This was a day of firsts:

The first time a BDA event had been run alongside a charity event;
The first time Exe-Calibre Blades competed as a registered crew;
The first time we all wore our shiny new race kit sponsored by O'Hanlon's.

The day started bright and early with the usual preparations and the arrival of the charity crews, complete with brightly coloured t-shirts and, in the case of 'Exminster Hair and Beauty', some rather fetching fluorescent wigs!

So, how did the day go for Exe-Calibre?

Exe-Calibre Open set off in their first 200m heat, with the sun glinting off the O'Hanlon's logos on their backs. Lining up against Batchworth and Notts they knew that nothing less than an awesomely huge start would keep them in contention with Batchworth. With a huge Exe-Calibre grunt they blasted off the start and gave Batchworth a hard time all the way down the course - finishing second to them with a mere 0.45 secs between them and in a brilliant time of 53.82 sec. Thus began a day of photo finishes! If you are wondering where Notts was, they finished a huge 4 seconds behind us!

More heats, a collision and some rather interesting charity crew paddling followed and then it was time for Exe-Calibre Blades to run their first ever 200m as a registered crew. They paddled confidently to the start to line up against TAO and Hurricanes, two Premier crews. Again, knowing that the start was crucial, they powered off the line and kept in contention all the way down the course - paddling with heart and soul and brilliant timing - taking third place with a very respectable 58.51 secs.

Meanwhile, Exe-Calibre Open were trying to negotiate a fairer semi (without any success!) as their superb time had made them fastest runner up, meaning they would yet again face Batchworth. This meant they had the hardest route to qualification for a major final. Sucking it up they went into the semi knowing that their only option for a major final qualification was to beat Batchworth. Again, the start was absolutely flawless and yet again, they matched Batchworth stroke for stroke down the course. Another second, again just 0.74 secs behind Batchworth and the third fastest time in the semis - so nearly a first major final for Exe-Calibre!

Exe-Calibre Blades took on Secklow 100 and Worcester Dragonflies in their 200m Tail race, recording a slightly slower time of 1:00.50 and claiming 13 points in the Standard League - an excellent haul for their first 200m outing!

Exe-Calibre Open's quest for league points finished with them collecting another maximum 16 points in the Cup Minor Final - taking second place with 56.39, another photo finish behind Worcester - this time a ridiculous 0.26 secs away from first place! This loss was however made a lot sweeter by the fact that Exe-Calibre beat Amathus into third place - fantastic!

Then, it was time for lunch.

A mere 30 minutes later it was time for Exe-Calibre Open to begin their assault on the 450m's - so, after a hasty bite to eat, warm-up, and frantic search for a helm, the crew clambered aboard to take on Thames Taniwhas and Typhoon Tigers (two more Premier crews). This race resulted in Exe-Calibre's first win of the day - recording an excellent time of 1:54.15, the second fastest time of the 450 heats, behind Batchworth (again!). Straight through to the Cup semis - lovely!

Exe-Calibre Blades had a slightly longer lunch break and set off for their first 450m heat against Exeter Canoe Club (scratch crew made up of their racing kayakers) and Raging Dragons (Premier crew). This race saw them settling into their pursuit of league points for the 450m with a great time of 1:58.33 and a place in the Plate reps.

Their second 450m really was an awesome race for the Blades - with yet another Exe-Calibre photo finish (well, the BDA officials need to have something to do!). The Blades reached out with the biggest strokes and awesomely locked in timing coming in second to Henley, with just 0.26 secs between them. They recorded a brilliant time of 1:58.23, and soundly beat Worcester Dragonflies. This took them forward into the Plate semis.

Meanwhile, Exe-Calibre Open, after a decent rest at last, took on Kingston Royals to battle for a place in the Cup major final. Again, it was another make or break race - with a major final place riding on winning the race. This crew paddled their hearts out, smashing out the start, locking in the timing and switching on the huge strokes - it was neck and neck with Kingston all the way down the course, ending with yet another extremely close finish - Kingston took the place in the major final and were the eventual winners of the 450m cup competition - so, there was no shame for Exe-Calibre who yet again scared the big boys and moved another step closer to that elusive Cup major final! We simply couldn't have paddled any faster or better than we did! The awesomely fast time recorded of 1:49.86 is testament to that!

Exe-Calibre Blades were still fighting their own battles - and their third 450m race saw them with the opportunity to secure a place in the Plate major final! Again, with an enormously gutsy performance they grabbed this opportunity with both hands and powering down the course with another brilliant time of 1:57.89 they gained the fastest runners up place. The Blades were going to win bling!

Unfortunately, the Plate major final and the Cup minor final were within 10 minutes of each other, so again, we were looking for helms and a pool boat to accommodate both the Blades and Open races. This meant that the Blades ended up in the infamous Notts Anaconda pool boat (a definite disadvantage!). This meant they took third place in their final with a rather slower time than they had been doing all day - 6 seconds slower! Definitely the fault of that particular pool boat, rather than their paddling.

Exe-Calibre Open's last 450m saw them in the Cup minor final lined up against TAO and Amathus. Again, this race saw the crew fighting for every inch down the course and delivering their trademark scorching start. Another exceptionally close finish had the officials peering at their video camera yet again - this time Exe-Calibre came in third with 1:53.03, with TAO in first (1:52.03) and Amathus just squeaking ahead at the last moment with 1:52.62.

Finally, it was time for Exe-Calibre Maidens to have their moment - dropping back down to 200m we lined up in a four-boat race on a narrow course. The women (definitely not ladies) grunted off the start and held their own coming in third with a very respectable time of 1:00.50 - yet another photo finish!

So, Exe-Calibre's home event was a resounding success. All races ran to time, or even ahead of the schedule and our three crews Open, Blades and Maidens paddled without doubt to the best of their ability - heart, soul, guts, technique, timing and sheer determination. A brilliant day for all!

The usual thanks go to everyone in the crew, helms, drummers, officials, volunteers, supporters!

And finally another epic first - the first time one club has won both 15 and 16 points in a BDA League event! Go Exe-Calibre!!!