First and Third Trinity Boat Club
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The Club's Results

Lent Bumps 2013

The famous Cambridge University Bumps on the River Cam
Tue 26th February - Sat 2nd March

At the bottom of this page there is a link to Cambridge weather. Club members, please go here to add (or correct) results, crews or race reports.


Results Overview

Click a symbol or crew name to be taken to the relevant part of the page.

1st women's VIII Rowed over Bumped Emmanuel Rowed over Rowed over
1st men's VIII Rowed over Bumped LMBC Rowed over Rowed over
2nd men's VIII Bumped LMBC II Rowed over Rowed over Bumped by Homerton
2nd women's VIII Bumped by Jesus II Bumped by Christ's II Bumped by Newnham II Rowed over
3rd men's VIII Rowed over Bumped Churchill II Bumped by Churchill II Bumped by Jesus III
4th men's VIII Bumped by St. Catharine's III Rowed over Rowed over Bumped Magdalene III

Guide to the table

Double Overbumped
Overbumped - hit the crew 3 in front
Bumped the crew in front
Row over head of division
Row over - did not bump
Got Bumped
Got Overbumped
Got Double overbumped
Got Triple overbumped. D'oh.


1st women's VIII

Wednesday
Rowed over
We were in high spirits coming off what was probably our best outing of term Tuesday (was it only yesterday?) morning. Decent paddling on the row up and some clean and length-ful practise starts looked promising for our first day of bumps.

A blade stuck in the water disrupted our start slightly but we recovered immediately, pushing out our previously massive rhythm change to an unprecedented but clean 38. We quickly lengthened out again, taking a reasonable line around First Post while moving up on Emma. Our first whistle from Iain came along the Gut and took us all by surprise, especially as Emma were taking a predictable push out of First Post. We closed in steadily around Grassy and committed to our big Plough Reach burn out of the corner.

Almost too soon we heard two whistles, brought in our back swing and suddenly we had three feet of overlap coming towards the pub. We launched into our bumps push but things began to fall apart and Emma were able to pull away. Ditton was incredibly difficult and we gave them half a length of clear water as we blew up. Pure psychology kept Emma going down the Reach, but the girls were able to recover enough to take our well-rehearsed wind to the line, finishing at about station.

A hard race today but we have proven that we are faster than Emma. Day two tomorrow. Bring it! (Yining)
After moving up strongly through the corners, the 1st women gained overlap on Emmanuel at the entry to Ditton. Sadly as both crews turned for the corner, the overlap drifted away and Emmanuel moved away down the reach to leave us several lengths behind under the railway bridge. We'll be back tomorrow! (Peter)
Thursday
Bumped Emmanuel
After the race, Fordy rightly asked me not to publish too much detail on our heavily trafficked website, in case it gave Downing a clue as to what we were planning for the next two days. However, most of the crew had no idea what had been going on either in front or behind, and asked for a detailed race plan, so this is what I wrote at crew pasta immediately after the race, and what I will publish after racing on Saturday.

Thursday was a terrible day for me. I dreamt about a murderer chasing me through a graveyard shooting at me, woke up at 6.30 and couldn't get back to sleep, had to evacuate from Hall partway through breakfast, re-did a lot of my work in the lab, and flicked the (very greasy) chain off my bike on my way to the boathouse. After all this, I knew we were going to bump today. It was the only reasonable outcome.

Marshalling was interesting, with Emma and Downing pre-emptively pushing off around the corner and creating a pretty weave of W1 and M2 blades across the river at Chesterton. I was promised 26 mph gusts, but they didn't appear. Our practice starts were sharp, and we sat on Jesus' stern for the purposes of psychological warfare, while Emma lagged far behind. A brief sojourn into a tree/reeds while spinning at our station made me even more positive that after all this chaos, a bump was surely in our future. I've never been in a FaT crew that reacted well to everything going well.

The start was so much better than yesterday, sharp and crisp. The wind felt solid, and though I was meant to be on Jesus-watch I resolved to really lock into Eva's rhythm for the first 30 seconds of the race. The rhythm change at the lengthen was massive, we strode to a beautiful 34 and began 'our race' in earnest.

Going down first post reach, Jesus began to gain. When they reached what I thought was half a length at the end of first post reach, I started looking at their bank party, confused that they weren't getting any whistles. I mistook a camera for an airhorn, and then had to readjust my expectations when listening for their whistles. I was relying on 10 years of piano lessons for an ability to tell the tone of their whistle from that of Iain's. Turns out they must have bought them at the same place, as there was no discernable difference. Badger. Jesus gained strongly around first post corner and I screamed 'YINING! JESUS!' as we had agreed. When she made the call I had the distinct impression that we were sat in a business meeting, discussing future strategies, rather than at a critical point in a hell-for-leather race with hoards of screaming cyclists. The cool, collected call was 'Ok. Lift.' Perfect delivery, perfect execution. I didn't feel any change in rhythm, there were no personal pushes, just a resolve to squeeze on the legs and move the boat faster. The boat complied and we pushed Jesus away, earning us our first whistle on Emma coming out of the Gut.

