News

M1

Having been temporarily incapacitated by a back injury, I was forced to cheer the boys on from the bank in Champs Head last Sunday. Given a distinct lack of practice of standing starts, ours was relatively impressive and a good race pace was established coming into Ditton Corner. Coming out of this corner the crew were greeted by a strong wind down the reach. A final burst coming under the railway bridge took the crew over the line at the P&E. It was encouraging that, despite the conditions, there really was a platform upon which power could be applied, as we demonstrated by the exhausted bodies at the finish. We beat a number of good M1 crews but there is still much work to be done with Peterhouse putting in an impressive performance.

Ed Martin,
Men's Captain

M2

We came into Champs VIII Head off the back of our victory in the previous head race last weekend. However with two changes to the crew and a host of previously unseen boats entered into the division we were facing a new challenge once again. On our row up we had some explosive practice starts coupled with our best technique work this year. Our start for the race demonstrated the power, if not quite the technique of the boat and we accelerated away from the start rapidly. The corner was upon us faster than expected and so were forced to lengthen during our 10 high. Out of Ditton we settled and maintained an efficient ratio down the reach. At the railway bridge we pushed for the finish and ended with a very respectable time of 5:22. This time saw us top the M4 division, and beat several crews above us including 2 crews in M2 and even one crew in div 1. It was a highly encouraging performance and I look forward to our next race at Nines Regatta.

Jack Jervoise,
Men's Vice Captain

W2

Judy Savitskaya,
Women's Vice Captain

M1

The prospect of a Head-to-Head race is always a gruelling mental challenge but one which the Men's VIII embraced with great determination. The boys did not hold anything back on the first leg and we produced some of our best ever rowing at higher rate; a transformation from the Head of the Cam last week. Due to the small division size, we didn't have much time to recover before we were off again and fighting against a strong and gusty wind this time. Whilst still a vast improvement on last week, the return leg lacked a bit of aggression. The fact that the crew were able to significantly increase the boat speed 10 strokes before the line (which should have happened 2 minutes earlier) was testament to this. This is borne out in the results, although it is difficult to compare accurately due to the large variations in conditions throughout the day. We ended right in the middle of the M1s, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but something the crew is eager to improve upon before Bumps.

Edward Martin,
Men's Captain

M2

For M2 the H2H was the first race with the new crew. With some changes made over the Easter break we were all keen to see how our new look M2 would fare. A confident row to the first start was encouraging, and our position as 11th in the division meant we were directly behind boats 2-3 places above us in bumps. As we wound upto our first 2k, beginning under the motorway bridge we had a high 20 before settling down to our race pace. We had a controlled and long stroke and maintained this for the race. Coming round Ditton we began to close on the crew in front (Emma M3) who we overtook through the gut. We pushed off the crew and finished with a very respectable time of 6:48, beating several M2 boats in divs 2 and 3 in the process. Our 2k back was a similar race, this time against our old nemesis FaT M3. This time we were rowing into a strong headwind but we held our stroke together and overtook FaT at the start of Long Reach. Our time for the second leg was 7:49, with tiredness and a strong headwind playing their part in slowing us down considerably. However our overall time of 14:37 was enough for us to win our division and beat all but one boat in the Mays division above us. All in all a successful day for M2 and bodes well for the future!

Jack Jervoise
Men's Vice Captain

M1

Following a week in which we had focused on technical issues with the crew a marked gear change was required in order to prepare for our first race of the term, the Head of the Cam. The crew took it off well down First Post Reach and into the Gut, and the boat had a great sense of send. However, things began to deteriorate as we entered the second half of the race and as hard as Gemma, our cox tried, we failed to get the rate up in a concerted manner, something which undoubtedly hindered our ability to hit top speed. As a result, Rob Roy behind us were able to gain rapidly in the last 500m. That said, it was a solid effort, especially given that we did not have a full crew available, and our time there or thereabouts with most other college M1s.

Edward Martin
Men's Captain

W1

This race, whilst cleaner, had less aggression than previous races and this reflected in our comparatively slow time. Whilst placing well against other town and college VIIIs, our ranking in comparison to other college 1st boats was disappointing placing 9th out of the 9 college boats that took part. Obviously, this result is not representative of what this W1 is capable of achieving and the focus for the term will be to redress that and bounce back.

