Grey skies and a tumbling surf greeted crews at the 58th Annual South Coast Rowing Championships at Swanage.

A delayed start, following the late arrival of the Official Starter’s Boat due to conditions in Poole Harbour, led to an air of apprehension amongst the crews and the hundreds of supporters who had travelled from all over the West of England and south coast from Herne Bay and Bideford.

With the Junior Regatta, scheduled for the second day of competition, already cancelled after a poor weather forecast, it looked a brave choice by the organising committee for the Championships to go ahead at Swanage instead of moving to the more sheltered reserve course in Poole Harbour.

With the surf picking up with the rising tide, many of the crews in the early supporting events were soaked just getting afloat.

But the delayed start worked in the organisers’ favour, with the sun breaking through and the seas becoming more settled.

Masters Championship.

The Fours event saw crews from Folkestone, Hastings, Poole, BTC (Southampton) and Bideford AAC (Blues) coming to the line.

Eventual winners Poole – M Sewell (Bow), R Wilson (2), R Murphy (3), P Jacobs (Strk), F Hill (Cox) – were first to show after the start, closely followed by Folkestone and Hastings with BTC and Bideford taking time to settle.

Ladies Junior Championship The Ladies Junior Championship saw crews from the Southampton-based Itchen Imperial and BTC clubs dominate from the start.

Itchen – P Emery (Bow), M Paul (2), B Jones (3), L Townly (Strk), S Moore (Cox) – proved the stronger, establishing clear water between their boats.

Men’s Junior Championship With a marked improvement in conditions as the tide passed its peak, Poole and Shanklin moved quickly into their rhythm as the two Deal crews kept their eyes on each other.

At the halfway stage Shanklin looked likely winners but, with 500m remaining, a push by Deal – A M Handley (Bow), O Mullaney (2), R Mullaney (3), L Mullaney (Strk), J Dodrill (Cox) – took them past Shanklin and Poole.

With the finishing positions between Poole and BTC also deciding who would be the 2014 Hants and Dorset Champions, Poole raised their rate.

Deal A won, with Poole third.

Men’s Junior/Senior Championship Herne Bay, Lymington and Ryde made all the running in that order.

Herne Bay – G Holness (Bow), T Walton (2), L Towner (3), W Campbell (Strk), D Wareham (Cox) – looked certain winners as they lifted their rate to establish a clear lead despite a high performance from Lymington.

But the expected charge from Ryde, who had dominated the Hants and Dorset season, never came and Herne Bay were more than six lengths clear of Lymington as they crossed the line.

Ladies Senior Championship Bexhill’s R Holdaway (Bow), K Skelton (2), M Hill (3), E Young (Strk), L Quinn (Cox), pushed hard from the start, settling quickly.

Itchen seemingly had their eyes set on the progress of Coalporters a length and half further back.

Itchen put in a big effort with 200m left, but Bexhill won with just a length between the two crews.

Men’s Senior Championship Itchen were looking to repeat their 2013 performance when they won their first Bideford Bowl in appalling conditions at Deal.

BTC, the current Hants and Dorset champions, were aiming for their third Bowl win in five years, still smarting after finishing second behind Bexhill in the Grand Challenge Cup final at Southsea.

Three false starts highlighted the tension, but on the fourth they were away with Bexhill on the outside, Deal on the Inside with BTC and Itchen the meat in the sandwich.

Itchen and Bexhill had the best of the first 100m, leading BTC and Deal by a length, but that was as close as it got.

Whilst Itchen fought a losing battle to stay ahead of BTC, Bexhill’s M Mitchell (Bow), D Holdaway (2), M Hellier (3), K Cahill (Strk) R Holdaway (Cox) won with six lengths to spare with Itchen a further length and a half behind BTC.

Results Masters Championship: 1 Poole, 2 Folkestone, 3 Hastings, 4 BTC (Southampton), 5 Bideford Blues.

Ladies Junior Championship: 1 Itchen Imperial (Southampton), 2 BTC (Southampton) 3 Shoreham, 4 Hastings, 5 Exeter.

Men’s Junior Championship: 1 Deal A, 2 Shanklin, 3 Poole, 4 Deal B, 5 BTC, 6 Bideford Reds.

Men’s Junior / Senior Championship: 1 Herne Bay, 2 Lymington, 3 Ryde, 4 Deal 5 Bideford Reds Ladies Senior Fours Championship: 1 Bexhill, 2 Itchen Imperial (Southampton), 3 Southampton Coalporters, 4 Worthing, 5 Exeter.

Men’s Senior Fours Championship; 1 Bexhill, 2 BTC (Southampton), 3 Itchen Imperial (Southampton), 4 Deal, 5 Lymington, 6 Plymouth.