Dublin University Ladies Boat Club (DULBC) and Dublin University Boat Club (DUBC) prevailed in the annual Colours races to claim the Gannon and Corcoran Cups respectively, defeating old rivals University College Dublin (UCD) this weekend.
Building on last week’s record-breaking fourth straight victory in the annual Erne Head of the River regatta, the men’s senior eight crossed the finish line with half a length to spare on the upper Liffey course, while the ladies senior eight ensured the Corcoran Cup stayed in the city centre with a calm, composed performance amid the wintry conditions. The weather caused diversion from the planned route of the course.
Despite races of varying difficulties, DULBC and DUBC dug deep to produce magnificent performances.
A fantastic day for Trinity rowing was slightly blighted by narrow losses in both novice races, with the Sally Moorehead and Dan Quinn shields heading further south of the Liffey than Trinity would have hoped for.
In addition to their recent Colours success, both DULBC and DUBC were victorious in last weekend’s Erne Head of the River regatta. Delayed until March 10th by the treacherous conditions inflicted upon the course by Storm Emma, the 61st annual Erne Head of the River regatta was firmly in the shadow of the final race of the Colours competition, with DUBC producing five eights to compete at the Enniskillen venue.
In the ladies’ races, DULBC’s senior four were in fine fettle, crossing the line as the fastest women’s four of the day in an impressive 24 minutes and 25 seconds. Elsewhere, the ladies’ coxed four kept DULBC’s history of strong performances at the Fermanagh course well and truly alive, completing the six kilometre course in a quick 26 minutes and 35 seconds. A third-place finish for the intermediate eight with a time of 22 minutes and 48 seconds rounded off a successful outing for the Trinity women.
A record-breaking fourth straight victory in the annual event for the men’s senior eight made it a 20th DUBC victory on the north-western waterway. Keen to continue their own history of success, DULBC put in a sterling performance which saw their senior four come home as the fastest in their category.
The early success of the men’s senior eight with a time of 19 minutes and 17 seconds was soon complemented by victory in the intermediate eight category, DUBC’s second crew posting the fourth fastest time of the day overall. Completing a clean sweep for the capital-based crew, the men’s novice boat powered home on the 21 minutes and 26 seconds mark.
Joining the three victorious crews were the “DUBC B” novice eight and the “Club 2” eight, with each posting times which saw them ranked inside the top 21 boats at the event.
