HOSTS York City Rowing Club registered an impressive overall haul of 29 wins in their York Small Boats Head competition.

The event had been brought forward to December after being cancelled last month due to high levels of water on the River Ouse.

That meant entries for the annual three-kilometre time trial raced upstream from Fulford Landing to Kings Staithe numbered just 150 rather than the original 440 crews.

But the racing still proved of high quality in bright conditions marred by a testing head wind on the home straight from the Foss to Kings Staithe.

The distinction of being the fastest crew of the day went to the lads in the York City J18 quadruple sculls.

The crew of Joe Carter, Tom Marshall, Oliver Gurnel and Alex Bruce covered the course in 11 minutes and 28 seconds, beating the second-placed crew from Durham by seven seconds.

The positions were reversed for the honour of fastest women’s crew where a Durham WJ18 quad scull just edged out the York City junior crew of Holly-Ann Laborevics, Alice Beardmore, Sophie Heldt and Olivia Howe by three seconds.

Two York men’s single scullers were successful. Ben Bollans was the fastest single sculler of the day and winning the Elite 1x event and Carl Baker the Novice 1x trophy.

The York City’s women’s squad scored a number of wins, including the WIM3.4x of Louise Hawkeyard, Sam Fowler, Wieke Avis and Harriet Falshaw. Hawkeyard and Falshaw also triumphed in the WIM3.2x, while Avis won the WIM2 single sculls.

There were five home junior wins for the York club.

Alex Bruce captured the J17 single sculls and Edward Etheridge and Edward Press were successful in a J18 double scull.

The W17 4x+ (coxed quad) of Georgia Gourlay, Emily Whitaker, Sarah Hyde, Sally Downing, WJ16 2x Lucy Edmunds and Sophie Heldt and the J14 4x+ crew of Aaron Palin, Christopher Aschmann, Angus Gatus, Harry Whitaker and cox Rebecca O’Keefe also triumphed.

A York junior crew of Hannah Batten, Emma Turton, Eleanor Ferguson, Hannah Turner and rookie rowers, Hudson Aschmann and Nick Wilson, who have been rowing less than 18 months, had an impressive masters win in the MasB/C double sculls.

Other YCRC masters wins came in the MASC.4+ event with Mick Homa, Chris Jones, Phil Press, Paul Richardson and cox Rachel Cubbit; single sculler Joe Fricker in the MASC.1x; Roger Snelson in the MASG.1x and Anne Homa in the WMASD.1x The prizes were presented by Edward Bacon, a York City Rowing Club member for 60 years, who is retiring after many years as an umpire and time-keeper.