Stortford finished the Chelmer race in 3rd place, but only a tantalising 4 race points behind Barking.

Danny remains unbeaten in Vet Mens K1, with a 5th successive Gold medal, while Malcolm & Gary (MC2) found the lads from the Royal Hospital School too fast for them and had to settle for silver. Heidi gained a bronze, leading a string of Stortford ladies home in class 7.

There was good turn-out from the club's younger paddlers, with a third of the members being under 14. Although only one of these went home with a medal (a well-deserved silver for Murdo), these plucky youngsters certainly pulled their weight by scoring a third of the points.

Little Joe executed an impressive race start and, though he finished 9th, probably deserved a medal anyway, having cycled to the race from Harlow! New member Simon looked comfortable and completed his first race safely and with a very respectable time.

8 miles:
Senior K2 - Jacque & Dave Cayford 15th (1:26:53)
Sen Mens K1 - Joe Fitzpatrick 9th (1:09:04)
Vet Mens K1 - Danny Beazley 1st  (58:24), Kevin Warbrick 7th (1:11:53), Mike Toomey 8th (1:13:08), Chris Sze 10th (1:16:58), Simon Forey 16th (1:21:24), Ricky White (retired)

5 miles:
u16 Boys K1 - Oscar Toomey 5th (55:36)
Ladies K1 - Heidi White 3rd (46:14), Ella Beatty 4th (46:43), Isabelle Gurney 5th (47:02), Octavia Abbott 7th (51:06), Catherine Robinson 13th (1:07:06)
u16 Girls K1 - Lexie White 4th (52:25)
Marathon C2 - Malcolm Duckworth & Gary Aldam 2nd (51:47)

3 miles:
u14 Boys K1 - Murdo White 2nd (24:13), David Gurney 5th (25:42), Euan Caton 9th (27:01), William Rowe 12th (29:28), Connor Higgins 13th (29:59)
u14 Girls K1 - Emilia Boylan 4th (28:21)
Ladies GP - Deborah Cayford 2nd (32:31)
u12 K1 - Jack Ward 4th (35:35), Eilidh White 5th (38:38), Ryewin Bridger 6th (1:05:06)

A group from BSCC joined in with the annual Row & Gig race at Maldon run in aid of the RNLI by the Maldon Little Ships Club. Most of the BSCC folk were in a bellboat: Ant Wright, Joe Fitzpatrick, Wayne Stephens, Angela Aldam, and Deborah, Dave and Jacque Cayford - with lots of extra muscle provided by Maurice Zoppellini of HYMB and his son Dan. Chris Sze and Steve Whipp also took part in kayaks.

As usual, there was a wide diversity amongst the 52 boats taking part. The event is increasingly popular amongst rowing gigs, who now have their own 6km course. Everyone else (including many types of rowing boats, inflatable dingies, canoes, kayaks and even at least one stand-up-paddleboard) was on the 4km course.

There was an excellent atmosphere, with most crews making a spectacular effort with the fancy dress. Quite a lot of spectators turned out to watch from the quay.

All the boats gathered off Maldon Prom to wait for their respective starting hooters. Jacque got everyone on the bellboat warmed up with her sing-along (captured on this video by Chris!)  Once the boat was under way, Jacque also proved to be a very able helm and the boat was soon flying along. Despite having had no opportunity to practice, the bellboat crew managed a pretty tight turn at the buoy and were heading back towards the start when a closed-cockpit kayaker capsized directly beside. The RNLI were only yards away but being well-trained in race etiquette there really was no option but for the BSCC crew to stop and sort the chap out.  Despite a very efficient rescue, valuable time had been lost and a monumental effort was then needed to make it up. After a final 200 yard battle with a C2, the Stortford bellboat was pronounced the winner of the fastest mixed crew class.