First of all, a big thank you for supporting our Head; the entry was the largest we've had for a number of years and contained real quality.

Secondly, I must apologise for the results service which was slow. We pride ourselves on providing a fast and efficient results service. Unfortunately, on Sunday we were rather overtaken by the weather. The 1st Division started over 30 minutes late, as crews did not allow enough time to get to the start due to the stream and wind. The gaps between crews was also larger than normal, again largely a consequence of the weather.

This effectively meant that we were playing catch-up for the rest of the day. In the light of experience with Division 1, it was clear that the 2nd Division crews would be unable to make it up above Clifton Bridge in a reasonable time. We therefore had to choose between using a 'Plan B' or cancelling the entire Division. We elected to run the division over the shorter course, but this meant we need even more marshals on the bank at the start as the Division is basically for inexperienced crews. As we were running late, the timing team could not complete the results from Division 1 as they had to be in position for the next Division (although provisional results were available through Webscorer). 

We effectively decided that the top priority was to give everyone a race. We knew that the shorter course meant that crews had to turn one at a time above the start and that this would cause more delay.

By the time of the 3rd Division the wind was even stronger, so again we shortened the course to ensure everyone got away at a reasonable time.

We finally got all the results out at about the usual time, but it was all the divisions in one go. Webscorer let us down for the last two divisions so live provisional results were unfortunately not available. Naturally we were disappointed, but felt that at least everyone had a race - and the easy decision would have been to cancel the second Division.

We will learn from the rather freak conditions, and promise to improve our service to you in the future.

I look forward to seeing you at Nottingham Regatta weekend in May.

Tony Lorrimer
Chairman