Henley secured first place in the first heat of the day. This seeded them well for the semi-final that followed, which Henley also made light work of, coming first.

The major final of the day for the 200m mixed consisted of Notts Anaconda, Henley, Typhoon and Kingston Dragons.

Racing in lane two, in the middle of the pack, Henley’s rapid race start got them off the line quickly, nestling into a fast, controlled and powerful rate. Henley surged ahead despite Notts Anaconda chasing behind.

Henley finished in a time of 49.56 seconds, with Notts Anaconda in 51.57 and Typhoon in 52.29. Ladies’ and men’s teams took to the lake at lunchtime, for their 14 paddler races, in addition to the youth teams with their races.

Henley’s debutant youth team paddler Kimberley Radford put in an impressive performance. Henley made a few tactical switches for the afternoon’s 470m races. Henley made it off the line in good form, held well by Ryan Hagan at the helm.

Through the 470m and semi-finals Henley shone, leading the way in every race. In the final Notts Anaconda were trying desperately to hang on to the coat-tails of Henley who kept ahead off the start where they finished a full boat length clear by the finish.

l HENLEY Dragons, in conjunction with the Pangbourne Rotary, were hosts for crews taking part in two dragonboat races last month where £6,000 was raised for charity.

Teams were formed from the Royal Berkshire Hospital Charitable Trust (RBH) (ICU, Emergency Medicine and Radiology), a SEN school, Purley Park for assisted living, Freemasons and Autism Berkshire.

The RBH trophy was won by ICU, who finished third overall. President James Richardson presented the trophies to the winners.

The Rotary’s beneficiary charities are West Berkshire Homeless and Purley Park Trust as well as its own Charitable Trust, which makes donations to worthy causes throughout the year.

Henley were able to raise some much needed funds for the Eyot Centre, a registered charity, under which they reside.