A very strong Chelmsford Canoe Club team travelled to Barking on Sunday for the second race in the Essex Winter Series.

The 16 categories range from nine miles for experienced senior paddlers down to three miles for novices and Chelmsford won fully half; displaying excellent strength in depth. Keith Moule headed a Chelmsford 1-2-3-4 in the blue ribbon Senior Mens’ K1 race, comfortably beating club mate and training partner Lewis Duffield in a sprint for the line.

Moule was able to stamp his authority on the race from the outset, showing encouraging signs of being able to build on the form that took him to the Marathon World Championships in September.

He was able to turn the screw on his competitors by setting a punishing pace for much of the race.

Mark Wilkes and Thomas Stanway finished third and fourth respectively after losing touch with the front pair on the final lap.

Chelmsford crews were equally dominant in the Senior K2 class, with the pairing of Peter Wilkes/Steve Moule breaking clear at the halfway point to win the race and extend their lead in the series. Matthew Johnson and James Russell won the Boys’ under 18 and under 16 races respectively.

Both will be looking to turn these winter results into performance on the national stage come 2014 in a bid to make the national junior squad.

Younger siblings Melissa Johnson and Emma Russell are also ones to watch for the future, as they won the Girls’ under 16 and under 14 races in fine style.

Meanwhile, an exciting duel was developing between Sophie Parker and Charlotte Avery for the silver and bronze medal positions in the over 16 Women’s K1 race, with Sophie only a few metres ahead of Charlotte at the start of the final lap.

However, try as she might, Charlotte couldn’t quite make up the distance, and the two were separated by just seven seconds at the finish line.

The sum of this glut of victories meant Chelmsford carried the day in the overall club competition, scoring a huge 426 points, over 300 points ahead of Barking & Dagenham in second.