Penarth Regatta 2026
Monmouth RC make big splash on and in water at Penarth
A SMALL but perfectly formed contingent of Monmouth RC members went 'Med in Penarth', as the sea glittered like the Riviera and they made a splash with an end of regatta dip after two wins and some near misses.
The mixed quads saw Learn To Row family members Molly, Pam and Steve make their race debut with experienced Wales junior cap Max, coxed by Roan, gamely chasing home Ross and Cardiff along the 750m cliff front beach course.
And Nick, Scott, Lou, Denize and cox Sue gave another Ross boat a hard battle before going down by 3/4L, with the former going on to win the 13-boat event.
The women's quad of Sue, Deborah, Denize, Lou and cox Roan also went close missing out to Llandaff by less than a length.
And the open quad of Max, Nick, Scott and Steve coxed by Lou came home some 2L behind Ross but ahead of Llandaff.
Family duo Pam and Molly were on the track again in their women's double in a heat alongside Deb and Denize, but it was City of Cardiff who came through to make the final.
But Max and Roan in the open double then steamed to glory like the Waverley docking at the end of Penarth Pier, beating Ross and Swansea in heat and semi before downing another Ross boat in the final by a distance.
With all the 'whalers' then re-rigged from sculling to sweep, Roan, Max, Andy, Scott and cox Denize powered down to the Penarth promenade finish, only to be nipped by a 'Croc' - the historic wildlife moniker for the OM boat club - in the closing stages.
The mixed four of Lou, Nick, Andy, Debbie and Denize again were in it until the final stroke in their final, Ross taking the pots by 1/2L.
And Masters Lou, Nick, Andy, Scott and cox Debbie fought out a tight battle with an all-male Penarth/Swansea boat in their final before running out of bullets.
Nick, back at the regatta 60 years on from his first visit on the day England won the World Cup in 1966, said: "They've found dinosaur fossils along the shore here – there was another one in the boat in the last 20 strokes... I was done!"
But cometh the hour, cometh the women – as cox Debbie, Lou, Denize, Sue and Molly surfed a wave of success to take the women's fours by 1 1/2L from Ross, the latter landing her first pot.
And with the sun setting on a great day at the seaside, there was still time for a dip in the salty brine for Monmouth's intrepid mud larks before the pot presentation in the yacht club and a pint of Brains!
Report by Nick H
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