At Grassy, we were well and truly in a sandwich. Stern 3, who could see behind us, were using the closing Jesus bows as motivation to push away, and bow 4 and Yining used our approach of Emma's stern to drive us on. We took Grassy well, as we usually do, took some distance back from Jesus here, and got 2 whistles on Emma. Coming out of the corner, before we got back up to speed, Jesus gained again, coming to about a metre off our stern. At this point I heard an impassioned shout from Daisy behind me, but I was no longer worried about them. We had this in hand. They were sticking in the wash generated by stern 4's massive puddles, and we had just got 3 whistles from Iain. They then drifted out to take a wide line, and seemed to zig zag across the course, making it very hard for me to judge distances, so I gave up. Our plough reach burn called for big legs, and by this point the boat was flying. Outside the Plough we heard our overlap whistle and continued grinding them down with a strong rhythm and cleanly technical rowing. Someone screamed '2 feet!' and I'm told by practically everyone that we then bumped Emma (kissed their stern was the lovely phrase someone used) and that the umpire was trying to call it, but neither crew was willing to stop at such uncertain calls. Emma must have called a push after this 'near miss' as we fell back slightly. Coming up to Ditton we knuckled down and prepared to fix our mistakes from yesterday. Iain gave us 3 whistles again, swiftly followed by overlap as we took the corner, and once we were straight Yining (and everyone on the bank) was screaming for us to hold it up. Jesus had fallen back to about 2 metres off our stern at this point and kept moving back. With not much going on behind our little 3 boat race, they decided not to attempt the carnage and tucked in for a technical row over.

This was a very personal race for me, a bump a year and a day in the making. We came so close to them last year and were denied. We came so close yesterday when panicking cost us the bump. Today we were calm and strong, we rowed our race, coolly dealt with pressure from Jesus, and delivered the performance we had been preparing all term. Thank you to everyone who helped us get to this moment. It was very sweet. I'm so proud of the girls for keeping their heads, for following the plan, and for pressing the water away every stroke, every outing.

Now we get to bring the game to Downing. This is what we've been waiting for. (Julia A.)
As textbook as it gets. We believed in our rhythm and we made the boat fly, clean and natural. Simple lifts kept Jesus at bay and reeled Emma in; "keep calm and bump" was never executed so perfectly. Great work, girls - looking forward to more tomorrow! (Yining)
An exciting race.
As W1 rounded Grassy, there was just half a length separating them from both Emma (infront) and Jesus (behind). I couldn't bare the tension and so spontaneously broke into a run chasing the crews down Plough Reach. The gap between all crews tightened but as Ditton approached the girls finally got overlap on Emma with Jesus still a third of a length off their stern. The rest was all pretty confusing. Firstly, Jesus were unsure whether or not a bump was happening between FaT and Emma and after steering wide to avoid FaT, then began steering back in for the bump. The umpire then raised their hand to signal a bump but all three crews continued to race. The crews finally stopped and despite protests from Emma, the umpire's declared that they had witnessed the bump on Emma through Ditton and were awarding Jesus a technical row-over.

Well done girls on a great performance. A very composed race given the circumstances.
FaT Bottomed Girls, you make the rockin' world go round! (Douglad)
After yesterday's lesson on the importance of staying calm and technical during bumps, we came into the race today determined to focus on building boat speed as best we could, regardless of our surroundings. Today's result reflects that commitment. Once we had dealt with Jesus, I was pleasantly surprised by how effortlessly we closed on Emma - there couldn't have been a bigger contrast between yesterday and today. I'm beginning to be convinced that you can indeed make a boat go faster by rowing cleanly!

Looking forward to tomorrow and Saturday, as I still have some unfinished business with Ditton Corner. Even having bumped Emma today, I'm still hungry for that elusive perfect race... (Quick Hands Early Hands)
Good luck for the 2 remaining days.
Edit 19 March 2014: Possibly the day that won the 2014 headship. With hindsight, having Emmanuel chasing W1, due to a successful day in 2013, may have changed the eventual winner. A testament to the effort of going head being more than having a single good year.
(Thomas)
Wooohoooo!! Well done everyone! (Liz)
Delicious. (Mark)
After yesterday's frantic dash to oblivion and a missed bump, the plan was to stay calm and row Emmanuel down in control. Unfortunately, the first "Jesus!" call came as we came straight in the gut; with a much sharper start than I was expecting after watching their practise, Jesus were pushing up hard and a lift in the pressure was called for.

