We will be using this page to keep you updated regarding the rowing and social activities of COBRA.  If you want to find out how CAIBC old boys have faired over the past many years please visit the "CAIBC Old Boy Archives" page.

    If you have any information regarding previous COBRA activities, please email it to chairman @ cobrarowing.co.uk  (remove the 2 spaces from the email address and put "COBRA" in the subject title to avoid the spam detector).

This page has now been split into two sections.

- COBRA Social News

- COBRA Rowing News  (Scroll down to the bottom third of this page)

The old boy Vs schoolboy race 2007 can be found in the Rowing section near the bottom of the page, while the Social News section contains a report about the AGM and the annual dinner.

Wednesday the 19th March was the date for the fifth annual COBRA table quiz. This was the first event for the newly elected Fundraising Committee and its success can be put down to their personal commitment to COBRA’s mission statement of "Supporting Coleraine Inst oarsmen, past, present and future".

The committee, lead tirelessly by acting chairman Jason Taggart put in many hours of work behind the scenes to ensure that all those who attended had an enjoyable and entertaining evening. It was particularly pleasing for the organisers to see over 70 people in attendance, including school boys with their friends and families, old boys with their friends and families, representatives of the school as well as members of Bann Rowing Club.

Jason Taggart acted as quizmaster, overseeing the evening’s activities. Twelve tables battled it out, with the team "Badger Blaney" pulling out to an early lead to finally win with an impressive 95.5 points. Congratulations go to Graham Campbell, Philip Rowan, Stuart Armstrong and Jonathan Dunlop for their fine performance.

Refreshments that had been generously donated were provided during the interval as the "Old Boy verses School Boy" rowing ergometer relay challenges entertained the supporters. The Old Boys once again proved too strong for their junior counterparts, although perhaps this time only because of a mishap on the school boy side as one of their number slipped of the machine.

School Boys - Jamie McBurney, Michael McNaul, Johnny Mitchell, ?, ?.
Old Boys – David Ewart, Alex Humphrey, David Stafford, Jason Taggart, ?.
verdict 3.5s

Andrew Wright

After the winning streak continued for COBRA in the annual schoolboy Vs old boy race for the 6th year (SEE report ~2/3rds down this page), there was a naming ceremony for the four new CAIBC boats. 

Ryan Dinsmore, captain of CAIBC began events by thanking COBRA, the old boys, the parents and all supporters of CAIBC for all their help to the club. 

Richard Archibald, captain of COBRA thanked Ryan and introduced the boat naming ceremony.

Clarke Black, who has devoted many years of support to the school club named the coxed four/quad “Killowen”, while Dr Barry Mitchell and Mrs Jenny Mitchell, who organised the successful Floral Art demonstration fund raiser named the double/pair “Barmouth”.  Reigning World Champion in the GB Lightweight IV-, Richard Chambers named the lightweight single “Somerset”, while fellow GB squad and COBRA member Alan Campbell, named the heavyweight single “Mountsandel”.

The purchase was organised by COBRA and funded by COBRA, with assistance from the Coleraine Old Boys Association and the Friends of Coleraine Inst.  This substantial investment for a relatively young association represents COBRA’s continued commitment to support CAIBC in any way it can. 


Pictures by the offical COBRA photographer - Paul Wright Esq.

In the evening after the COBRA boat naming ceremony, it was time for the COBRA AGM at the Royal Court Hotel.  Reports were given on the progress of both CAIBC and COBRA over the last year, which was both very busy and very successful for COBRA.

The AGM was followed by the annual dinner where everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable night.

There were 37 attendees, who included new and old members, coaches and post-holders from CAIBC, and the COBRA oarsmen who had competed at the recent World Championships in Munich, Alan Campbell, Richard Archibald and Richard Chambers.

After the dinner, our Patron Bobby Platt MBE introduced the after dinner speaker, Richard Chambers.  After the sustained round of applause for his stunning accomplishments in 2007, Richard gave us a brief overview of his year, and a taster of what life is like in the GB squad.

Everyone enjoyed the interesting insight into life in the GB camp, and some were even seen to be taking notes (I couldn’t give names, but he may or may not be the COBRA captain...)

After the dinner, everyone took the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new acquaintances, with everyone agreeing it was a really entertaining evening.

Bobby Platt MBE (seated) after the annual dinner, with Bill Smyth and the COBRA Board.

top L to R:  Brian Dickson (vice-captain), Geoff Macdiarmid (treasurer), Bill Smyth, William Wright (chairman), Richard Archibald (captain).

bottom  L to R:  Steven Archibald (under-secretary), Bobby Platt MBE (Patron), Andrew Wright (secretary),

Pictures by the offical COBRA photographer - Paul Wright Esq.

On Tuesday 9th October C.A.I. hosted a floral art demonstration as an opportunity for raising money for the rowing club at the school.  The idea had been very kindly suggested months ago by Dr. and Mrs. Barry Mitchell, who, with the C.O.B.R.A. Fund Raising committee’s go-ahead, booked the National Floral Art Demonstrator, James Burnside for the evening. 

