As always, the WEHoRR Committee are working hard to deliver a fair and safe race for all our competitors. We have been monitoring both weather models and the strong flow of the river as part of this process. As of Monday evening, the river has a PLA Ebb Flag status of red.
If the PLA Ebb Flag status remains red, we will be unable to run the race for safety reasons. We are currently working towards a scenario where the PLA Ebb Flag status will be yellow on race day as we feel that this currently looks like the most likely scenario.
When the PLA Ebb Flag status is yellow, “The PLA advises beginners, juniors (J15s) and weaker crews not to go afloat on an ebb tide, all river users should navigate with extreme caution and consider whether it is safe for them to go afloat on an ebb tide.” As such, we therefore have to withdraw all J15 and beginner crews at this point (if crews have J15s onboard and can make a suitable substitute by 9pm on Wednesday this will be considered).
We are also asking all clubs/crews to revisit their own risk assessment in light of the forecast conditions. If crews choose to withdraw and we do run the race, those crews will be given a full refund. If the race is cancelled, all crews will be treated equally for refunds based on the final costs incurred by the competition. The deadline for this assessment and guaranteed race refund is 9pm on Wednesday 6th March. Please use BROE for all withdrawals.
The Committee will review the situation on Thursday evening based on the information available at that time, and a final decision will be announced by 9pm on Thursday 7th March.