Lt-Governor gets on board for 50th anniversary regatta

Richard Cripwell was at the heart of the action in Saturday’s St Peter Port to Chouet race, backed up by the vast experience of club captain Ben Vaudin, Chris McClean, Paul Montague and cox Nicky Will in the brilliantly-named GovernOARS.

And, thankfully, the 60-year-old Cripwell ‘thoroughly enjoyed’ the outing.

‘It was everything I hoped it would be,’ he said.

‘I was very lucky to be rowing with a really, really experienced team. I like challenging myself, and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

‘I wasn’t expecting to be in a race quite so soon but it’s the 50th anniversary of the club, and they’ve been incredibly welcoming and very tolerant of a beginner.’

His Excellency played sport keenly in his younger years, firstly rugby and then cricket, and has been known to spectate at local events since his arrival. After his busy first year as Lt-Governor, he started thinking about getting involved with more sport – and the GRC’s 50th anniversary proved a great opportunity.

‘I thought, “I’m 60 years old, I’m 61 this year. If you’re going to do it, then you need to get on with it,” and like I say, I like a challenge,’ he added.

‘I like doing something different, and I believe very strongly that people should take responsibility for their health as much as they are able to.

‘This has been a tremendous workout. I’ve got a lot of respect for people who do this.’

Lt General Cripwell added: ‘Guernsey is incredibly fortunate to have so many sporting opportunities and I’m incredibly lucky to have a chance to do it with the rowing club.

‘They could not be more kind and welcoming, and I’d recommend it to anybody.’

Vaudin was very complementary of Cripwell’s ‘fantastic row’ after they finished the 9.9km course over 15min. faster than anticipated. The club captain also welcomed the rare opportunity to race up north.

‘With it being the 50th year, we wanted to pay homage to some of the races we did years ago,’ he said.

‘We thought, “So let’s come round to the north”. The only other race we would come here would be the round-island, but we haven’t done that for a few years now.

‘It gives a bit of variety for the crews and it makes it nice and exciting to do something different.’

Powerhouse men’s quad TPA had led the way on Saturday, unsurprisingly, with the maiden course marker of 40min. 5sec.

Their Simon Johns called it ‘a great course’.

‘Lovely to have a new course,’ he said. ‘It was a bit overcast, but the rowing conditions are as good as you get.’