GRAVESEND LADIES MAKE HISTORY ON THE RIVER

With less than a week to go before Christmas, eight ladies from Gravesend Rowing Club made history when they launched the first ever all-Gravesend ladies eight since the club was founded in 1878. Based on the promenade at Gravesend, the club is rarely able to launch an eight on their own stretch of the Thames tideway, so a boat is kept at the Rochester-based Medway Towns club and outings are usually made with a composite crew from both clubs.

However, with a strengthening ladies' squad, the club was determined to see an all-Gravesend crew on the water by the end of the year. So on Sunday 19th December, undeterred by strong winds and rough water, the eight-woman crew took to the river in style. On a day in which no other boats were launched due to the poor conditions, they made a seven-mile round trip up-river, coxed and coached by the very experienced Brian Robinson who was impressed by their determination and enthusiasm. Encouraged by their first outing, they plan to continue training over the winter with a view to entering the Women's Eights Head of the River Race (an international event on the Oxford-Cambridge boat race course) in March 2005.

Gravesend Rowing Club has a thriving men's and ladies' section, with members rowing both socially and competitively. This year has seen a real growth in women's rowing at the club, with crews competing in races on the Medway at Maidstone and the Thames in London.

Crew names in rowing order from stroke to bow: Janet Sparks, Sue Beecham, Debbie Johnson, Beverley Barrow, Carole Trowbridge, Pip Mester, Sandy Johnson and Debbie Cassidy

See how the girls got on here.

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