Results and reports by Event

It didn't go so well.

Uploaded Monday 20th February, 13:13

This was our first taste of side by side racing for ages and perfect prep for bumps. The first race was against St Catz and the excitement of standing starts and visable opponents got the better of us bit. We pulled away from them after the start held them comfortably at a length, but it wasn’t the easy walk away that Andy had predicted. The rhythm felt rushy and we raced the whole of the race at the sky high rate of 38 but lacked the power to support it. Round 2 against Newnham, we held at one seat up until the railway bridge but then they pulled away to win by one length. Despite this the race felt much better than the first. After the start a rhythm and legs call help us to find a more powerful rhythm. (Also Newnham went on to win the whole regatta defeating the other crews against them by substantial margins so we didn’t feel to bad after that.) Now on to bumps, we know our pitfalls in the excitement of the racing and have a 2 weeks to perfect them. Bring on Bumps!!

Uploaded Tuesday 28th February, 17:57

After some good outings and improvements over the preceding week, we went into the Regatta with confidence and well-hyped. We also saw the need to win the first race in preparation for Bumps, as we were up against the crew in front of us, Downing M2.

It started off well enough and we ate into them right from the start. However, we failed to fully settle into a proper race pace and after a slight pressure drop, things got a bit frantic, giving them time to recover. With our lead shrinking, we increased the power from around the Railway Bridge and finished with a lot of commitment and a lot of pain faces. In a tough race until the end, we beat our opponents, while some people in the boat did not realise this until well after the race was done and the cheers were exchanged. Self-critically, we knew we could do much better and that it would have been a clearer case, had we brought our A-game.

This was confirmed by the following race, where we faced off against Magdalene M2 in what was a start-to-finish victory, in which we found a very sustainable race pace with some lengthen calls. With clear water before the Railway Bridge and their spirits broken, we finished the race at a rate 32 and exaggeratedly long and strong strokes.

The next opponent proved to be tougher in the form of Anglia Ruskin M1. The bludgeoning massiveness of their rowers suggested that we should not underestimate them, which proved to be a wise consideration. After another excellent “Gripper-Start”, we quickly moved ahead, with Clem telling us what seats of their boat he was passing by. However, just after he shouted: “I want their bow ball!”, things became difficult, as apparently (not being of the main University) they had not heard of the legendary Clem and possessed the impudence to refuse yielding their bow ball to him. In any case, they began to push harder and decrease the lead we had gained back to about half a boat length. After that a hard fight of minds and muscles ensued, that left us in this contested lead until the end. With cheers expressing strong respect from our opponents’ power, we prepared ourselves for the Finals, facing an even tougher opponent: Jesus M2.

We were still confident that we could take them on and another great start left us briefly in the lead, before they got their boat moving and first pulled level, then slowly but steadily ahead of us. Far from yielding to them, we put in everything we got and used every trick up our sleeve, increasing the rating and launching Gripper’s new secret weapon (we might still need to perfect that a bit), but, alas, it was not enough. Fighting to the end, we had to acknowledge their victory (after the finish line, obviously) and admit that they were just the faster crew (which according to Stroke’s theory must surely be connected to Jesus Boat Club having forsaken the name of the Lord and entered a pact with the forces of Satan...).

After a lovely steady-state paddle back, perfect parking by the inimitable Clement Chan and a bitterly needed wash of our “dirty girl” VERA, we can look back on a day surely to install confidence into us for Bumps as well as an idea of what we still can improve.

Uploaded Saturday 18th February, 16:23

Having spent the week focusing on starting cleanly, with control, and without rushing, our practice start on Saturday afternoon under the Railway Bridge was perhaps the best start we had ever done. However, the stress in the boat was palpable as we all suddenly remembered what it was like to race side by side - our first race, we all agreed afterward, was not our best race. Nevertheless, W2 pulled through, attempting to keep our heads in the boat, listening closely to Alex's calls, in what was an exceptionally close race against Downing. In the last few hundred metres everyone maintained intense focus on putting the power down and keeping as much control as we could, winning the race by a few seats' length. Our second race against LMBC was infinitely more controlled, with a strong start and a comfortably efficient rate... and less rushing on the slide! More confidence allowed us to remember all the work we had put in during the week, keeping those early squares, sharp catches and power through the drive. We finished comfortably in front amidst cheers from the other Clare crews marshalling near the finish. Our final race against Newnham proved to be a tough one. Although our start was good, Newnham proved to be a strong opponent, and they were just that bit more powerful than us on this occasion, winning by around two boat lengths. The crew took comfort in the fact that Newnham went on to win the final - they were a very strong crew indeed. Overall, we were all pleased with our performance last weekend - although slightly disappointed we didn't make the final, we certainly applied ourselves and demonstrated our improvement and hard work over the term, feeling prepared and ready for Bumps.

Uploaded Tuesday 21st February, 20:41

A 6:50am meet on a Saturday after Clare Ents is not what the rowers of M3 had in mind when they signed up. Still, filled with coffee and dreams, we set off with the aim of rowing fast so we could be back in time for brunch.

After only beating LMBC M3 by 2 seconds during Newnham Short Course, we thought the first race would be a close one. Still, filled with Derry’s (Gripper’s/Andrew Watson’s) uncapped enthusiasm, we raced. We need not have been worried. Within 20 seconds we were a boat length ahead and not rowing the best we’ve rowed this year.

The next race was with Jesus M4. If I’m being honest, nothing particularly interesting happened in this race and it was more like doing another reach run. The margin for victory was apparently ‘easily’ meaning that they’re probably still racing. The only thing of note was Izzy’s hybristophilia which mainly consisted of seeing how long we could stray onto Jesus’ side of the river before Pembroke told us to move back over.

King’s M3 was next and was a different kettle of fish. They looked pretty solid and Derry’s words of being ‘mildly optimistic’ were somewhat unnerving. Still we soldiered on and prepared for a battle. Maybe we saw King’s on a particular good stroke or something because we beat them by 2 lengths.

Then came about an hour wait since the other semi-final had to be re-run. This was a somewhat reflective time during the race in which many things were discussed, none of which are particularly appropriate to divulge here.

The final was against FaT M3 and our plan was to invoke a so-called ‘burn 90’; inspired in part by the French pair at the 2000 Olympics and in part by the Brookes/Cambridge race. This basically involved going all out for 90 seconds and hoping by the time we were all knackered we’d be fair enough ahead that it wouldn’t matter. We set off and knew it would be a tough race. We gained an early lead of half a length but FaT weren’t giving up. About 5 times they made a move and it was only when the ‘burn 90’ was initiated just before the railway bridge that we made considerable distance. We rowed over with 1 length to spare and were greeted with Derry grinning with beers in a bucket.

Uploaded Saturday 18th February, 17:10