Results and reports by Event

Day 1

Chasing Peterhouse, chased by Magdalene

This was my first Lent Bumps for three years and thanks to the ice and cancellation of a lot of races this term, we started out knowing far less about our opposition than I've been used to. Still, we'd had a good final week together and plenty of confidence within the crew.

We had a reasonable start and improved further when we hit a rhythm. The bumpy water, as expected, took the edge off our rowing a little, but we were going very confidently by First Post. In the Gut, it was clear that Magdalene were easily outside station and by the time we'd come round Grassy and pushed out of the corner, we knew that they simply weren't going to feature in our race. It was between us and Peterhouse.

By Ditton corner, Peterhouse were right on to their opposition, but some creative steering from their cox gave us the opportunity to push up on them. We got them probably to a length and a quarter and stayed up on them this amount for much of the rest of the course. They were an experienced crew, but we did feel we were gaining the upper hand a little before we crossed the finish. A bit more river could have been handy...

All in all, an excellent first day, against a decent opposition. We know we're faster, that we're fit enough to get them and that we don't need to worry about a challenge from behind. The ball is in our court, so watch this space!

Day 2

Chasing Peterhouse, chased by Magdalene

We had the measure of the opposition today. We expected Magdalene to be bumped and we knew we would have to go off hard to get Peterhouse before they got Tit Hall. We had quite a nice start and were really able to settle well into a rhythm shortly after. Magdalene got bumped before First Post, allowing us to really focus on Peterhouse ahead.

We kept them inside our distance, but they had signals on Trinity Hall and didn't let us come up on them, but we had some really committed rowing down Plough Reach. At Ditton, Tit Hall finally expired, leaving us 6 lengths to Jesus. Onto the Reach we took the rate up and bore down on them. Obviously an overbump wasn't particularly likely, but we made Jesus race it all the way to top finish and took several lengths out of them at the same time. The boat felt like it was moving extremely well and the focus and determination really was excellent.

So, another rowover, but a very strong one at that and one that showed us we can both sprint and stick the course. We know we're plenty faster than Tit Hall and with a little 'encouragement' from Girton behind us tomorrow, we'll be out to get our bump in style!

Day 3

Chasing Trinity Hall, chased by Girton

Well the row up and the row back were perfect, but the couple of minutes in the middle could have been better. We knew this one was going to be tough and we almost did what we wanted, but some things didn't quite go to plan and Girton really were very quick.

We'd noticed on the way up that Tit Hall were barely doing anything for the practice starts and looked like they were desperately trying to conserve every last scrap of energy for the race. We had some really nice starts and by all accounts were rowing very neatly up to the start.

Unfortunately our start didn't quite go to plan, partly due to an overly tight (and at first knotted!) chain, although Becky valiantly clung on until the gun. We recovered fairly well into our rhythm though and Girton didn't seem to make up any ground immediately. We quickly got length whistles on Trinity Hall and started pushing up on them, but Girton got their length whistles only a couple of strokes later. Approaching First Post Corner, we got two whistles but Girton had suddenly closed down a further third of a length. We knew this was the point to push Girton back and ourselves on to Tit Hall. Unfortunately, with unacanny timing, this was also the point at which everyone on Bowside hit a large branch, losing us almost two complete strokes.

We tried to reset and push to finish Tit Hall, but now Girton could smell blood and put in a very impressive final push to end the race. We were bumped out with between a quarter to half a length left to Tit Hall.

All in all, a disappointing day, though we made up for it somewhat by getting the man from Jet Photographic to take a crew photo and we did some really good practice bursts on the reach on the way home. With almost any other crew behind us, we could have had that bump - but that's the luck of the draw. Girton really are a very quick crew this term and they are practically guaranteed blades tomorrow. We have a date with Christs who are quickly going to learn we know how to hold our own down the length of this course

Day 4

Chasing Girton, chased by Christs

Bit of a shame today. We thought we were probably equivalent in speed to Christs and shouldn't have too much trouble holding them off. We also had a pretty good idea of what Nick's race plan for them would be: Flat out 500m sprint, pushes into and out of corners and no bell for the bump. Perhaps we underestimated the extra speed you get when you're on for blades...

