A big entry from Enniskillen Royal Boat Club travelled to Lough Rynn in Co. Leitrim for the annual Head of the Shannon event run by the Carrick-on-Shannon rowing club.

The weather was kind in that there was no wind but near-zero temperatures made it a day for hardy souls.

The event consisted of two races to allow athletes to row in various combinations in the morning and afternoon.

The J16 eight of Eoghan Campbell, Harry Coalter, Jake Sembhi, Lorcan Sreenivasan, Andrew Cuthbertson, Christian Timoney, Charlie Lynn, Evan Donaghy and cox Jessica Thompson had a fine win in a strong field of Neptune and Commercial from Dublin and St. Ignatius College, Galway.

The J15 crew of Jamie Dunlop, Bruno Maguire-Favro, Harley Shepherd, Ben Cameron and cox Jacob Woods won handsomely against Carrick, Commercial, Athlone and Neptune.

Matthew Montgomery, Oliver Mc Neary, Aiden Chen, Shane O’Donnell, Cameron Bell, Joshua Inhat, Ollie Powell, Cillian Donaghy and Cox Errie Powell in the J14 Octo rowed well to beat their own second crew after Athlone withdrew.

One of the youngest crews at the event, the Girls J13 crew withstood the biting cold and the crew from Athlone to win by over a minute. It was made up of Aimee Turner, Flavia Remedios, Penny Huddlestone, Eva Fowler and Cox Daniel Montgomery.

In the afternoon race on a flat calm lake, the Boys J18 crew of Oran Harty, Austin Cassidy, Luke Bailey and Oliver Khew beat crews from Galway, Athlone, Neptune, Commercial and Carrick.

The J16 version was won by two seconds by ERBC in a field of nine crews with Commercial being the closest to them.

Evan Donaghy, Christian Timoney, William Bogle, Ryan Topping and Cox Katelyn Fee made up the winning team.

Doubles glory

A strong girls’ double of Acorn Cassidy and Isabella Wright (pictured bottom left) impressed in beating Carrick by a fair margin in the J18 double sculls.

Charlie Lynn and Andrew Cuthbertson had a fine win in the biggest field of the day triumphing over 11 crews with Athlone being the closest to them in the J15 double sculls.

The J14 quad of Ollie Powell, Matthew Montgomery, Joshua Inhat, Cillian Donaghy and Cox Caelan Moore won from a crowded field of six other crews with the nearest being Galway.

Another young outfit comprising Joel Crean, Oliver Krawczck, James McAleer, Oliver Jennings and Cox Reece Brady rowed strongly to beat their own clubmates.

The final win came from the Girls J14 Octo with Flavia Remedios, Penny Huddlestone, Aoibhin Campbell, Amy Williamson, Chloe Simmons, Grace Collins, Aimee Turner, Eva Fowler and Cox Errie Powell on board with Athlone were the nearest crew to them.

An unusual feature of the entry from the Erne club was the appearance of three of the coaches in the competition.

Gerry Murphy came second in the single sculls while an experimental crew of Barney Rix and Luke Paton had a similar result in the double sculls. There were other good results for the coaches to ponder over before crew selections for the new season get underway in January.