With far more control than at any point in yesterday's race, the girls pushed Jesus back down the Gut, took a clean Grassy, and at the start of Plough Reach it was clear we were in a true sandwich; we had another shell within a few feet of both ends of Valkyrie. The FaT girls held it together and came out of it best, moving away from Jesus down the Plough Reach and clipping Emma's stern as we turned in for Ditton.

Unfortunately the contact was gentle enough that although the Peterhouse umpire was calling for both crews to stop rowing, neither crew believed it had happened and (all three crews) raced round Ditton before easying.

I think Jesus, other than the disappointment of failing to bump, appreciated not having to chase the overbump on Downing (!) as they tucked in behind us and held it up. (Peter)
Yeaaaaaahhh Girls! Finally we got them!!! Well done for an amazing result and now go get us a boat to burn. (O. Skilbeck)
Wooohey, well done holding up the good old tradition of bumping Emmanuel!! Next one: Downing! :-D (Ulrike)
Friday
Rowed over
I arrived at the P&E happy to have finally made it round the bridge ahead of the girls. However this turned out to be because Julia's seat had lost a wheel on the paddle from our newly elevated marshalling position round the corner. Ian Watson kindly assisted us to put it back together, and we paddled down to the start without feeling too frantic.

When the start gun eventually went, we were expecting to be pushed from behind, but Emma and Jesus quickly dropped back to leave us concentrating on the crew ahead.

We stuck with them for some time, but they drew away down the reach to leave us with too much of a gap to close coming into the finish. (Peter)
Today's catastrophe took place just after pushing off from Chesterton, when I heard an ominous clunk from my seat and began scraping up and down the slide. I swore, and Daisy told me my wheel had come off. Yining steered us to the side and I shouted to Fordy that my seat was broken. Our bank party dispersed to notify umpires (though I can't believe they didn't hear my hearty yell) and we attracted the attention of Ian Watson as well. As we pulled in I was scrambling to try and put my seat back together, but was sure I was missing pieces. Luckily the other half of engineer pair, at 6, was able to explain the mechanics of it to me. A big thank you to Ian Watson for calmly taking control of the situation, convincing me that I did not need a nut, but in fact just the bolt I was holding, and for fixing my botched repair job. Thank you also to Fordy for the set of allen keys he had just scolded me for not having, as an engineer, not an hour ago in the boathouse. Disaster averted.

Despite arriving out of order, we managed not to hold up the division and put our jitters aside for a clean, powerful start. We moved effectively away from Emma, and by First Post corner I stopped paying attention to them. Fordy also used this point, where we were closest to the bank, to deliver his call of "EMMA. ARE. NOWHERE!" The closest they ever were was 2 lengths off just after the start. We squeezed on through the Gut, took a clean Grassy, and then made a move at the Plough. I'm told we held Downing through the corners and began to move on Plough reach, but their strength and grit meant they soon started to move away.

The rowing felt powerful and controlled as we came to Ditton, our beloved and much discussed corner. We took a push to get back up to racing speed, but by now Downing were cruising away. We were amused by the serpentine lines from Emma and Jesus behind us, and the odd, insistent whistling style from the Jesus bank party.

We ground on, buoyed by enthusiastic calls from the bank party, and at the white house started to prepare for our end-of-the-line wind. At the post before the railway bridge we began our unsustainable minute and I started cranking it. We lifted from our chunky 34 to 36 and started hacking away at Downing's lead. My rowing deteriorated at Morley's Holt, as I clung onto my little remaining technique. We crossed the line at race pace, amid screams from the control desk to hold it up. We hadn't realized that Downing had wound it down before the line, and in general we like to be sure we're across the line when we stop racing. But apparently someone had very strong words with the people at control on our behalf.

The intimidation tactics began anew on the row home as we resolutely belted 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and 'Tomorrow' as we rowed past the boathouses, greeting Downing on the way.

Today was the race we had planned. It was clinical and clean and well executed. Tomorrow will be a blaze of glory, one way or another. Do or die. (Julia A.)
Saturday
Rowed over
As Laura correctly pointed out on the way home, W1 2013 now has a war story to pass down to future generations of the boat club.