We had a good start and they certainly didn't move on us to start with. In fact we took some distance out of Girton who demolished us yesterday. The rowing was pretty good and the start probably the best all week. However, they just kept coming. We made some really committed pushes on to Girton, but in the end we simply couldn't fend them off and they got us at First Post corner.

On the plus side we then got to watch an incredible pulling-in fail from Christs who apparently 'forgot' to do so, sending the following crews extremely wide. Too wide for Catz who in a fit of incompetence hit a stationary crew on the outside of First Post at full speed. It made a delightful crunch and fortunately no-one was injured, but it was certainly the most serious collision I've personally witnessed in 6 years of bumps - certainly not the sort of thing that should be happening in the first division.

Overall

I suppose it was generally a frustrating week for us. We generally rowed fairly well and as little as a quarter of a length separated us from going up two or down two. We were slightly screwed over by the draw, ending up ahead of two extremely competent crews in the form of Girton and Christs, but that's bumps. Still, we've got another year now to plot our revenge... I'm looking forward to it already :)

Uploaded Saturday 3rd March, 18:04

Day 1: Peterhouse were a completely unknown quantity for us, but they were who we were chasing so it didn't really matter. Personally I don't think I've ever been so relaxed throughout a race. We started off strong and held station with Peterhouse (in front) and Magdalene (behind). Through some good pushes we broke Magdalene and they disappeared into the distance as we pulled away. Peterhouse turned out to be competent be we started to break them down in the last 300m or so. It felt like the race was relaxed and together and if we had another 1k to chase Peterhouse we would probably have caught them. Hopefully we took enough out of Peterhouse today to make tomorrow a bumping day. Good work boys, bring on tomorrow.

Day 2: Well we pushed hard and went all out to catch Peterhouse off the start. They gained on Tit Hall fairly quickly and the focus changed to the overbump on Jesus. Well the overbump was too much but we gained at least halfway on Jesus by the end. Probably the best row to date in this crew, it was just a shame we had no one to bump.

Day 3: We could blame the log that lost us quarter of a length on Tit Hall and gave Peterhouse a quarter of a Length. We could blame the less than stellar start position with a few awkward strokes to start. But really we had the best start of the week today moving slightly out of station with Girton and well up on Tit Hall. Girton are quick, rate high and are very tidy and we were no match for them. Tit Hall would have been caught by grassy and on any other day we would have smashed them. Tomorrow we stop Christ's from blading and for me that will more than enough of a result from the week. Lets put Christ's to bed tomorrow and have a quick and uneventful race.

Uploaded Friday 2nd March, 21:48

Day 2

While the boys keep tiring out the grey matter pondering the survival tactics of rational tigers, I was given the non-probability-related task of writing the race report.

Well, a row-over wasn't what we wanted, obviously, but the standard today was probably higher than I've ever seen in a Clare M1. On a solid row down which was nice and calm (once Gao kept his eyes in the boat) we took a pretty nippy practise-start at the Plough and felt relaxed and confident on the start.

We were sharper, stronger and faster than yesterday (we even got all our blades in for the first stroke...) and we made the transition from a sprint for Peterhouse to a long-haul chase for the overbump on Jesus pretty solidly and kept closing till Jesus were over the line. Tomorrow we're going to dig even deeper and get the bump we've been searching for.

Uploaded Thursday 1st March, 18:25

Day One

Chasing Tit Hall, Being chased by Caius

A bump on First-Post Corner usually means that either the crew in front is slow, or the crew behind is fast. Today we showed that we are FAST. Not only did we munch into Tit Hall in record time, we also dropped Caius convincingly, giving a satisfying surprise to so many of our detractors on Bumpit and the messageboards. We knew we had it in us, and today we went out there and began our campaign to prove it. Those who dismissed us at Pembroke Regatta - underestimate us at your peril. Jesus - we are coming

Day Two

Chasing Jesus, Being chased by Tit Hall

With no real threat from behind today, we had a confident row down and were prepared for a powerful attack on Jesus. We knew we would have to get them quickly, given how reportedly pedestrian Queens' are. Unfortunately, today was just one of those days where the crew two in front is simply too slow. Jesus and Queens' bumped out in the Gut, and with Caius demolishing Tit Hall in around the same place as we did yesterday, we were left in somewhat of a no-man's land for the rowover.

Or so we thought.