Inst’s headmaster Dr. Carruthers welcomed the large crowd of parents, grand-parents, friends and fellow floral art enthusiasts.  James Burnside didn’t disappoint and presented a magnificent range of displays incorporating the rowing theme, flowers for celebration, flora and fauna and a more modern approach with a Reni Mackintosh piece, all of which really captured the imagination and managed to really impress.

After an interval for supper and the selling of much sought after raffle tickets for each of the displays, Richard Archibald thanked all those involved in organizing the demonstration.  Many people of all ages attended this marvelous exhibition and thought the night was a great success.  The rowing club and COBRA would like to thank all those people who supported the event in various ways.  Without their support the night would not have been such a resounding success.

Robert Hart – CAIBC vice-captain

A short report from the recent successful COBRA barbeque organised by the Fund Raising Committee's, Alex Humphrey, Colin Cochrane (& family) and David Ewart will appear shortly.

Over 80 people enjoyed the barbeque, including the Q&A session with the 2 Richards.

The Cochrane family kept us all very well fed!

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Friday 6th April was the date for the COBRA table quiz.  The venue had been moved slightly from the traditional Humphries Hall at Coleraine Inst through to the dramatic setting of the Templeton Hall.

With a higher than ever turn out of pupils, parents, old boys and friends of COBRA and CAIBC, the night turned out to be an overwhelming success.  Thirteen tables battled it out tooth and nail over eight varied and challenging rounds to find out who would be crowned 2007 victors.  That privilege was won by the team “Bob & Co”, consisting of Bobby Platt MBE, George and Mairead Hull, William Wright, Andrew Wright and Kyle Martin.  They put on a consistently impressive performance to finally seize victory by a single point from the “5 Smarties and a tube” team, who included most of the Wedding Party from the recent wedding of Olympian oarsman Richard Archibald (bride, groom, best man, grooms man, bridesmaid and mother of the groom!).

The night was organised by COBRA’s hard working Fundraising committee, and kept running smoothly by Quizmaster Alex Humphrey with the help of Colin Cochrane and David Ewart.

Refreshments had been generously donated and were provided in the interval as another one of the famous “Old Boy verses School Boy” ergometer relay challenges enthralled the supporters.  The teams were as follows:

School Boys - Mark McCullough, Jamie McBurney, Michael McNaul, Robert Hart,  Ryan Dinsmore.
Old Boys – Conner Campbell, David Ewart, Colin Cochrane, Colin Stewart, James Humphrey.

The race was as close as ever with the Old Boys just clinching victory by 3.8 seconds over the 500 metre distance.  Who knows, if the School Boys had not had problems with their changeover of personnel on the machines maybe it would have been their year!  One thing is sure – the School Boys believe (as always) that next year will be their year! 

COBRA would like to thank all those who organised a nd supported the event and especially Jamie McBurney who went out of his way to raise additional funds by attending the event dressed in a kilt!

Andrew Wright

In the evening after the eventful schoolboy old boy races, it was time for the COBRA AGM at the Royal Court Hotel.  Reports were given on the progress of both COBRA and CAIBC.

During the meeting Richard Archibald (COBRA captain) presented a small token of COBRA's appreciation for Clarke Black's years of  support to the school club to Chris Black on his behalf. 

A gift was also presented to the long serving Bobby Platt MBE for his many years of selfless service to CAIBC.

The AGM was followed by the annual dinner where all the 28 members who were able to attend had a thoroughly enjoyable night. Those who attended included new and old members, coaches from CAIBC, and COBRA’s very own current international athletes Alan Campbell, Richard Archibald, Richard Chambers and Stephen Feeney.

The dinner also saw the 10th anniversary reunion of the 1997 CAIBC 1st IV+ of Brian Dickson, William Wright, Johnny Coulter, Neil Giffin and Steven Archibald.  Unfortunately the inclement weather of the morning meant the crew didn’t make it out on the water, although their weren’t too many complaints heard from those of the crew who have since let their fitness slide!

Bobby Platt MBE (seated) after the annual dinner, with the COBRA Board.
top L to R: Andrew Wright (under-secretary), Brian Dickson (vice-captain), William Wright (chairman), Neil Giffin (secretary), Richard Archibald (captain).
bottom  L to R:  Johnny Coulter (social convenor), Bobby Platt MBE (Patron), Geoff Macdiarmid (treasurer). 

The COBRA Fund Raising Committee after a very successful 2006.

L to R:  David Ewart, Connor Campbell, Phil Braithwaite (chairman), Alex Humphrey (treasurer), Colin Cochrane (secretary).  The 6th member Ross Cochrane was unable to attend the dinner.

The fourth annual COBRA fundraising barbeque was held in the traditional venue on the banks of the River Bann at C.A.I. Boat House on Saturday 9th September. It proved to be another success, with COBRA's new fundraising committee relishing their chance to serve the association and the Boat Club by raising the standards to a new level.

The day dawned fresh and bright, with seemingly perfect conditions on both the water for rowing and on the banks for spectating and enjoying the entertainment. Although the wind did blow up later in the day this did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of either the oarsmen or the spectators.