Coming into Saturday, everyone had agreed that today was going to be a "death-or-glory" race to the railings. We were going to take the corners technically, build speed on the straights, make it to Ditton in one piece, and then batten down the hatches and hold on for dear life. We'd spent weeks working on our catches, watching "Inches", and learning to move as one crew. Today was our day to push our boundaries and see just how fast we could make the boat move. I can't say it better than Steve Prefontaine and so I'm going to paraphrase him instead (note: it is always appropriate to invoke Pre): The only good race pace is a suicide pace, and today looked like a good day to die.

Spirits were high on the paddle down to the station. We were greeted by a very welcome (and surely illegal) bank party, and settled in to wait. Iain's watch did its thing, the minute gun fired, and we pushed off.

Our start felt quick and clean. Before I knew it, Yining had called to lengthen, and we were rounding first post corner. Sophia and Laura (and Yining, of course!) saw us through Grassy without trouble. I saw the first set of barges, and I knew it was time for the (already all-too-familiar) Plough Reach burn.

Ditton. Before bumps, I thought Ditton corner was my friend - the inevitable carnage zone during morning outings that guaranteed a few moments of rest during the middle of whatever piece we were doing. To any strokeside ex-novices at 2 reading this race report: Ditton Corner is not your friend. Ditton comes up just when your body is beginning to put up a serious fight and the lactate is starting to burn. Ditton is a harsh and unforgiving master that requires decent bladework and early catches. Ditton is a place where minds break, and crews get bumped.

Twenty incredibly tense and stressful strokes later, we were straight. Unfortunately, not five (or so) strokes later, so were (was? I'm so confused about whether other crews are singular or plural) Jesus. The race had changed.

We pushed hard off of Jesus as they got their second whistle. The Long Reach had never seemed so long before. I told myself the bump was imminent, and I was ready to commit when Yining called for our unsustainable minute. Things were less than ideal, but we weren't going down without a fight.

The video seems to suggest we did a reasonable job of holding them off until the Railway Bridge. Yining's bridge call finally came, and I knew the race was going to be won or lost by Morley's Holt. An "everything you've got" call came as we steered for the final bend. I looked at the girls in the Jesus boat one last time - the Jesus girls, with their carefully matched scrunchies.

I don't like losing to girls who wear scrunchies.

Morley's Holt. Gurns all round. Pain. Evasive coxing. More pain. Noise from the bank. So much pain. I didn't realize Jesus were going for the kill, but I knew this was it. Yining called for a bumps push. We took a stroke. Yining's hand stayed down. We took another stroke. Yining's hand was still down. Again we took a stroke, and the hand stayed down. I knew we could hold them until the line, and stroke by stroke we did.

Saturday's race was the kind of race that tells you that things you didn't think were possible, are possible. I'm sure no other club on the river thinks we'll hold the headship in a year's time. They could be right. But I believe they're wrong. Saturday's race was the spark we needed to get us back where we belong. (Alexa)
We went off hard, aiming to scare Downing. In the end they were just the faster crew, holding us for a while off the start and then confidently moving away. Coming onto the reach it was clear no bump was happening ahead, and Yining called to settle from the mad sprint and defend from Jesus.

Having sat a little inside station early in the course, Jesus moved up strongly on the reach, and coming under the railway bridge they had overlap (but were on the wrong side of the river). Coming through Morley's Holt, there was a terrifying stroke when I thought the bump had to happen; Jesus gently steered across, our stern sank as we approached the catch, and Jesus's bow floated over our stern with at least an inch of clearance. After that W1 squeezed it out to a comfortable few feet and crossed the line before taking avoiding action yet again from Downing, who had stopped 3/4 of a length beyond the line. (Peter)
Commitment, belief, ability to change strategy on the fly and keep pushing through the pain... that's what it takes to go the distance. So proud of what we accomplished and thank you for laying it all on the line (quite literally)!

One step further, ladies - 3rd to 1st we're bound, Downing will go down! (Yining)
I don't think I've ever been so excited for a race as I was for this. We had talked about what we were going to do, and had decided to lay everything on the line to go for the Headship, even if this meant getting bumped by Jesus later in the race. Our plan was basically to throw the kitchen sink at Downing and hope they sunk.

For the first time in my life, bumps was running early, so Yining, Fordy and eventually Iain had a long chat with our very experienced umpire. With the adrenaline pumping we squared, buried and prepared for the race of our lives.

The start was clean and racy. Yining told us afterwards that we strode to 37, but it felt like 32 to me. Eva's rhythm gives us an amazing number of pips. We were solid round First Post corner and lifted in the Gut to get back up to speed. Undeterred by the huge Jesus bank party at Grassy, which effectively drowned out everything else, we took a clean corner and headed onto Plough Reach for our epic burn. 2 strokes for catches and we started lifting. The boat was flying, but we were sticking on Downing. We kept it strong and in control, but we were all at our red lines.

