AT the age of 66, the mayor was enjoying the memories. At the age of 16, Alice Jackson was embracing the future.

A long time ago it may have been, but Philip Pester, the Mayor of Bideford, had total recall of the corresponding occasion 50 years ago when he, too, was just 16.

As he sat on the sidelines watching the town's annual regatta on Saturday, how could he forget the day his Bideford Reds under-18 crew won the men's coxed fours?

"The thing I remember most was the noise," he said.

"Coming up the river, being the Red boat in front, the noise from the riverside virtually lifted you out of the water.

"There were thousands cheering, the crowds were five or six deep.

"It was beautiful weather, a higher tide than today. It was brilliant."

The shoreline support is less these days but there remains a vibrant atmosphere and a strong entry for the Bideford Regatta, which dates back to the late 1800s.

Those who stayed until near the end could not fail to have been impressed by Jackson, from Abbotsham. What she did is not supposed to happen.

It was not so much that she won both the ladies' under-16 and under-18 single sculls, it was the manner of her victory in the older category.

As an incentive, after the opposition had scratched, club captain Barry White promised her a pint if she caught the double sculls race ahead.

Jackson not only caught it, she overtook two crews, having begun 200m down over the 1,000m course.

That will be two pints, please.

Pester gave up rowing three years after his coxed fours victory, which gave them the unofficial West of England title, but Jackson has plans for a longer stay.

As Bideford Blues' outstanding young rower, she is on the fringe of the Great Britain squad.

This season, Jackson missed selection for a match against France by only three-tenths of a second and, asked to state her goals, there was no hint of hesitation in her reply.

"Row in the Olympics," she said. "Rio in 2016 sounds fun."

The nearest Pester got to the Olympics was rubbing shoulders last year with the Searle brothers, Jonny and Greg, who won gold in the coxed pairs at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.

And he could not resist mentioning his past.

"I went, as mayor, to represent the town at the opening of the new Kingsley School," he said. "I told them (the Searles) I had won a couple of cups in my time."

It was while she was at Grenville College, which merged with Edgehill College to form Kingsley School, that Jackson started rowing.

It may be painful for Pester to hear this, but she is a Red who became a Blue.

Neil Pennington, a Blues clubman, had told the Journal prior to the regatta: "You would never cross, you are either a Red or Blue."

"How dare you swear in front of me," jested Pester when asked if, in his competitive days, he had been Reds or Blues. "Reds," he said assertively.

So how did Jackson change? Her mother, Penelope Jackson explained.

"She started rowing in her first year of secondary school," she said.

"But the Grenville coach didn't allow girls to row and she rowed with Reds for a season.

"She was keen to start and I suggested she try the Reds because they had a bigger children's section.

"In the second year, Tina Robertson took over the coaching (at Grenville College) and was keen to include girls.

"So then Alice rowed with the Blues because they are affiliated with Kingsley."

Jackson's other achievements include a top-five place in her age group in each of the last three British Indoor Rowing Championships.

Ergometers had not been thought of back in Pester's day.So many changes.

"When I started rowing they had a boat they called the tub," said the mayor.

"The coach would sit in the back and you had to prove you could row in the tub before you could get into a gig.

"And, when you did get into a gig, it was one of the oldest things they had.

"You had to make do with seats coming off and goodness knows what. They were all wooden boats, no fibreglass boats.

"They row with two paddles now, we rowed with one and they were a lot bigger."

In what was the final regatta of the season in the West of England Championships, the most keenly awaited contest was the women's senior B fours.

Going into the race, Reds and Dartmouth led on nine points, with Exeter on eight.

A home championship victory was denied as Exeter won, to take three points, while Reds earned none for fourth.

But at least a win in the women's senior A fours — for Claire Spearman, Hannah Bright, Judith Atherton and Sarah Fellowes — provided a celebration for Reds.

It was a result to bring cheer to the watching trophy winner from 50 years ago.

A moment for the Red among the suits in the hospitality tent to raise a glass and say: "I know how it feels."