The first spectacle of the day was an invitational race between a Bann Rowing Club VIII+ and a Tideway Scullers VIII+. The Bann crew was driven along by the COBRA powerhouses of Alan Campbell and Richard Chambers while a number of visitors from Alan’s London club made up the latter crew. The younger Tideway Scullers proved too much for the Bann crew and pulled away to win by nearly a length.

The second race was the main event of the day, the traditional School Boy vs. Old Boy VIII+ race. This event not only marks the close of the holiday period for the school boys but it gives them the chance to pit themselves against the older more experienced oarsmen. The school boys put up a valiant fight to hold the old boys at the start but as the race progressed the old boy’s technical ability and stamina showed as they pulled through to win by half a length. The third and final VIII’s race of the day was between the Tideway and COBRA crews, of which the former were victorious.

Throughout the day refreshments and delicious barbequed food was available to guests, spectators and oarsmen alike. Everyone was kept well informed of what activities were going on by fundraising committee chairman Philip Braithwaite. Activities available included a rowing machine challenge, bouncy castle, sponge throwing event, raffle, as well as a chance to try out rowing for yourself in the Boat Clubs indoor rowing tank. However the highlight of the activities on land was undoubtedly the question and answer session with COBRA’s own four current internationals, Richard Chambers (GB), Stephen Feeney (GB), Alan Campbell (GB) and Richard Archibald (IRL). Alex Humphrey took charge of proceedings and made sure everyone present had the chance to ask any questions.

The day was rounded of in an awesome display of power as our four internationals demonstrated just how they have reached the levels they have in a race against the J16 school boy quad. This quad, which had such success last year found this to be by far their toughest race and despite a monumental effort they were beaten by almost 3 lengths.

We would like to thank Philip Braithwaite and his fundraising committee for all the hard work they put into organising this successful event, and those involved in the preparing and cooking of the food. Finally we would like to express our thanks to those who donated prizes for the raffle and most importantly to all those who attended and supported the event.

CAIBC VIII+: Jamie McBurney (bow), Aimal Khan (2), Darren Taggart (3), Robert Hart (4), Ryan Dinsmore (5), Mark Reid (6), Michael McNaul (7), Peter Calvin (stk), Callum McBurney (cox).

COBRA VIII+: Philip Braithwaite (bow), Connor Campbell (2), Iain Giffin (3), Colin Stewart (4), Alan Campbell (5), David Ewart (6), Stephen Feeney (7), Steven Archibald (stk), Alex Humphrey (cox).

Coleraine Inst’s Humphries Hall was the venue for the Coleraine Old Boys Rowing Association's (COBRA) third successful annual table quiz on Friday 21st April. This primarily social event gives parents, pupils and friends of CAI Boat Club the chance to socialise not only with each other but also with old boys of the club. This year was the first event to be organised by COBRA’s newly elected fundraising committee of Philip Braithwaite, Alex Humphrey, Colin Cochrane, Connor Campbell, David Ewart and Ross Cochrane. This was not evident as everything went very smoothly and everyone present had a great time.

In all, over 10 tables fought out the 8 round table quiz, with Quizmaster Alex Humphrey keeping order with his team of Colin Cochrane, Conner Campbell and David Ewart making sure all went smoothly in the background. At the end or 8 hotly contested rounnds, the table quiz was won by the team named "Nearly There" of David Torrens, Gwen Torrens, Gwen Cochrane, Helen Cochrane and Maurice Cochrane, who finished strongly to snatch the lead from the "eX-men" of Andrew Wright, William Wright and Leslie Wasson in a dramatic last round. In fact it was so dramatic that the eX-men were somehow only awarded 1 point in the last round, even though they got 6 of the 8 answers right!

Refreshments were provided in the interval as another one of the famous "Old Boy verses School Boy" events entertained the spectators. It took the form of a 500 metre erg relay challenge and it turned out a close fought contest as usual. The gathered crowd heartily cheered on the school boys as they burst out of the blocks, led by Ryan Dynsmore. He was followed on by Darren Taggart, Robert Hart, David Stafford and finally Jamie McBurney.

The old boy’s line up was as follows - Connor Campbell, David Ewart, Colin Cochrane, Alex Humphrey and Andrew Wright, most of who are still rowing at university level on the mainland. In the end the old boys just scraped home ahead of the school boys by less than 3 seconds, due mainly to quicker changes of personel in the relay.

The night was brought to a fine close by the drawing of the prizes for the raffle. These included some really special items, including a beautifully restored mounted blade resplendent in CAIBC colours, and two Irish rowing t-shirts, donated by one of COBRA’s very own Olympians, Richard Archibald.

All those involved in COBRA and CAIBC would like to thank all those involved in the organisation of this event.

Andrew Wright

The AGM started at 17:30 in the Royal Court Hotel, Portush.  As well as a chance for all the members present to hear what had happened within COBRA in 2005 there was also the opportunity for all those who attended to have their say and many choose to do so.  A new fundraising committee was also appointed, consisting of P Braithwaite, A Humphrey, R Cochrane, C Cochrane and C Campbell.