Coming round Grassy we reset and began our push onto Christ's for the overbump (however slim the chances). It is a credit to the drive and determination of this crew that there was no drop in power or commitment all the way up the Reach, with the result that we finished the race just about on station with Christ's - therefore making up around 5 lengths on them over the course. (And that's with Christ's pushing for the bump on FaT!)

Tomorrow we have Caius behind us again, helping us to push onto Queens', who we intend to dispatch just as efficiently as Jesus did. Hopefully Jesus will reward us in turn by bumping Christ's and sending them down to us for Friday

Day Three

Chasing Queens', Being chased by Caius

And so we found ourselves with Caius behind us once more and a resilient Queens' ahead, who knew that today they would have to row over to avoid spoons. Once again, we dropped Caius convincingly, hopefully finally silencing all those who insisted Tuesday was a fluke and that Caius had it in them to catch us.

We munched into Queens' steadily - once we got our first whistle, there was never any doubt that we were getting that bump, and our efforts were rewarded as we approached Grassy.

Tomorrow it's all to play for. We shouldn't have anything to worry about from behind, and we have everything to gain ahead. Christ's - we're coming.

Day Four

Chasing Christ's, Being chased by Queens'

We had the best row down today of the four days of Bumps, and this set us up well for a confident and focussed attitude on the start. We flew from the gun with our best start of the week, and settled to a powerful 36. The first whistle came on Christ's just out of First Post, and the second just before Grassy. The rhythm and power from the crew were relentless, and we were rewarded with three whistles on the apex.

Coming out of Grassy, Christ's picked up the pace and their cox steered a good line away from us. However, we kept our cool and followed them, maintaining our length and getting the bell. A focussed push quickly finished them off just before The Plough.

A satisfying end to a very good Lents.

Uploaded Friday 2nd March, 23:27

Day One

Starting 9th, Chasing Trinity Hall, Being Chased by Caius

To be honest, I have been a little worried about Caius all term, since our relative performances in Head to Head. But today we proved that I had been worrying for nothing. We had an excellent warm up, apart from the part where Tit Hall attempted to sabotage our chances by crashing into us outside the Plough!

The start wasn't quite as clean as the practice start, but it more than did the job allowing us to settle onto a vey chunky and surprisingly comfortable 37! We started to take distance out of Tit Hall just out of the outflow and around the same time Caius started to drop back off station. Some lovely focused pushes moved us through the signals smoothly as we headed to First Post corner, and I remember looking up while we were on two whistles and thinking that Caius were a pleasingly long way behind. The bell came out just as we entered First Post corner and Tit Hall conceded soon after.

Day Two

Starting 8th, Chasing Jesus, Being Chased by Trinity Hall

A nice start, a little wobbly with the outflow coming before our stride today. We held a solid rhythm down First Post Reach, and the response to the pushes was lovely, but the whistles on Jesus just weren't forthcoming. Jesus bumped Queen's in the Gut while we were still on station. After a couple of strokes where our disappointment was palpable, a call from Esther as we went into Grassy for a new race to the overbump on Christ's produced a huge surge from the crew. We held a great rhythm down the reach and we were hearing from our bank party that we had come into one and a half lengths off Christ's. The power was held the whole way to the finish line but unfortunately we couldn't move in any further on Christ's who were chasing FaT for their own bump.

Day Three

Starting 8th, Chasing Queens, Being Chased by Caius

Due to lots of carnage in the lower divisions everything was running late today giving W1 plenty of time to enjoy the unseasonably warm sunshine. But it also meant we couldn't do any standing practice starts in our warm up, but the two rolling start sequences felt pretty good.

Our actual start was really nice, the wobbles from the outflow banished today and the rhythm at 37 was every bit as comfortable as on day 1. The whistles started to come after just a minute and once again I looked up to see Caius a pleasing distance behind. A tight line round First Post brought us in to 3 whistles very quickly, and I was slightly confused as to why the bell hadn't come out as we made a move into Grassy- turns out Anton hadn't taken it out his backpack and had taken to whistling continuously instead. There was even more confusion at about the apex of Grassy with Esther calling "We've got this, Overlap" and the boat feeling like something was under our bows yet the Queens' cox hadn't conceded. In all the noise from the bank we heard the umpire award us the bump.

On the row home we kept our eye out for Jesus and Christ's who came into view just after the Railway Bridge, giving us something very exciting to chase tomorrow.

