After a long winter four Durham ARC crews made the short trip down river to Chester-le-Street Regatta on Saturday, April 18th, the opening competition of the 2026 regatta racing season.
Dry and largely bright conditions along with efficient organisation and the excellent hospitality on offer in Chester-le-Street ARC’s refurbished clubhouse added to an enjoyable day for all, especially those new to the regatta experience.
The DARC contingent joined the 105 crews, who included a large team from Infinity Boat Club, racing over 900 metres of the River Wear, and came away with a 50% success rate!
Women’s 2x
First in action was the Women’s double sculls who overcame Nithsdale ARC in their quarter-final before going out to the hosts in the semi-final. A first triumph went to Deirdre Bruce who won the Women’s Masters D single sculls by overcoming Chester-le-Street WMasB 1x in the final. In the Masters quads race a scratching by Tyne ARC paved the way for a thrilling Durham v Durham final between two MasG 4x- crews, and secured another event victory for DARC.
Full results can be found on Easyregatta here.
DARC MasG coxless quads
Well done to all those taking part and thanks to our hosts for providing a great event.
The season continues next weekend with members of the DARC Junior squad going to Nottingham for the Junior Inter Regional Regatta (JIRR), which takes place on April 25th at the National Watersports Centre (NWSC), the line-up having been finalised following trials at Cambois RC in March to select the team to represent the Northern Region.
After York Spring Regatta on Saturday, May 2nd comes Durham City Regatta – a 2-day competition hosted by Durham ARC on May 9th and 10th – and Tees Regatta on May 16th.
Regattas at Wansbeck on May 30th and Hexham on June 6th precede the 193rd Durham Regatta on June 13th and 14th.
Entries have opened for the British Rowing Masters Championships which takes place at the NWSC on June 13th and 14th.
Entries for the National Schools Regatta, which returns to Dorney Lake on May 22nd to 24th, are also now open.
Chester-le-Street ARC
For a flavour of what to expect at Durham Regatta be sure to watch episode 2 of series 3 of Matt Baker’s Travels with Mum & Dad which is to be repeated on Channel 4 at 1.10pm on Friday, April 24th 2026.