During the meeting Richard Archibald (COBRA captain) presented, on behalf of COBRA, a small token of appreciation to Ross Cochrane, Philip Braithwaite, Andrew Wright and William Wright for taking an extended period of time out of study and work to coach at CAIBC.

The day was finished of with a dinner in the Royal Court with 26 people in attendance.   Everyone had a great night and as an association we are all looking forward to another, even more successful year.

THE MAIN MAN -

Bobby Platt MBE (seated) at the annual dinner, with the COBRA Board.
L to R: Brian Dickson (vice-captain), William Wright (chairman), Neil Giffin (secretary), Geoff Macdiarmid (treasurer), Johnny Coulter (social convenor), RICHARD ARCHIBALD (captain), Andrew Wright (under-secretary). 

Tuesday 27th December also saw the 10th anniversary reunion row of the 1996 1st VIII+ crew. The physical ability of some of these once fine athletes had deteriorated slightly, while one of their number, namely Richard Archibald, had gone on to represent Ireland in the Olympics and win a World Championships silver medal in Japan.  Despite this mixture, everyone involved had a great (if not slightly sore!) time catching up and getting back into a rowing boat.

The crew was - Neil "lightweight" Giffin (bow), Johnny "CTR - happy you be, happy you are" Coulter (2), Leslie "Elvis" Wasson (bow man from the 1995 1st VIII+, who was sitting in for Evan "E-head" Stewart (3)), Niels "106" Kee (4), William "AEF" Wright (5), Richard "smiley" Archibald (6), John "Loxy" Armstrong (cox of the 1996 1st VIII+, sitting in for John "Horse" Millar (7)), Geoff "where's the mirror" McDiamond (stk), which was coxed by the very unlucky Callum McBurney (cox of last years undefeated CAIBC J15 4x.)   The group of well wishers and supporters who watched from the bank all agreed that there was still some of the old magic left.

The annual fundraising barbeque was held at C.A.I. Boat Club on Saturday 10th September and once again it was an outstanding success. However this years event differed from previous ones as the money raised was being split between COBRA and another two charities, BBC Children in Need and the Fields of life Trust. The reason was that Coleraine Inst old boy and COBRA member Ian Harvey had recently finished a 400 mile endurance row across the length of the largest freshwater lake in the world raising money for these charities. 

Ian set a World Record by rowing across Lake Superior, in North America and took time out of his schedule to attend the COBRA BBQ. He was involved in all aspects of the day’s busy programme, from umpiring the traditional school boy, old boy VIII’s race, to watching the gut busting efforts in the erg challenge and drawing the winners of the raffle. Most importantly he gave all those present a glimpse into his heroic fundraising row in a fascinating talk. Ian also presented several CAIBC cups and other prizes for the erg challenge.

COBRA’s fundraising committee had the day planned down to the finest detail, and succeeded in raising the event to a new level. There were activities for all ages, from a bouncy castle which the younger (and some not so young) children enjoyed, to supervised rowing in VIII’s which allowed parents and friends of the club alike to try out the sport of rowing for themselves.

The crowds enjoyed not only the delicious food but the spectacle of close racing both on the water and on the land. The school boy, old boy race was held over the short course from below the Old Bridge to the School steps and was an enthralling event. The much lighter but much less experienced school boys flew off the start on the favoured Antrim station (after having won the toss on the 3rd attempt!), leaving the somewhat startled old boys having to dig deep to restore any chance of holding their heads high for the rest of the day. Having gone down by half a length the old boys rallied together, spurred on perhaps by the thought of their coaches stirring speech just moments earlier and pulled through the school boys to win by just less than a length.
Representing the school: P Stynes (cox), M Reid (stk), R Dinsmore (7), P Calvin (6), C Cochrane (5), R Hart (4), M McNaul (3), M Ewing (2), J McBurney.
Representing COBRA: C McBurney (cox), S Archibald (stk), I Giffin (7), C Stewart (6), C Bradley (5), D Ewart (4), A Wright (3), A Humphrey (2), P Braithwaite (bow).

The rowing machines were the next theatre of conflict and resulted in a few of those involved regretting that last piece of tasty barbequed chicken! Names were drawn out of a hat and competitors went head to head over a distance of 200 metres on those brutal rowing machines. In the end the winner of the Under 16 category was Ryan Dynsmore, and the winner of the Open category was Andrew Wright.

We would like to thank Ian Harvey for all he brought to the event, Iain Giffin and his fundraising committee for all the hard work and late nights that they put in, and those involved with the preparing and cooking of the food. Finally thanks to those that donated prizes for the raffle and most importantly a big thank you to all those who attended and supported the event.



Andrew Wright - COBRA Under-Secretary

The annual table quiz was held on Friday 1st April in Coleraine Inst.’s Humphreys Hall.  The event was organised by the COBRA fundraising committee, who ensured that all the boys, parents and friends of CAI Rowing Club had a thoroughly enjoyable night.

During the interval a wonderful piece of rowing memorabilia from the Athens Olympics, kindly donated by one of COBRA’s Olympians, was raffled off.  A 1000 metre race was also held on the rowing machines between the Old Boys and the School Boys, with the Old Boys greater experience helping them to a narrow victory. 