Coming into Ditton we took a tight line and kept the catches and tap downs in control, smoothly coming onto the reach preparing to cross that line and destroy ourselves. Jesus got one whistle here, which I called as bullshit, and we began our unsustainable minute to try to make an impression on Downing. It was not to be. They cruised away from us once they had a straight course. However, our warrior's spirit didn't go to waste, as Jesus was preparing to bring a new battle upon us.

Clearly rowing a long race, Jesus began to take advantage of the face that we were completely spent. They started inching up on the reach, and the whistles began. At the kink, they got to 1/4 length and I screamed 'YINING!' and prayed for as effective a move as 2 days ago. The girls delivered. With cool, collected calls from Yining, who was revising the race plan as we went along, we pulled away slightly. Jesus responded. We oscillated for a few strokes, and then they began moving up on us aggressively. I screamed for a lift and we started cranking it. They were staying close to the bank, giving them overlap without contact and Yining steered for the corner early to avoid them. When we reached the post, we began yet another unsustainable minute and wind to the line.

My eyes were fixed on the Jesus bow as we came under the railway bridge. Yining was calling move after move but Jesus were taking inches every stroke. Just at the first barges their bows were riding next to our stern and I saw them skip over ours. We pulled away and thought they were finished, having steered for the bump and missed, but they stuck with us.

As if bound together, we ploughed our way round Morley's Holt, Iain calling for Yining to stay straight, Yining steering to avoid Jesus. Every stroke we held them and held them, working our spent legs to their limits.

We crossed the line with no contact. Never before have I rowed away from something like that. This race was won by two things. The guts and grit of the girls and Yining's cool execution and steering.

This bumps has given me two of my most epic races. I never would have believed that I would be here, this time last year, but I am so grateful that I am. It has been a privilege to row with you girls. I need to thank Fordy for, consciously or not, bringing me back to the club and making me realize that I'm not done with the Cam.

We have the potential to do something special in Mays. This crew has shown that we can commit to a race and follow it through to the bitter end. Do the same with the 2013 campaign. Stick with us, and we'll row to glory. I'll be there. (Julia A.)

1. W1 after finally bum...
2. W1 after finally bum...

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1st men's VIII

Wednesday
Rowed over
Off to a very solid start, the first whistle sounded just as we settled into a solid R37 off the stride. Whistle two and three came in quick succession through the gut.

Coming out of Grassy all hell broke loose: a lot of noise coming from the bank, waves breaking over Sam's saxboard in front of me and a pretty unsettled few strokes.

We missed the bump by a painfully small margin, and had a bad row down Plough reach. Coming into Ditton we didn't have enough left in the tank for another push and so began to fade.

Even though Jesus were no where to be found (already 5 lengths behind by the Plough judging from the video), we were happy to finish the race early with a technical row over. When Queens did eventually bump Maggie, they failed to clear quickly enough, forcing us to stop rowing.

With a few tweaks to our strategy we should be ready for a good race tomorrow and a rematch with Queens on Friday. (A.B. Abbasi)
Coming into this, we knew Queens' were capable of bumping, and that we had to be quick in catching them. A quick start got us the first whistle coming into First Post Corner, and despite water coming over the saxboard from some pretty hefty wash, we closed Queens' down pretty effectively into Grassy.

The crew gained overlap through the second half of the corner, with Queens' having to hand-brake turn to correct a wide line, and we should have killed it here. Unfortunately, some confusion, and more wash, meant the bump was missed, and Queens' pushed back out to half a length. We stayed in touch with Queens', but didn't come as close again. They bumped out halfway down the Reach, and we were caught on the wrong (right?) side of the carnage and were forced to hold it up. With Jesus floundering in our wake, it was deemed acceptable to award a technical row-over.

Kudos to Queens' for escaping today. A more clinical row is needed tomorrow to set up the rematch. (Sam)
Summary for now:
Quicker than Queens' off the start.
3 boat sandwich fairly imminent.
Overlap in the Gut/Grassy.
Queens' go so wide they need hand-assisted steering.
(Iain questions umpire over potential technical bump in Grassy.)
Horrendous wash down Plough Reach makes effective rowing pretty impossible.
Looks like 2's blade will have stern contact.
Queens' do some pushes down Plough Reach, keep just off us.
Queens' escape wide around Ditton, slowly moving away.
The wash has done it's damage, we fall back.
Queens' bump LMBC, we steer to avoid.
Queens' clear in the direction we have steered, we hold it up.
We start rowing again but the Chief Umpire fears we will kill LMBC so stops us and awards a technical row over. (Thornton)
Thursday
Bumped LMBC
For a crew rumoured to have a slower average erg than our M2, Maggie held out a reasonably long time, closing Queens' to half a length.

