Results and reports by Event

Doing well at Fairbairns was the focus of Michaelmas term. The Clare M1 crew of 2017 had set the bar high at 10th position but our captain and coach weren’t willing to settle for anything less. The training schedule was intense with five outings a week plus land training and all were committed to putting the work in. Unfortunately despite excellent coaching from Gripper, Andy and Esther leading to big technical improvements over the term, the boat never had that magic ingredient/explosive power needed to reach the zen expected of Clare M1. As the weeks went by it became increasingly clear that we may get found out over the 15 minutes of Fairbairns. We set off from Jesus with a rolling start - 3 x 3 quarter slide, lengthening to rate 34 which felt good – things were looking up! Steered by the Cams most revered cox, Clement Chan, we glided round the bends to Green Dragon and cruised towards the reach with a strange sense that things were going well and it may actually turn out to be alright on the night. However, similar to childbirth we seemed to have forgotten the pain of previous Fairbairns and as we hit the top of the reach we were all soon reminded in varying quantity. Coming round grassy it was clear that we were struggling to keep the power on and the race number on the chasing crew gradually became more clear. However, there was no lack of determination and every member of the crew gave everything. A disappointing time and a low ranking left little to cheer about as we returned to the boathouse to find Oriel boat club celebrating first place. The Christmas holidays give us time to work on strength and fitness and we are confident that the Lent term will see us return to contention.

Uploaded Saturday 8th December, 23:09

W1 had been working hard in the run up to Fairbairns. Our ergs had been long, our outings had been good, and even though our stash game had been poor for most of the term, by the time Fairbairns came around we'd even got that sorted (much to Gripper's joy). When we awoke on Friday we were very pleased to find that conditions had improved greatly from the previous day, and that we wouldn't have to battle 40mph winds during what was already going to be a hard race. We had a long warm up to some 'inspiring' music, got out our boat and had a nice crew huddle underneath the Clare flag. All seemed very hopeful, and our row down to Jesus Lock was even pretty sat. Marshalling was a slight challenge, but eventually we were told to push off, and reluctantly de-kitted. A couple of minutes later we were off, and our start seemed strong. We got the rate to a nice 36, as Gripper wanted, and sped past Clare Boat House where we were met with shouts of encouragement. After a small mishap near the Combined Boat Houses we began to attack the race again, and it felt pretty strong, rating between 32/34. Towards the P and E you could feel that the boat was beginning to tire, very aware that we still had the majority of the course left to row. However, thanks to some great calls from Tom, we pushed through and began our strong 60 up the reach. At Ditton, it really started to hurt but we knew we were nearly there, and although it wasn't as clean at points as we might've liked, individual pointers from Tom, and Gripper and Ben on the bank, had us focusing on our technique once more to bring us round to first post, where our final call 'Do it for Stuart' (who is Stuart? No one knows.) had us giving every last bit of energy until the finish, which seemed much further after the motorway bridge than anticipated… We finished the race with our spirits still high, and after some interesting marshalling at the finish end, we had a fun row back. Although our placing wasn't as high as we wanted, we rowed well as a crew and have lots to be proud of, and equally lots to work on in the build-up to bumps!

Uploaded Thursday 6th December, 15:21

“Then the winds drove our ship towards the high seas and away from our land. What became of the other ships I know not.”

-The Odyssey, Part II Chapter V

The morning of Thursday 29th heralded winds of an epic scale – oars clashed, bows were struck and it was only through t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶x̶,̶ ̶j̶a̶m̶i̶e̶ sheer blind luck that L’Ashby did not suffer a similar horrendous fate to that it had sustained earlier in the term. Escaping the carnage of Jesus boathouse, NM1 stuck well to our routine and managed to secure quick gains along the first part of the race. Rowing on a shorter course, with the help of Calum’s Scottish roars, we were able to push through the inclement weather and finish with a respectable time of 7:10 – a solid conclusion to a sound term’s rowing. Alas, our long-time nemesis First and Third beat us by 2 seconds – continuing an enduring grudge that our team have yet to fully set straight. Mission failed – we’ll get ‘em next time.

Uploaded Sunday 9th December, 16:43

Morgan Phillips reports:

The final race of term was upon us, and on the cold Thursday morning we were met with what felt like gale-force winds. However, despite NM2’s close to shambolic performances in the previous sprints, we were ready to come into our prime on the shortened Fairbairn course, spurred on by the thought of a post race midmorning visit to Spoons. To everyone’s disbelief, what ensued was a nearly crabless performance with solid timing, some viking like yelling of “PUSH” and a cracking result for the final novice race, capped off with the signature Canadian Backstops celebration. Yellow Fire!

Uploaded Wednesday 5th December, 16:22