There were over 70 entries from Enniskillen Royal Boat Club (ERBC) at Athlone Regatta on Saturday.

Lough Ree was not at it’s most benign with a strong cross tail wind making good rowing difficult.

As the day proceeded the wind got stronger and at 5.15pm the event was stopped because of impending thunder and lightning.

However, by this stage most events had completed and ERBC was very successful at all age groups.

The entry for the regatta was so large that heats and finals would have meant a very late finish so every race was a final.

At J13 the quad of Brooke Ewing,Flavia Remedios, Eva Fowler, Penny Huddlestone and cox Oliver McNeary won against Shannon and St Ignatius College Galway.

The J14 version with Ciara Sreenivasan, Abbey Johnston, Aoibhin Campbell, Amy Williamson and cox Luke Bailey won in a five boat final overcoming Newry and Athlone in the last stretch of the race.

Quite a feat

Isabella Wright and Emily Black won both at J14 and J16 double sculls - quite a feat at the older age category.

Grace Collins and Abbie Magwood won the next final of the J14 double sculls, Wright and Black then combined with Abbie Magwood and Grace Collins and cox Harry Coalter to wing the J14 quad.

The very popular octuple event was won by Oliver McNeary, Shane O’Donnell, Cameron Bell, Joel Crean, Ollie Powell, Jacob Woods, Joshua Ihnat, Cillian Donaghy and cox Abby Wilson over Shannon and St. Joseph’s Galway.

The latter four athletes also won the J14 quad with the versatile McNeary coxing.

A young J18 eight of Dan Montgomery, Lorcan Sreenivasan, Eoghan Campbell, Ethan Downey, Owen Kelly, Hugo McChesney, Justin Smith, Joe Murphy and Abby Wilson beat Methodist College and Neptune.

Erie Powell, Erin Trimble , Sienna Howe, Zara Welsh and Luke Bailey as cox won the J15 quad while the two boys quads won their version - Harry Coalter, Jake Sembhi, Lorcan Sreenivasan, Ryan Topping and Grace Collins in one and Austin Cassidy, Evan Donaghy, Bruno Maguire-Favro, Luke Bailey and cox McNeary in the other.

In the girls octo event the bulk of the National Schools’ champions crew beat Shannon, Athlone and Galway - Amy Williamson, Aoibhin Campbell, Abbie Magwood, Caithlin Kelly, Grace Collins, Abbey Johnston, Emily Black, Isabella Wright, and cox Wilson.

In the difficult double scull event where skill of a high order is needed in the wind Amy Lipscomb and Sienna Howe beat Athlone and Galway and Hannah Armstrong and Erin Trimble beat Shannon and Athlone.

In the single sculls events where it was even a feat to get to the start Harley Shepherd and Zara Welsh dominated their opposition while Eoghan Campbell held off his opponent to win by one foot!

The boys octo of Jake Sembhi, Lorcan Sreenivasan, Harry Coalter, Ryan Topping, Charlie Lynn,Luke Bailey, Austin Cassidy, Evan Donaghy and cox Abby Wilson won well against St Michael’s Limerick and St Ignatius.

To cap a fine day’s rowing Enniskillen Royal Boat Club won the Victor Ludorum awarded for the most successful club at the event.

Some athletes will be at Irish trials next weekend and the following weekend ERBC will be at the 1k Classic for Junior rowers at the National Rowing Centre in Cork.