However, one does not simply escape winter on the Cam. We cruised through the Gut with more composure than yesterday, and got our first whistle a few strokes out of Grassy. We bumped coming into Ditton. (Sam)
Saturday
Rowed over
We went into this race with the attitude that we would bump Queens' somewhere around Ditton or die trying...and we died, hard. (Thornton)
Missing Queens' is a big disappointment. Over the term, the boat has improved quite dramatically, and we feel that we have underperformed this week.

We certainly gave Queens' a good race to Ditton. Coming into the corner, we had a couple of feet of overlap, but I think we steered for the bump, and missed. These things happen. We stuck religiously to our plan, and blew so hard at Ditton that we managed to row more slowly than Jesus, who came as close as 2 feet from our stern before fading.

I remember sitting down at Dinner last year, and essentially saying that down 2 was a fair result. We had worked Queens' hard, and given a good account of ourselves. Since I had committed to going hard off the start, and blowing somewhere around the main, I don't actually know what was said last night about this set of Bumps, but I hope it was this: No, we shouldn't be happy with our results this week, but when we look back to our assessment of last year, we can see that the club is in a much healthier state. We go to race HoRR in a couple of weeks intent on proving that.

With continuing drive to improve, more rage, and regular opportunities to smash stuff, the May VIII should be a fast one. (Sam)
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2nd men's VIII

Tuesday
Bumped LMBC II
The list of things we didn't do very well went on for quite some time at the crew chat, from not pushing hard and finishing it off round grassy to not gunning it at the start (and definitely not making it to rate) to some unusually lopsided rowing which was depressing because of how well we've previously rowed in wash.

After gaining on Maggie slightly off the start we were all put off by the weird horn noise coming from their bank party (my first thought was klaxon...) which apparently meant that Churchill were under threat. We then sat there to Emma's consternation for about 1km before they died, we finally got the whistle and then we moved on them and I hit my blade on their stern. I feel my tightrope walking needs some significant work... (John)
Reasonably solid race. An unspectacular start kept us just within station as Maggie got a rather suprising whistle on Churchill in front of them. We closed a bit through the corners but not enough to draw a whistle out of Iain. Finally we got to within a length by plough reach after a succession of pushes of various effectiveness, at which point Maggie began to blow up.

Ending it then would have been the easiest, and most would agree the obvious thing to do. However we figured we needed more practice at rate, so spent the next 3 minutes closing in. Jon at stroke, who was not feeling great, was very thankful for this decision... (Barrell)
A longer race than expected but a convincing victory nonetheless. After all, crushing Maggie is what First and Third does best. Good work, boys! (Yining)
Thanks to M2 for dragging me to my first non-cheating and non-accidental bump since 2008. In spite of having sat in a bit of wash last summer, I was surprised by how difficult I found it to keep my blade under control as we approached Maggie's stern.

However, M2 also gave me plenty of practice at rowing in wash by chilling out once we got to a length off Maggie and sitting there for a few minutes before bumping. Given I was rediscovering that the problem with me rowing bowside is that I almost entirely use my inside arm and thereby was starting to blow up by 40 strokes in, this wasn't entirely appreciated...
In light of my inability to use my left arm, Preeyan kindly swapped with me for the paddle back, and I determined that I definitely prefer strokeside.

Good luck to the crew for the rest of the week; even if the race was rather scrappy, it was a pleasure to briefly (I was subbing for a sub...) row with such a classy crew, and I'm sure with a little composure in the wash you'll have a successful week. (Peter)
Thursday
Rowed over
When using the facilities provided at Chesterton for marshaling, it was interesting to note how all the Churchill (and Downing II and Caius II...) rowers stood about a head taller and a third heavier than I did. In this light, it was encouraging that for Churchill to succeed in staying away from us they ended up finishing in a pretty poor state, putting in a Herculean effort of which, as Tim noted, a particular highlight was making their 5 man throw up.

Overall, it was a much nicer row than Tuesday, but we never moved more than half a length up on them, which was a shame. Hopefully they'll be in a sufficiently lacklustre condition they won't manage it again today... (John)
From the bank, the race was well executed and the composure held throughout. Despite Churchill M1 appearing a heavier crew, their appalling technique (particularly after the railway bridge) meant they had to fight all the way to top finish to avoid being bumped. And their 5 man vomited afterwards. I felt the rowing was of higher quality than yesterday and look forward to seeing what you chaps can produce tomorrow and Saturday! (Tim)
Considering we didn't get a whistle on Churchill, I wasn't sure how effective our race had been. Seeing a crabbed blade and someone chundering behind us after the finish showed we had pushed them quite hard.