COBRA would like to thank all those who attended and made it a very enjoyable night.















Philip Braithwaite

The AGM of COBRA was held on the evening of Monday the 27th December, prior to the Annual Dinner.  Twenty two old boys of CAIBC attended the dinner held at the Royal Court Hotel, Portrush.

The evening was enjoyed by all who were there, especially the competitors in the “Profiterole Challenge”.  The official verdict was that Mr Alan Campbell won the Heavyweight Division, although after weight adjustments, was pushed into second place in the overall rankings by Mr Jason Taggart, who had won the Lightweight Division. 

The dinner was a good time to catch up with other old boys, and we look forward to seeing more people attending the next dinner, and other future COBRA events.

The morning of the 27th December saw the arrival at the Boathouse of a number of old boys for the 10th Anniversary Reunion of the CAIBC 1st VIII+ from the 1994/1995 season.  The reunion involved taking a “paddle” in an VIII+ to the Cutts and back making for an enjoyable, if at sometimes very painful, experience.

The original crew was Geoff Macdiarmid (stk), William Wright (7), Steven Wisener (6), John Millar (5), Richard Archibald (4), Dara Henry (3), Niels Kee (2), Leslie Wasson (bow) & Mark Black (cox).  Of the nine members of the crew only one (John) was unable to attend.  Mark substituted into John’s 5 seat, and Alex Humphrey (CAIBC 2000-2004) kindly “offered” to cox the crew.

After the exertions of the rowing, a number of the crew met up in a more social environment, over lunch.  Rumours are spreading about the possibility of a similar 10th Anniversary Reunion of the CAIBC 1st VIII+ from the 1995/1996 season.  Watch this space...

What a difference 10 years makes!!!

You wouldn't think they were the same crew.  (Yes, I know that the original 5 man was replaced by our cox, who was replaced by Alex, for the reunion.)

The second annual COBRA barbeque was another success despite the weather, with over 110 people in attendance, along with the local media.  Along with the presentation of the 2004 club trophies (Best crew – J16 VIII+, best oarsmen – Philip Braithwaite, Huston sculling cup – Alex Humphrey, Endeavour Cup – Ben Ruddock), the two CAI old boys who competed at the Athens 2004 Olympics, Richard Archibald and Alan Campbell, were also presented with school plaques to mark their achievements.  The Craig Cup (the J16 Ulster Championships) was also presented to the school by the victorious CAIBC crew.

C.O.B.R.A. Vs School Race

The barbeque also saw the might of COBRA take on the school 1st VIII+ & IV+ in a fantastic days racing over 500m, from Dunne’s car park to the CAIBC boat club’s steps. 

First up was the IV+, representing the school: Philip Braithwaite (stk), David Ewart (3), Darren Taggart (2) & Colin Cochrane (bow) coxed by Drew Neill.
Representing COBRA: Richard Archibald (stroke), Alan Campbell (3), Iain Giffin (2) & Richard Chambers (bow) coxed by Peri Stynes.

With the school having narrowly pipped the COBRA crew at last years sprint race by 2 feet, the old boy crew was out for revenge.  CAIBC won the toss and chose the County Londonderry bank; hoping that the river flow would help them to keep in touch with a COBRA crew containing two recent Olympians!  True to form, COBRA IV+ escaped off the start taking an immediate length advantage over the CAIBC crew.  Despite the valiant efforts of the school boys, the old boys built on their lead to cross the line 2½ lengths ahead.

The next race was the VIII+.  Representing the school: Peter Topping (stroke), Philip Braithwaite (7), Colin Cochrane (6), Darren Taggart (5), David Ewart (4), Ryan Dinsmore (3), Alex Humphries (2) & Ben Ruddick (bow) coxed by Drew Neill.
Representing COBRA: Richard Archibald (stroke), Alan Campbell (7), Colin Stewart (6), Stephen Feeney (5), Steven Archibald (4), Chris Bradley (3), Connor Campbell (2) & Chris Black (bow) coxed by Peri Stynes.

Once again CAIBC won the toss, but this time opted for the slightly shorter County Antrim station.  The school boys leapt off the start, seemingly faster than the speed of sound, given that the umpire hadn’t said GO yet!  Their “opportunistic” start gave them a half length lead, which they held until the closing stages of the race, when the old boys pulled through to win by just less than a length.

The race umpire for the day was Bill Barrie, coach of Alan Campbell at Tideway Scullers.  A good day was had by all, even though it was interrupted by the odd shower of rain.  Again our thanks to Iain Giffin and his many helpers, especially Clarke and Dot Black who kept the barbeque cooking, despite the weather!

Friday 2nd April saw the inaugural COBRA table quiz, held in the Humpries Hall at Coleraine Inst.  It was attended by over 80 friends and members of COBRA and CAIBC who all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. 

Quizmaster Iain Giffin took control of the evening’s activities and ensured that everyone was well informed and entertained.  He was helped in his tasks by Kyle Martin, Jason Taggart and Colin Stewart.

