WYE rowers have made a huge splash with victories at world and national level.

Monmouth Rowing Club members travelled to Lake Bled in Slovenia for the five-day World Masters Championships – the biggest rowing regatta ever with 4,600 competitors – winning three golds.

And the season also saw them take titles at the British Masters Regatta at Nottingham and on the Thames in the championship time-trial races.

With 860 clubs competing from more than 100 countries, the competition in Bled was intense, with many former Olympic and international rowers launching out on the 1,000m course.

But Monmouth RC more than held their own, with former Australian squad member Mark Stewart-Woods scoring a golden hat-trick and GB U23 cap Laurence Morgan landing two titles.

Stewart-Woods and fellow Aussie ex-pat Dave Byrnes romped to victory in their over 50s eight-boat double sculls race, cruising in 10 seconds clear of their nearest rivals from Germany. 

Day two saw an early start for the over-42 coxless four of Stewart-Woods, Ross duo Morgan and Lenny Colling, and Simon Lee from Whitebrook who were on the start ready to race at 7.30am.

But the early alarm clock proved worth it when they snatched an early lead to race home 3/4L clear of their German, Norwegian, Brazilian, Hungarian and Croatian rivals.

Stewart-Woods and Morgan then launched out in the over 50 pairs, where they led by just three feet at half way before inching clear to win by 1/2L from their nearest German rivals.

There were also some near misses, Colling and Morgan pipping a Czech duo by just 0.06secs to take a close second behind an Austrian duo in the over-42 pairs, Colling and Stewart-Woods taking second with two Exeter rowers in over-50 quads 1/4L off gold, and the Wye duo again missing out by just 0.32secs in over 42 doubles.

The gold medal coxless four almost made it a double in the over 42 coxed event with Cambridge Blue cox Lizzie Grose, finishing second just under a length behind an Irish boat.

Pip Thomas also joined a Llandaff/Oxford University boat to finish second in her women’s over-26 coxed four race, 2L behind the Dutch winners.

At the British Masters at Nottingham’s National Water Sports Centre, Colin Lewis, Nick Hooton, Alex Mitchell, Paul Bezani and cox Katherine Lewis took the over-50 intermediate Band 1 coxed fours title by 3L from Bedford outfit Star and also landed silver in the six-boat coxless final, 1 1/2L back on Maidenhead.

Laurence Morgan teamed up with brother Henry to take silver in the championship over 42 doubles by 1/3L from a Peterborough duo Gail Adams, Dawn Evans, Sharon Finch, Patricia Carswell, Liz Lewis, Gabby Miles, Karen Stewart-Woods, Sam Tod and cox Kathryn Lewis matched them snatching championship silver by 0.13secs in the women’s over 50 eights, while Colin Lewis and Paul Bezani were on the podium again with Peter Kelsall and Jon Keyte taking bronze in the over 55 championship coxless fours.

On the Thames in London in the 508-boat Pairs Head over 2.5 miles of the reverse Boat Race course, Monmouth RC’s Aaron Pascovitch and James Hobhouse took the Intermediate coxless pairs title by just 3.5secs in 14 minutes 11.3 secs, while clubmate Alex Butler teamed up with Bristol’s Hazel Fullman to land the mixed over-36 doubles title in 14.36.6.

In the 235-boat Veteran Fours Head last month (November), over the full 4.25-mile reverse Boat Race course, Monmouth’s Colin Lewis, Jon Keyte, Paul Bezani, Peter Kelsall and cox Kathryn Lewis raced to the over-55 coxed four crown by 27secs from Cambridge outfit X-Press in 20.30, matched by Sam Tod, Gabby Miles, Karen Stewart-Woods, Liz Lewis and cox Gail Adams who won over the women’s 50 category in 22.33.

Meanwhile, the club is gearing up for its last big event of the year, the Monmouth Christmas Head

race on Sunday, December 10, when more than 100 eights, fours and quads will launch out on the Wye.