Really good performance, even if we had nothing to show for it (Barrell)
Friday
Rowed over
The plan was to set off hard and attack Churchill. Unfortunately it turned out we had no idea how to do this. Even more unfortunately, Maggie behind us did.

With some good advice from Iain - "Settle into your rhythm", which I translatd as "Stop rowing like twats" - we held them at overlap before pulling away down plough reach after they nearly forgot to take Grassy, then blew up rather spectacularly.

Better start needed today. (Barrell)
Saturday
Bumped by Homerton
We steadily gained on Downing II, pushing for and securing a first whistle. Meanwhile, however, a hefty Homerton crew was eating us up from behind, and when they eventually got overlap at Grassy, it was on our inside. We battled hard, but it ultimately wasn't enough.

Having dominated the head races earlier in the term, we were optimistic for this set of Bumps, but we never seemed to be able to pull unsustainable sprints when we needed to. Nevertheless, we at least stayed level, and we experienced all aspects of Bumps racing: attacking and defending, steering through carnage, and chasing hard all the way to the line.

Not only can you not get this experience any other way, it also made for my most exciting Bumps ever.

Thanks to Rob, Sam and our other coaches, Joel, Fordy and Blaise for subbing, and of course the crew, without whom there would be nothing at all. (Preeyan)
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2nd women's VIII

Tuesday
Bumped by Jesus II
One of our better starts saw us hold Jesus on station initially, but yet again our dreaded inability to settle to anything below 37 while racing resulted in a considerable drop in boat speed as we moved out of the start sequence. As Jesus closed in the rowing grew increasingly frantic (and ineffective) despite some good calls from Emma for us to settle, and they bumped us just before First Post corner.

Lessons of the day: 1) Our start is good, but the rest of the race needs some work.
2) Jesus should probably work on their holding-it-up skills - there was no need for us to join them in that tree.

Now that first day nerves are out of the way, more calm tomorrow will hopefully result in some more effective rowing and a significantly longer race! (Catherine)
Friday
Bumped by Newnham II
Our problem is boat speed - we don't have any. Small improvement in that we almost made it to First Post today. (Laura)
Saturday
Rowed over
I am so proud of W2 for this race - even though unfortunately W1's race times meant I couldn't be there in person. Having spoken to many people in the crew over the course of the week and during breakfast on Saturday, I knew that many people in this crew were convinced that they would be receiving spoons.

When I saw W2 row past us and heard the elated shout "We rowed over!" I felt unbelievably happy! On seeing the photos of the race, I am even more impressed by the tenacity and cool-headedness that you must have shown to row with Pembroke sitting on your stern all the way from Ditton.

I know that not everything went to plan this term, and obviously the overall result for last week is disappointing. But races like Saturday's show that you are a crew with grit and determination, and I am very confident that you have a strong foundation on which to build for Mays.

Wlbcing you this term has been a pleasure. Bring on Mays! (Soph)
We did it!! We didn't spoon!

Today you proved you can row, you can push and you can aim high. Well done girls, it's been a pleasure rowing with you and I'm so proud of you all :) (Rebecca)
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3rd men's VIII

Tuesday
Rowed over
We had quite a shaky start but settled into our race by the end of first post reach. Girton 2 had already been bumped by this point, and so there was no pressure from behind. We were keeping up with Cats 2 until grassy, where they managed to gain some distance on us. As they bumped Churchill 2 on the reach we had quite a straight-forward row to the finish.

Perhaps the adrenaline at the start meant that we were a bit frantic and were rating a bit higher than normal, however, with this experience behind us we can certainly do some damage on day 2! (Oskar)
By no means our best race ever. The start took us all somewhat by surprise, and it felt a lot more wobbly than our practises.

We settled into the race fairly quickly, and by the motorway bridge Kings II had bumped Girton II behind us. We'd steadily pulled away from Girton, but it was nice not to have to worry about them - although it might've pushed us to go faster!

We remained a length and a half behind Catz until Grassy, when they started to pull away, and not far up the Reach they bumped Churchill II.

The race didn't feel particularly good, and I feel like we could improve a good deal - which is a good sign, given that the race didn't go particularly disastrously. (Barney)
We started off to a very rocky start, I think the 20 seconds to go push off caught me a little off guard. Was quite a bit of white water coming up either side .

It smoothed out and there was a sweet spot in the middle where we got into a good rythm but then Cats (in front of us) bumped.

There wasn't much chance of the over bump so we just carried on!