2 races; one good result, one poor result. W1 are currently working towards striking a balance between being both technical and powerful and both races were excellent in terms of learning more about what needs to be done this term. Spring Head to Head and Bedford Spring Regatta are the next two competitions, W1 will take part in, and I am excited about the potential progress we will make.

Stella Isaac,
Women's Captain

W1

W1's season kicked off with taking part in Radegund's mile, which by all accounts was a steady row, and a good way to look at the potential line-up for W1 in the term ahead. The aggression in the race itself was good but technical weakness in our catches were revealed. The result was pleasing however, time: 7:00 flat (I predicted 7:10) Placed 4th out of 8 college VIIIs that entered and 7th out of 21 ladies VIIIs that participated.

Stella Isaac,
Women's Captain

Race reports from the final day of Lent Bumps.

Crew: M1. Result: Row-over. Following the triumphs of Friday, M1 were keen to finish the week on a high by bumping Fitz. Alas, it wasn't to be. We got off to a great start (our best of the week) and gained our first whistle on Plough Reach. We closed in to half a length along the reach and with a 'burn' push called, which had been so successful for us all week, we momentarily got three whistles. Fitz, however, responded well and pushed off us. The boys gave it absolutely everything right to the line but we were forced to settle with a row over. We were disappointed but have much to be proud of this week. Up one is a positive result and we are looking forward to improving on that in May Bumps. Ed Martin, M1 Captain.

Crew: W1. Result: Rowed over. W1 rowed over chasing Peterhouse W1 all the way to the line.

Crew: M2. Result: Bumped Magdalene M2. M2 had a rollercoaster of a race on the final day of Bumps. After getting our first bump as a crew the previous day we rowed up full of confidence that we had turned a corner. We knew that it was going to be tough to catch Magdalene but I don't think any of us were prepared for what happened. We started strongly, rating ~42 during the high 10 and settling down to 36 along first post reach. About halfway along the reach we had pulled away from FaT behind us and had a whistle on Magdalene. This is when disaster struck and the number 4 blade came out its gate. Suddenly the boat became exceptionally heavy and all our good work started to unravel. We rowed in 7s for roughly 40 strokes coming round first post corner, by which time we had managed to recover the blade, get it back in the gate and settle back into our rhythm again. We'd dropped to about two and a half lengths behind Magdalene by this point and had FaT closing on their first whistle. Once we recovered though we pushed away rapidly, closing the gap on Magdalene to two lengths coming round Grassy. By 3/4 of the way down Plough reach we had gained overlap and while they held us coming round Ditton they conceded the bump just after the corner. It was an inspiring row for the crew and a thrilling way to end off our Bumps campaign. Jack Jervoise, M2 Captain

Crew: W2. Result: Bumped King`s W2. Trying to settle down to a lower rate to avoid the misfortune of constantly catching crabs and being overtaken by less fit crews, W2 had a marvellous start and bumped King`s W2 within the first few minutes of the race. Thus again, our racing distance did not exceed 1k (this had both advantages and disadvantages!) This meant denying King`s blades, and also raised our self-esteem after the problems earlier in the week. Barbora Janulikova, W2 Captain

Crew: M3. Result: Bumped by Clare III. Oh well, we couldn't replicate day 2's bump despite the same starting line. I think day 2 was just quite a special row from the guys as opposed to any real flaws today. And Clare, to give them due credit, started very quickly. I think we were all a little shaken by the speed with which they gained ground. The real pity is that coming up to first post corner, not only did Clare overlap us, but we got the distance between us and Emma down to half a length. And as they hit us, the gap came down to a quarter of a length. Just one of those things. That's bumps! But very proud of the team this term. The best teams have consistency and I'm certain this crew can become one of those come Mays. Thank you to everyone who helped! Eoghan Hartigan, M3 Captain

Crew: M4 Result: Row over The final day for our novice lent bumps crew. Having promised great things in the BCD menu, I and the crew wanted that final day of bumps to avoid footship spoons. We had Dom as a sub for Tom and Keaton switched to bow side. We had a large bank party of helpers - Will Hamilton, Jenny Jones and Matt Grayson - who put us in a good starting position. We had a great start and were gaining on Sidney. We got canvas near Grassy corner and everyone continued to push with all they had, though eventually we tired and Sidney broke away. Footship spoons were waiting for us at BCD and the whole crew wore them. The crew performed well and kept spirits high despite many incidents and I am proud to have been their captain. Fredrik, captain M4.