Cookham Regatta

The Bourne Water Dragons competed with 13 other teams in the Cookham Regatta on the River Thames. The weather was fine but windy, and the races were over a short course—distance unknown, but shorter than the races at Sherborne Castle in May.

A total of 14 teams competed, an awkward number which resulted in two teams having two races before the knockout rounds started in Round Two. As usual, the other teams had considerably younger crews than the Dragons. Some included members of gym and rowing clubs, with a selection of muscular men and strong women boasting superior levels of fitness and stamina. Disciplined paddling technique is essential when the playing field isn’t level in terms of individual competitors.

The event had the usual assortment of stalls, food and drink vendors, amusements for the children, and there was also a brass band and a classic car exhibition.

Dave Buckland put everyone through a warm-up before the first race, which was against Reach For The Dragons. BWD led this race from the start to very close to the finish, when they were overtaken and quite literally pipped at the post. Watching from the pontoon, I thought BWD had won—and it looks as though they did on the video I took. I wasn’t in a direct line with the finish, and the organisers said Reach For The Dragons had won, “by a nose,” in horse racing parlance.

This meant that BWD went into the plate competition and had to win their next race.

The quirk in the draw meant that BWD’s second race was against a team called Holy Diggers, who had won their first race and lost their second to Herries Mermaids—a team which included Helen Glover and Steve Backshall in 2023.

This was a very different race. The Dragons were behind from the start but were catching quickly near the finish. Unfortunately, the finish came too soon, resulting in another loss and elimination from the competition. Just a few more strokes would have seen the Diggers caught and the Dragons through to the next round.

Hopefully, the Dragons will have more success in the 2026 event.