The overall winners after 10 closely contested rounds were the team of Mo Giffin, Mick Giffin, Lynne Gibb and Lloyd Gibb. 

Refreshments were provided during the interval with a school boy verses old boy rowing ergometer race.  COBRA patron Bobby Platt started the race and the school boys managed to win the race by default, due to the failure of the ergometer used by the old boy team.

The "victorious" CAIBC erg team, with COBRA patron, and CAIBC Head Coach, Bobby Platt

Bobby makes the draw, helped by quizmaster, Iain Giffin

After the hotly contested annual race between the school boys and old boys had been successfully completed, COBRA members met to hold the AGM of COBRA.  This was followed by a viewing of the video of the mornings race.

Later that evening the first ever Coleraine Old Boys Rowing Association dinner was held in the Lodge Hotel, with 30 guests in attendance.  We have every hope that this will become an annual fixture providing an opportunity for former oarsmen of CAI to meet up again with past colleagues.

The first COBRA barbeque was a resounding success with over eighty people in attendance, along with a full page report in the "Coleraine Chronicle". Many friends and parents were given the opportunity to experience rowing first hand themselves under the careful supervision of the older club members and gain a greater knowledge of the equipment. Among the other activities available were an 100m erg race, a chance to see the coveted HRR Diamonds Trophy, and some very close "old boy" versus "school boy" races.

100m Erg Races
An open challenge to one and all with prizes up for grabs it was hardly a surprise when Alan Campbell lifted first place with a time of 15.1 seconds, hotly followed by both Brian Dickson and Johnny Coulter with times of 15.3 seconds with several school boys pressing on their heels.

C.O.B.R.A. Vs School Race

The barbeque also saw the might of COBRA take on the school 1st VIII+ & IV+ in a fantastic days racing over 500m, from Dunnes car park to the CAIBC boat clubs steps. With the schoolboys having just completed another successful year this was going to be a real test for the old boys abilities. First up was the IV+, representing the school:

representing the school:
Jason Taggart (stroke) Ian Giffin (3) Connor Campbell (2) & Philip Braithwaite (bow) coxed by Drew Neill.
Representing COBRA:
Stephen Henry (stroke) Alan Campbell (3) Brian Dickson (2) & Johnny Coulter (bow) coxed byAlex Humphries.

With the school having narrowly missed a silver medal position in the Irish Junior Championships a couple of months earlier in July, this was certainly not going to be an easy race. COBRA won the toss and chose the Dunnes bank; hoping that the good lane would help keep them in touch with a Junior crew, renown for its speed off the blocks.. True to form, the school IV+ escaped off the start rating 50 strokes/minute taking an immediate length of the COBRA crew who were rating 38 strokes/minute. However after their initial burst it was the COBRA IV+ who began to push the race closing the school IV+ all the way to the finish but the school held on to take the win by a few feet.

The next race was the VIII+. Representing the school:
Connor Campbell (stroke) Ian Giffin (7) Jason Taggart (6), David Dunlop (5), Colin Stewart (4),
Geoff Hazlet (3), James Humphries (2) & Philip Braithwaite (bow) coxed by Drew Neill.
Representing COBRA:
Johnny Coulter (stroke) Brian Dickson (7) Kyle Martin (6) Alan Campbell (5), Richard Chambers (4), Chris Bradley (3), Stephen Henry (2) & Chris Black (bow) coxed by AleX Humphries.

Once again COBRA won the toss and chose the Dunne’s bank, with the old boys eager to make up for the earlier defeat. Both COBRA and the school boats lifted of the start head to head and it was the old boys turn to gradually pull out ahead winning the race by a length.

Brian Dickson -­­ captain of C.O.B.R.A.

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The day began down by the river Bann with the annual Old Boy verses School Boy race between COBRA and CAIBC.  The toss of the coin for race stations was done under the watchful eye of CAIBC head coach and COBRA Patron Bobbie Platt MBE.  COBRA Captain Richard Archibald won the toss and chose the Co Londonderry station for his crew.

The race was held in good conditions and as is becoming the norm, the BBC had sent a camera crew to cover the race.  In its 6th year since the traditional old boy Vs schoolboy race was restarted by COBRA, the course from the Cutts beside the Salmon Leap to Bann Rowing Club Boat House was the scene for a good battle.

Race umpire Richard Chambers lined up and started the 2 crews, with the lighter schoolboys storming out to a half length lead, which they held round the first bend. 

The slower starting COBRA VIII+ began to come to term with the school VIII+ and pulled in front as both crews fought a tough battle through the New Bridge.  The COBRA crew eased slowly ahead of the spirited schoolboys to win by 3 lengths in a time of 5mins 54 seconds.

CAIBC VIII+ - R Hart (stk), J McBurney (7), E Clark (6), R Dinsmore (5), B Mullan (4), M Stynes (3), C McBurney (2), M McNaul (bow), P Stynes (cox).

COBRA VIII+ - S Archibald (stk), A Campbell (7), D Ewart (6), C Black (5), S Henry (4), I Giffin (3), M Reid (2), A Humphrey (bow), J Taggart (cox).

