Captain's Log 23/05

Lots of important info this week; please read all the way to the end if you're in the active squad

GDPR Notice
Most of you will have had an email from Madam Secretary already, but some of you may not be on the official lists if you've joined the club in the last year or so, please reply to Marj ASAP or else I'll be removing you from the supplementary distribution list going forwards.

Dear Cygnet members and friends,

Blah, blah, GDRP, blah blah...We are required to get your permission to be able to continue communicating with you by email in the future, and would appreciate it if you could confirm your consent. Please send either "I consent to receiving emails from Cygnet Rowing Club" or "I do not consent to receiving emails from Cygnet Rowing Club" to: secretary[at]cygnet-rc.org.uk at your earliest convenience.

This is important so please do respond. However, if I do not hear from you either way then I will assume consent and you will continue to receive email from Cygnet RC unless we're informed otherwise. Our group email lists also have an unsubscribe option.

Racing report
After the Meatwagon XL's Borne Supremacy (thanks to the reader who reminded me to reprise that joke), Putney Town Regatta saw another iteration of the Novice 4+ (Henrik, Mustafa, Rupert, Ashley, Gigi) take to the water for the "Tier 3" event. Unfortunately they lost their race to a very fast Poplar/Globe composite who went on to win the event comfortably.

Steering update
A reminder that the club steering advice is generally not to go past the black buoy in normal training as there will be big barges navigating around Putney Pier at various times over the next couple of years.

June Racing plans

The Metwagon is off to Dorney on 2nd of June to test themselves against the big boys of the GB racing scene over 2k. A good step up from the local regattas and a first taste of 7-lane side-by-side for the crew. Best of luck chaps, and if anyone is in the Eton area, please do stop by and give the boys a cheer.

For the novice squad, the next regattas are:

• Peterborough 2nd June (TBC)
• Walton 9th June
• Barnes & Mortlake 16th June
• Richmond 30th June

Please get your availabilities updated to the end of June for training and racing so I can select combinations. After June, racing becomes a little more scarce, as it mostly involves travelling outside the M25 and towing a trailerful of boats off into the countryside somewhere.

Availabilities aren't currently looking great for Peterborough, as there's no combination that can get an outing in before the race weekend, and it's a slightly higher standard of competition than the local regattas we have been doing, so taking a scratch crew is not appropriate.

For Walton, I have eight currently showing as available; so hoping to get multiple crews out. Just need to find some coxes ... looking to race 4+ in the morning and the 8+ in the afternoon.

Ashley, Barry, Henrik, Kay, Magnus, Mustafa, Rupert, Tom.

Sculling Camp II - Sculling, Camper
After the April attempt fell through due to excess water in the river, the rescheduled camp is on the 9th/10th of June. Please fill in the doodle poll so we have an early indication of numbers.

Hoping to dovetail this with racing at Walton Regatta which is on the same stretch of river; we can base ourselves at the bungalow and head off to race for part of the day, and spend the rest of the day chilling out and learning to scull on calm waters. Also an opportunity to race some smaller boats at Weybridge Regatta on the Sunday for the more experienced of us.

Further Ahead

Friday 6th July - Henley Friday at Old Blades, Henley. Book the day off work now and stick it in the diary. A chance to air our highly fashionable club blazers.

Cygnet Ties (£25) and cufflinks (£15) are still in stock and available from me. Further details on picnicking to follow from Marj once she's finished wading through all the GDPR stuff :)

Novice Squad outings this week /end

Thursday 7pm - Barry, Mustafa, Henrik, Kay, coxed by Matt, coached by Alan.

Racers' erg of the week is 8 x 500m at 2k race pace. So minimum rate 26 (novices), or 28 (seniors) (or higher please!), but try to keep the pace even across all eight. If you did the 6x500m earlier in the season, you should have some idea of your personal target pacing.

2 minutes rest between pieces; if you're doing as a group, then 2 minutes after the last finisher of the previous piece.

Saturday 10am - Eric, Henrik, Mustafa, Rupert, Barry, coached by Alan. One of you to volunteer to learn the ropes (literally) in the coxing seat please.

Sunday 10am - Kay, Joris, Magnus, Mustafa, coxed by Matt.

Matt