Uploaded Thursday 1st March, 18:05

Amazing race. We had a clean and fast start, and kept our rate & ratio during the race. We saw Caius (who?) disappear, and soon heard the first whistle on Tit Hall. And then the second. We kept our togetherness and pushed even more for the bell and then the Bump; Esther steered us right onto the win, and we got Tit Hall before grassy corner. Oh yeah.

Uploaded Tuesday 28th February, 18:44

Day One : Chasing Tit Hall II, chased by Kings II

Inspired by W2's heroic effort and facing a situation where four crews ahead of us had bumped out we decided the only way to go was for a double overbump on Peterhouse II. Having held Tit Hall on station to Ditton, while watching Kings II fade into the distance to finish a satisfying 400m behind us, we successfully closed on Peterhouse up the Reach; unfortunately Peterhouse managed to maintain a 3 1/2 length lead denying us a a record "up five" but leaving a vulnerable FaT III in our path tomorrow. Congrats to all who's first ever bumps race this was, a very solid effort indeed, well done to the old hands too, let's now take our combined poise into a fierce match tomorrow.

Day Two : Chasing FaT III, chased by Kings II

In a blur of boats failing to clear, FaT fell prey to Grassy corner. Midst the ringing of the bell and the shouting of the bank party, we pushed through the carnage, past Magdalene and Peterhouse splashing about uselessly on the inside of grassy, and waved at an unexpectedly stationary FaT. Luckily FaT's odd trajectory towards the bank didn't push our overlapping bows in the same direction, we just lifted over their stern to make the corner in safety. Superb commitment through the dirty water, you did yourselves proud.

Day Three: Chasing Churchill II

Easy bump, the little pink men went down by First Post.

Day Four: Chasing Tit Hall II again

YES YES YES we pulled (no pun intended) a powerful start out of the bag and settled nicely, high rate, long stroke, perfect. Revenge was served up on Grassy to Tit Hall who had thought to escape us once again. Perhaps it was the reverberations of the cannon under the bridge that pulsed uncomfortably through the boat off the start, or was it that we finally relaxed into good racing, the unpredictability of that race forced you to focus on rowing together for the boat and not for the bump- just how it should be. Really proud of you, that was a well earned victory. (PS someone else feel free to write race reports too!)

Uploaded Sunday 4th March, 11:16

Day 1

Rowed over

Such a high-adrenalin race, but a shame we just missed out on over-bumping Darwin...! Downing bumped Wolfson fairly early on, leaving the waters clear for us to respond to Jin's call to 'Overpump for overbump!!'; we then put in as much power (and technique ;-) ) as we could, getting to within 1/2 length of Darwin by the end of the course. So, we came away with compliments from marshals&our bank party today but with no twigs on our heads. Hoping to crash into Wolfson in record-time tomorrow :-)

Day 3

Bumped Darwin I

Our rowing today was actually a bit scrappy but the power was there. Our aim was to bump Darwin I 'in seconds' (ie under a minute) today, so we were happy to manage it in 57 seconds, before Anton even had a chance to get the bell out of his rucksack! We know that chasing Downing II is going to require our best rowing from start to finish, but we are determined to end tomorrow on a high note- either with an epic bump or a row-over that we'll have put every ounce of effort into.

Day 4

Rowed over

We knew today was going to be a tough race. We settled well and pushed hard for a bump, managing to close the gap on Downing II to 3/4 length. An unfortunate collision with a swan (almost beheaded by bow's blade...) then set us back but we kept going strongly until the end. We've really enjoyed Lent Bumps this week! :-)

Uploaded Friday 2nd March, 18:15

Day 2: Bumped Wolfson

Our second day of bumps went perfectly according to plan, with an easy bump. We had a firm start, got into the right rhythm very quickly and immediately started our ascend towards Wolfson I. In front of us, Downing II quickly bumped Darwin I. Thanks to Jin's skillful steering, we managed to get pass the banking-up boats and continued our chase. The distance between us and Wolfson was disappearing fast and in no time, we began to hear the bank party's whistles. The bump came just before Grassy corner. Once again W2 demonstrated its power and speed. Darwin, watch out, we're coming for you tomorrow! Its going to be revenge for the near miss on the over-bump from yesterday.

Well rowed girls! Lets keep climbing that bumps chart!

Uploaded Wednesday 29th February, 22:17