Pictures by the offical COBRA photographer - Paul Wright Esq.

The day began down by the river Bann with the annual Old Boy verses School Boy race between COBRA and CAIBC.  The toss of the coin for race stations was done under the watchful eye of Bobbie Platt MBE, on whose able shoulders rests the twin roles of CAIBC head coach and COBRA Patron.  Club Captain Micheal McNaul won the toss for CAIBC and chose the Co Antrim station for his crew.

The race was held despite the inclement weather over the traditional course from the Cutts beside the Salmon Leap to Bann Rowing Club Boat House.  For the first year COBRA fielded two crews against the School Boys, a IV+ dominated by internationals and an VIII+ made up of domestic oarsmen.   Race umpire Bobby Platt MBE lined up and started the 3 crews, assisted by George Hull and Iain Giffin.

The COBRA VIII+ had the best start of the 3 crews, leaving the race to be fought out between the COBRA IV and the School Boys. The slower starting IV took the whole race to come to terms with the school VIII+, only pulling ahead to take second place from the School Boys by two feet, a length behind COBRA VIII+ (time: 5:49).

CAIBC VIII+ - P Calvin (stk), M McNaul (7), M Reid (6), J Mitchell (5), R Hart (4), D Stafford (3), M McCullough (2), J McBurney (bow), P Stynes (cox).

COBRA VIII+ - S Archibald (stk), P Braithwaite (7), D Ewart (6), J Heslet (5), S Henry (4), C Stewart (3), A Humphrey (2), L Wasson (bow), J Taggart (cox).

COBRA IV+ - R Archibald (stk, LM4- World bronze medallist & Overall World Cup winner 2006), Alan Campbell (3, M1x World finalist & Overall World Cup winner 2006), Richard Chambers (2, LM2- World finalist, World Cup Gold & Under 23 World Champion 2006), C Black (bow), C McBurney (cox).

The 3 crews with race umpire Bobby Platt MBE






Andrew Wright – COBRA Under-SecretaryT

The event was covered by BBC Newsline.

Richard Chambers on BBC Newsline regarding the number of current international athletes from Coleraine Inst “no other town or school has produced this across the UK and it just makes Coleraine quite special”.

Peri Stynes on BBC Newsline “Its always good having the old boys back to give us a wee kick of encouragement”.

Richard Archibald, COBRA Captain on BBC Newsline “We started the old boys rowing association to keep the interest in the school club and get people down to pass on their experiences”.

SEE above (barbeque 2006)

The day dawned clear and still with the sharp frost providing the picturesque backdrop for the entertaining rowing.  The first item on the days agenda was the annual Old Boy v School Boy VIIIs race.  This annual event is something all those involved with Coleraine Academical Institution Boat Club (CAIBC) and COBRA have come to look forward to as it pitches the youth and spirit of the school boys against the experience and technical skill of the old boys.  However year on year it is becoming harder for the school boys to win as COBRA’s rowing members go from strength to strength.

This year the COBRA VIII+ had no less than four current GB and Irish internationals in the form of Richard Archibald (stk), Alan Campbell (7), Richard Chambers (6) and Stephen Feeney (5) as well as Steven Archibald (4), Iain Giffin (3), Alex Humphrey (2) and Jason Taggart (bow), all of whom are currently competing at a high level.  They were coxed by school boy Johnny Mitchell.
CAIBC VIII+ Mark Reid (stk), Michael McNaul (7), Aimal Khan (6), David Stafford (5), Michael Topping (4), Ryan Dinsmore (3), Robert Hart (2), Jamie McBurney (bow) and Callum McBurney (cox).

This array of talent did nothing to daunt the school boys, who showed no fear as they flew of the start line just as they had been instructed to do by their coach Ross Cochrane.  The course was from The Cutts, past the Mountsandel forest, underneath the New Bridge and down the straight to Bann RC stone steps, a distance of approximately 2000m. However despite the school boys grit, resolve and mental determination, experience eventually won the day and the old boys powered through the younger crew and took the lead.  R. Archibald drove his crew hard from the stroke seat, not letting up for even one stroke until they eventually crossed the finish line, according to the race umpire, CAIBC coach and COBRA patron Bobby Platt MBE 3 lengths clear of the exhausted school boys in a time of 5:28. 

Andrew Wright - Under-Secretary of COBRA

SEE above (barbeque 2005)

On the Monday after Christmas people gathered at the Boathouse to see the two crews launch for the annual Boat Race, where the school 1st VIII took on an old boy’s crew.  The crews raced over the course from just below the Cutts, down to Bann Boathouse in reasonable conditions.

With the COBRA captain Brian Dickson winning the toss and choosing the better Antrim station the CAIBC crew faced a difficult task.  The COBRA crew took advantage of the inside line at the first bend to open a small lead, driven on by the Olympian stern pair of Richard and Alan.  The school crew pushed the old boys hard over the whole course, but was unable to push past the more experienced oarsmen.  The COBRA crew took the honours in a time of 5:25, by a verdict of two and a half lengths.  The race was umpired by the Vice-President of C.A.I. Board of Governors and COBRA member Clarke Black. 

