DESPITE the driving wind and rain, The City of Hereford Regatta was a huge success and attracted 160 entries from all over the country.

A crew from Worcester took the honours in the most exciting race of the day in the Senior 1 8s.

A closely fought race between Worcester RC and Reading University BC saw the Worcester crew emerge victorious by a quarter of a length.

The Worcester crew contained five Henley medallists and Reading sported a number of GB Under-23 oarsmen.

Hereford RC achieved a high number of wins throughout the day.

The veteran’ E 8 beat a Belfast Rowing Club /Boat Club composite crew Hugh Davis, Rod Minchin, Mick Massam, Mark Beddoes, Rod Phillips, Keith Lawrence, Phil Hart and Richard Bissell, coxed by Jake Morris, made up the Hereford crew.

The Hereford Veteran Coxed four of Hart, Bissell, Lawrence and Phillips, cox Morris, continued their success by beating Ross RC in the final.

The Hereford Veteran F Coxed four of Beddoes, Massam, Minchin and Davis also won their event by beating Worcester.

The Hereford Women’s Senior Coxed 2 four won their event with a three-length victory in the final. The Hereford team consisted of Alex Look, Clare Fenton, Helen Phillips and Veronica Preedy, coxed by Morris.

The Women’s Senior 3 Coxed eight also had an exciting when after a disastrous start in which their stroke caught a boat shortly after the start.

The Hereford crew caught up their opponents, Oxford City, to overtake them just 20 metres from the finishing line.

The crew consisted of Kate Tatchell, Holly Airbright, Cat Preedy, Greeny Apperley Hatch, Katherine Lee Jones, Hayley Birch, Kay Parker and Charlie Stewart, coxed by Clare Fenton.

Jamie Coombes romped to victory in Junior Under-18 single sculls beating opposition from Nottingham and Gloucester. He then teamed up with clubmate Shaun Blake to win the Junior Under-18 double scull event.

Debbie Probert claimed her novice victory in the women’s single sculls, while Ed Llewellin won the Junior Under-15 single scull event after defeating a pupil from Hereford Cathedral School in the final.

Adrian Osbourne reached the final of men's novice single sculls and was impressive until he struck the bridge, which forced him to capsize.

The men's Senior 2 Coxed four (James Ford, Alex Clark, Mark Weaver and Mike Gardiner coxed by Jake Morris) reached the final before narrowly losing to Llandaff RC.

Hereford Regatta secretary, Alex Clark said: “The regatta was a success despite the awful winds and rain. The weather reduced the usual spectators but the barbeque remained strong throughout.” Clark also thanked all those who sponsored the regatta and helped to make the event a success.

Hereford Women’s Senior 4 coxed 4 celebrated success at Monmouth Regatta.

The winning crew was Cat Preedy, Kay Parker, Katherine Lee Jones and Hayley Birch, coxed by Claire Fenton.