Palmer wins for Peterborough at Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race 2025
Peterborough City Rowing Club’s senior and masters winter racing season concluded with a win for Ian Palmer in the Masters C quads category and a third-place finish for one of Peterborough’s Open Masters E eights at the Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race in London on Sunday 23 March. Kate Read also notched a third place in the Women’s Head of the River race Masters C eights on Saturday 8 March.
Over 35 Peterborough senior and masters rowers have been in action in March, bringing the curtain down on their winter ‘Head racing’ season.
Masters quad scores again
Peterborough’s Ian Palmer set out his intentions for the summer after an emphatic win at the final major event of the winter racing season, the Vesta International Masters Head race.
Stroking the Peterborough composite with scullers from clubs across East Anglia, East Midlands and the Northwest, Ian’s crew won Masters C Open quads by 47 seconds. It beat 11 other crews, including international opposition from Holland and Italy.
Peterborough City’s composite quad, winners of Open Masters C quad sculls at the Vesta International Masters Head on 23 March. From left to right: Chris Callow (Star Club of Bedford), Alex Barnett (Hollingworth Lake in Greater Manchester), Dave Smith (Nottingham) and Ian Palmer (Peterborough).
Once again, the Palmer quad was Peterborough’s fastest boat of the day, completing the 6,800-metre course, rowed in the reverse direction to the Boat Race on the ebb tide in 20 mins 18 seconds. The crew was the second fastest quad overall of the day, and the full lineup was Chris Callow (Star Club of Bedford), Alex Barnett (Hollingworth Lake in Greater Manchester), Dave Smith (Nottingham) and Ian Palmer (Peterborough).
The crew are now looking to defend their titles at the British Masters in June and Henley Masters in July before tackling the World Masters in Barcelona over its Olympic course in September.
Ian, a train driver for Deutsche Bahn based in Peterborough, said: “Due to the distance we live apart, it’s hard for the crew to get training outings together. We have to each push ourselves that much harder in our individual training. But as we found on the Trent in February and now on the Thames this weekend when we get together in the boat to race, we are very hungry for success.”
Kate takes third place in Masters C at Women’s Head of the River
Kate Read flew the flag for Peterborough’s Masters women at two national events for eights, racing as part of a Walton Rowing Club and Peterborough City composite eight. Her crew took third place of eleven in the Women’s Masters C category at the Women’s Head of the River race on 8 March and followed up with seventh place out of 21 in the Masters Head on 23 March.
Two Peterborough Open Masters E eights in action on the Thames
Peterborough City’s strength and depth at Open Masters E level (average age 55-59 years old) was on display, with City fielding two eights in the category at the Vesta International Masters race.
The two crews, winners on their last appearances at Head of the Trent and Lincoln Head, respectively, placed third and 15th out of the 18 Masters E crews competing in London.
The third-place City eight stepped up from their 10th place in the event last year, overtaking two crews and gaining on the crew set off immediately ahead of them, the Cambridge University Boat Club alumni rowing as Crabtree Boat Club, and eventually beating them by seven seconds in a time of 20 mins 29 seconds. The crew was Keith Blackman, Jack Ward, Simon Dennis, Steve Tuck, Robert Dennis, Al Ryder, Karl Stapleton, Tom Miller and Ericha Knowles-Pardoe (cox).
Peterborough’s 15th-placed Masters E crew was making its first Tideway appearance in the category, having previously raced as Novices. They came into the event following a win at Lincoln Head on the River Witham on 16 March, where they beat Devil’s Elbow Rowing Club by eight seconds to secure their first win at Masters E level.
Peterborough City Rowing Club’s Lincoln Head winners in the Open Masters E eights category on 16 March. From left: John Canton (cox), Andrew Manning, David Wells, Alistair Brown, Ondrej Cervinka, Barry McCann, David Gray, Steve Ackerman and Kenny Low.
The crew at Lincoln and Masters Head was Kenny Low (Ruairi Moore at Masters Head), Steve Ackerman, David Gray, Barry McCann, Ondrej Cervinka, Alistair Brown, David Wells, Andrew Manning and John Canton (cox).
Senior Men take fifth place in Medium Club competition at Head of the River
Peterborough’s senior men’s eight sought to test themselves against strong competition on the Thames at Kingston Head on 15 March before tackling the Head of the River Race in London on 22 March.
At Kingston, the crew placed eighth in Open Eights and was 19th fastest crew of the day in a field of over 200. At the Head of the River, the senior men rose 14 positions from their finish position last year and placed 5th fastest out of 35 in the Medium Club category.
The Kingston and Head of the River Race crew was Dean Gosling, Tom Calver, James Marshall, Kristian Woolf (Al Ryder at Kingston), Joe Haracz, Mike King, Chris Elder, Josh Seagrave and Tracey Rushton-Thorpe (cox).
Lincoln win for Tim Ellis after 10 months without racing
The 2024-25 winter racing season has been blighted by poor river and weather conditions, leading to many cancellations, but Tim Ellis got straight back into winning ways with a first success of the season in his single scull at Lincoln Head, over 3500m on the River Witham, on 16 March.
Tim won the Masters D-F-G combined category on both absolute time and the handicap, beating rowers 10 years younger. Tim is now targeting the Nottingham Masters Regatta in May over 1000m before bidding for success in the Masters F Lightweight categories at the British Masters Regatta in June and the Scullers Head on the Tideway in September.
Also at Lincoln Head, making their seasonal bow, Peterborough’s Women’s Masters E quad scull of Audrey Jones, Debbie Hunt-Pain, Anne Grange and Julie Evison-Williams finished second in their category.
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Peterborough City Rowing Club Press Release 2025-2 | For Immediate Use | 25 March 2025
Contact PCRC Press Officer – PCRCpressofficer@gmail.com