CAIBC VIII+  - D. Ewart (stk), D. Taggart (7), C. Cochrane (6), R. Dinsmore (5), A. Khan (4), J. Goodman (3), M. Reid (2), B. Ruddock (bow), D. McNeil (cox).
COBRA VIII+ - R. Archibald (stk), A. Campbell (7), C. Stewart (6), I. Giffin (5), S. Archibald (4), C. Bradley (3), J. Taggart (2), C. Black (bow), P. Stynes (cox).

SEE above (barbeque 2004)

Monday the 22nd December saw the annual race between the Coleraine Inst schoolboys’ and the old boys’, held over a distance of 1700m from the Cutts down to the Bann Rowing Club boathouse.

The school crew comprised of the remnants from the previous year’s Henley crew with several up and coming oarsmen drawn from this years junior crews to bridge the gaps left by the recent school leavers. The crew order was as follows: cox Drew Neill, (stk) Peter Topping, (7) Philip Braithwaite, (6) Colin Cochrane, (5) James Purse, (4) Alex Humphrey, (3) Andrew Robinson, (2) Richard Knight, (bow) Ben Ruddock.

The old boy’s crew represented a collection of former C.A.I. oarsmen now rowing at clubs throughout the UK, most having left Inst. within the last 5 years. We were fortunate enough to be able to include Alan Campbell in our line up as he is at present in contention for the British Olympic Quad destined for the Olympics in Athens later this year. The crew order was as follows: cox John Armstrong, (stk) Jonathon Coulter, (7) Brian Dickson, (6) Colin Stewart, (5) Alan Campbell, (4) Stephen Henry, (3) Jason Taggart, (2) Connor Campbell, (bow) Iain Giffin.

The old boys’ won the toss and chose the Co. Antrim station, leaving the school with the Co. Londonderry station. The race began at 10 o’clock with the patron of Coleraine Old Boys Rowing Association (C.O.B.R.A.), Bobby Platt calling the start.

The school took the lead of the start rating 36; the old boys’ were marginally slower to get into gear rating 32, but began to press through with the help of the first bend. Rounding the first corner the school rallied and took back the lead edging up to half a length in front.  In response the old boys’ began to push and by the new bridge both crews were level. The old boys’ then began to press their advantage and had taken a half-length lead as the crews passed through the interval start.

The tension was high as the crews began to overlap and clash blades, each cox attempting to hold the best line for the finish. The old boys’ crew succeeded in holding the line through a combination of experience and speed and increased their lead to a full length as the crews approached Tescos. The school was not going to lie down and wound hard for the finish rating 38 closing the old boys’ lead to a third of a length as they crossed the line, in a fast time of 5 minutes 29 seconds.

Later that evening the first ever Coleraine Old Boys Rowing Association dinner was held in the Lodge Hotel  (SEE Below).

Brian Dickson - Captain of C.O.B.R.A.

SEE above (barbeque 2003)

"After an absence of a number of years, one of the most popular CAI rowing traditions was re-established as the school 1st VIII took on an old boy’s crew in a boat race along the windswept river Bann.  Both crews braved choppy rowing conditions as they raced over a course of approximately 2000 metres from a start just below the cutts, down to the old town bridge.  In a time of 5:34, it was the old boy crew that took the honours in a closely fought contest, by a verdict of little more than half a length.

The CAI crew had their race preparations hindered, having to call in a couple of late replacements as the season of colds and flu had taken its toll on the school squad.  By contrast, the crew of the Coleraine Old Boys Rowing Association, COBRA, was bolstered by ex-CAI oarsmen, including internationals, now rowing in a variety of places such as Belfast, Bristol, Durham and London.  When the old boys won the toss and choose the more sheltered Antrim station it seemed fair to place them as slight favourites for the contest.

The race was started by chief umpire and COBRA Patron Bobby Platt, and although both crews got away cleanly it was the old boy’s that made the most of their station and forced themselves into a lead of around one length.  That was as far ahead as they got in the whole of the race however as CAI began to claw back some of the deficit whilst COBRA tried to settle into a race rhythm.  What the CAI crew lacked in horsepower, they more than made up with in spirit and determination and they found themselves only one quarter of a length behind at the half way mark.

It was then a powerful push by the old boy’s that restored a lead of almost one length as the race entered the last 500 metres and although CAI continued to fight back it always seemed that the COBRA crew had enough to hold on.  Indeed they did hold on to cross the finish line around half a length ahead of CAI in what was an exciting climax to the contest.  After the race Bobby stirred some controversy by suggesting that had the two crews been on opposite stations the result could have been very different."  

CAIBC VIII: J. Taggart (stk), I. Giffin, C. Stewart, G. Blair, D. Dunlop, J. Humphrey, A. Humphrey, P. Braithwaite (bow), O. Wali (cox).

COBRA VIII: S. Archibald (stk), N. Giffin, K. Martin, A. Campbell, S. Henry, C. Bradley, J. Rosborough, C. Black (bow), D. McNeill (cox).


Neil Giffin - secretary of C.O.B.R.A.