After two years of cancellations, all eyes will be on the weather forecast in the run-up to this year’s Fours Head. With 37 entries into the open club coxed fours category, this event champions coxes as they’ll all be aiming to expertly navigate the 6.8km course and steer their crew to a win.
London Rowing Club
The last winners of this event, all the way back in 2022, London Rowing Club will be looking to retain the crown and claim the win. Aiding the cause this time between their two crews will be Galbraith, Macdonald, Knight, Fletcher, and King, who all raced together last season in London’s Thames Challenge Cup ‘B’ crew, who had their Henley Royal Regatta campaign ended by De Hoop, Netherlands, in the quarterfinals. Moreover, after a successful run in The Britannia Challenge Cup this summer, finishing second by one length to Thames in the final, London’s two crews will be using their specialist knowledge of this boat class, and the Thames, to their advantage this weekend.
Thames Rowing Club
Thames Rowing Club have one entry this year and will be throwing everything at London to gain redemption from 2022, when they placed second behind London by only two seconds. In this crew, Bone and Mueller-Koegler will be bringing their Henley Royal Regatta experience into action; the former raced in The Thames Challenge Cup ‘B’ crew, who lost out to Thames ‘A’ in the quarterfinals, whilst the latter coxed The Brittania Challenge Cup ‘B’ crew and lost out to London by one length. They will also have big confidence heading into the weekend after Thames ‘A’ beat London in the final of The Britannia Challenge Cup, showing Thames have proven experience in this category and will be looking to continue this coxed four dominance.
Molesey Boat Club
Molesey finished third in this event in 2022 and, more recently, made it to the semifinal of The Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, losing out to Thames by four lengths. This particular crew has experience in The Thames Challenge Cup, with Notter, Webber, and Bateman having raced in Molesey’s ‘B’ crew, who were knocked out by London ‘A’ in the first round. Paired with Palmer’s seventh-place finish in the championship single at Scullers Head while racing for Tideway Scullers School, this crew are in a strong position heading into the weekend.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow also raced in The Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta and lost out by 1 ¾ lengths in their semifinal against London. I’m sure they will be looking to overturn this result and improve on their fourth-place finish here at Fours Head in 2022.
Lea Rowing Club
Lea Rowing Club have a crew jam-packed with experience. This is led by Duffy, who raced in The Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta this summer but was knocked out in the first round, and Raymond-Barker, who attended qualifiers for The Diamond Challenge Sculls and finished as the fourth fastest non-qualifier in a highly competitive international field. More recently, he placed second in the championship single sculls at the Scullers Head, with Mihov and Mooney also competing and both finishing second in the club single and novice single categories, respectively. These positions equated to 54th and 70th overall, further emphasising the strength and depth of this crew, pinning them firmly at the top of my ‘ones to watch’ list.
Vesta Rowing Club
With a staggering seven entries this year, Vesta are firmly declaring their aim to achieve well in this category by throwing everything and everyone at it. Yet, perhaps more impressive is the size of their coxing squad to field this number of coxed crews. Spotlighting the first starting crew for Vesta, number 232, which includes Taylor and Hall, who both made the second round in The Wyfold Challenge Cup and will surely be bringing this experience to the crew on Saturday. Furthermore, in crew 232, Ostling and Moore raced in the first round of The Thames Challenge Cup in Vesta’s ‘A’ crew, who were unfortunately knocked out by Sydney Rowing Club of Australia. Finally, coxing this crew is Young, who was also unfortunately knocked out in the first round of The Thames Challenge Cup in Vesta’s ‘B’ crew. This group will undoubtedly strive to come out on top within the Vesta contingent, and Vesta as a club will aim to bring the fight and start the season strong.
Nottingham Rowing Club
Nottingham will be making this trip down south with high expectations on Saturday. Cross and Bailey have experience in The Britannia Challenge Cup, as well as wins on both days in the club coxed four event at the Metropolitan Regatta. This duo also raced in the senior pairs category at Pairs Head in 2024, finishing third, and will be bringing this Tideway experience to their crew at the weekend.
Prediction
Based on the strengths of the crews, I predict London and Thames will be fighting it out for the top spot on Saturday. If I had to choose one, I’d say London will still be riding their wave of Henley Royal Regatta success and will want to start this new season as they mean to go on. I would also not rule out Lea for a top-three finish, given the strength and depth of their crew, with Molesey, Vesta, and Nottingham each vying for a top-five finish. Not much is known about the Marlow crew, but based on past results, they could certainly perform well this weekend and challenge for the top spot in the field.
