WHILE crews come from across the North-East and beyond, there was plenty of local success at the increasingly popular Hexham Regatta.

Hosts Hexham Rowing Club enjoyed triumph in the Masters‘ Victor Ludorum, jointly with Durham, for the first time, while rowers from Queen Elizabeth High School finished runners-up overall to Tyne United.

While battling against each other, rowers also had to combat the strong winds which caused havoc on the day. However, only three of the 393 races needed to be scrapped for the weather conditions.

The local success comes at a time when the event has grown into the North-East’s largest one-day regatta, crews coming from Scotland to join in the fun.

There was also newcomers in the form of Durham Choristers School to boost the already large entries from the region‘s schools.

Hexham Rowing Club spokesman Diane Howorth said: “It was a very successful day, and we proved that with team work we can not only work together in a boat but we can pull together off the water too.”

Racing on Tyne Green lasted for 12 hours after starting at 8am, with up to 2,000 rowers taking part in the event. The total would have been larger but organisers had to turn some entries away.