HASTINGS
ROWING CLUB
ABOUT HASTINGS ROWING CLUB
Hastings Rowing Club was founded in 1868 making it one of the oldest sports clubs in town. Our club is conveniently located on the seafront near Hastings Pier which allows us to train on the sea throughout the year (weather permitting). We also have access to a river rowing spot in Rye where we train as well.
COASTAL ROWING
Rowing on the sea is exciting! Coastal rowing is not just about speed and skill, but also about handling the potentially tricky water and weather conditions: the wind and waves are an extra factor to take into account. It all adds to the fun! The coastal boats the club uses are specially designed for the rougher conditions found on the sea; the boats are broader and heavier, which makes them sit more stable on the water.
If you have rowed before on a river, you will notice that in coastal rowing the boats are rigged the other way round. Stroke side on the coast is bow side on the river, and bow side on the coast is stroke side on the river. This is because of the circulation pattern in coastal rowing races. A coastal race runs over 2000 metres. At the halfway point the boats turn around a buoy and race back.
AFFILIATION
We are members of the CARA (Coast Amateur Rowing Association), which is affiliated to British Rowing, the national rowing body. Other members of CARA are: Herne Bay, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Brighton, Shoreham, Worthing and Southsea.
REGATTA SEASON
The coastal regatta season runs from May until September. The Sussex and Kent CARA regattas take place on weekends in May through to August. After that, the best CARA crews will be put forward to compete in the South Coast Championships in September, where they will go head to head with the best crews from the Hants and Dorset ARA and West of England ARA.
CLUB EQUIPMENT
4 coxed coastal fours
2 coxless coastal pairs
3 coastal single sculls
1 coastal Liteboat training scull
1 coastal double scull
1 coastal quadruple scull
In addition, the club has a comprehensive gym for land training including Concept 2 rowing machines.
COMMITTEE
Committee meetings take place every third Tuesday of the month. All members are welcome. The Club AGM takes place in April where all positions are up for election for the coming year.
PRESIDENT Paul Knight
CHARIMAN Simon Veness
TREASURER Ray Bates
SECRETARY Trish Sherwood
CAPTAIN Alan Bates
SUP REPRESENTATIVE Sam Brown
MEET THE CLUB PRESIDENT PAUL KNIGHT
Paul joined the club as a coxswain in 1976!
What do you do in daily life?
I'm General Manager at LG Optical in Hastings with responsibility for the company direction, sales and purchasing.
When did you start rowing?
I joined Hastings Rowing Club 1976 and haven't missed a season since! Lately, though, I've been cherry picking events rather than doing the complete calendar. Hastings Rowing Club is a social, family-oriented club. We love chatting about boating and remembering great times with great people. I never intend to stop rowing and life after racing will still include rowing. I'm determined to keep fit and will always enjoy moving a boat well even if slowly.
Any tips for newcomers to rowing and competing?
Tips to win: find talented, committed others to be in your crew. Ideally, I'd be slowest person in the crew!
Any final thoughts?
I've been President now longer than I remember. I just hope I'm not the last as I want to see this club thrive for many years to come.