I think we'll do a lot better today having done a start already and gotten the most adrenaline influenced start out the way. (B.J. Morris)
A fairly subdued first bumps race. The start perhaps caught some of us off guard (me included! as we weren't straight)- 20 seconds goes by a lot quicker than you think! With Girton II bumping out behind us early on, we were free to chase Catz II hard. However, they were going for Churchill II which meant that the distance was kept at about 1 and a half lengths up until Grassy. Catz finally got Churchill coming out of Ditton and by then most other boats in the division had bumped out, which left us realistically looking at the row over and this was achieved with ease. (Tony Song)
Wednesday
Bumped Churchill II
After a solid start we stuck with churchill till the end of plough reach where they began to pull away with 2 lengths distance between us, and after a crab at the start of the reach, they were looking quite comfortable. Kings by this point weren't worrying us at all. At the railway bridge it wasn't clear whether we were going to make a final push as they had a few lengths on us. Tony, after seeing Churchill wind down before the finish, decided that we could catch them. Our beloved 'break the steak' call was given and we gave it all we got. Churchill were surprised to see us crash into them, saying "you guys are too keen" and "what are you playing at", not realising that they hadn't finished. We had the last laugh, and our first bump! (Oskar)
... cheers from the girls, and then suddenly worry from me that we'd just cheered on a FaT crew bumping a crew that wasn't racing. The complete lack of umpires or marshals made me worry for a while that the division had indeed finished somewhat earlier, but a lengthy delve through the CUCBC website (the information isn't linked to from, for example, the "Lent Bumps" page...) convinced me that Churchill *should* have been racing, just seemed to have forgotten to. (Peter)
The lesson to take away from today is to never give up (and know where your finish is!) Again, we weren't perfectly straight off the start, but we held Churchill II at station and pulled away from Kings II considerably. However, coming out of Ditton, a crab coupled with a lift from Churchill meant that they managed to lengthen the gap to around 4 lengths by Morley's Holt. I must admit, at this point, I had my doubts about whether we could catch them, but after a brief discussion with the crew and bank party, we decided to chase them all the way to top finish. This turned out to be a great decision as Churchill appeared to be winding it down by the P&E. Spurred on by this, we pushed hard while they simultaneously easied, which meant we had an easy first bump which was met with loud cheers from the girls. (Tony Song)
W1 were happy to break out of general marshalling faff to cheer at the sight of dark blue blades closing in on remarkably slow-moving Barbie pink ones as they were coming into men's top finish. Slightly confused at what was happening, we were nonetheless delighted to see a pink cox arm up in the air. Having actually paid attention to Crew 9 and 10 possibilities, I was sure that it counted as a bump. We looked around for umpires in vain and waited as John and Matt came back with the verdict: a bump made and a bump awarded. Elation! (Yining)
Quite a strange race. We started off pretty well and held Churchill II at station for quite a long while. Several calls from Tony noting how wide the Churchill line was around the corners was encouraging and by reports from the bank we gained maybe a half length on them through Grassy. Nothing much happened through the Plough Reach though and going around Ditton Churchill II started pulling away. In the Reach we had a crab but it only slowed us down for a bit. No trouble from Kings II chasing us at all. However, we lost more ground on Churchill II and things didn't get better even when we got back up to rate. It felt like it was going to be just another row over. Coming into our finish, there was a bit of a conversation with the bank about whether it was worth it to carry on. Fortunately the decision was made to push through to top finish. Churchill II slowed down well before top finish at which point we pushed into an actually really good wind. Churchill if anything stopped and asked us why we were so keen when we bumped them. We were still quite a way away from what we understood to be top finish. Thanks to Matt and John for checking with the umpires! (Sean)
Friday
Bumped by Churchill II
A bit disappointing. They came at us hard, and we didn't respond quickly enough. We'd hoped that we would be able to bump Magdalene before they caught us, and we were close.. but not close enough. We were less than half a length off when we were bumped on First Post Corner. They were the faster crew though, and probably deserved to get the bump after our slightly cheeky bump on Wednesday!

Despite the disappointment, we had a very good start, and the row down was one of the best we've had yet. We've definitely progressed over the week, and it's a bit of a shame that we haven't really proved our speed yet. The race as a whole felt pretty good - we just weren't quite fast enough. (Barney)
This was gutting. We knew Churchill would come at us hard, but we thought we would at least be able to hold them off and we knew we could catch Magdalene. Our start was good, but they were going all out and began to close on us quickly. We had managed to get the gap to Magdalene II down to about a quarter of a length when Churchill bumped us coming into First Post corner. (Tony Song)
Saturday
Bumped by Jesus III
This was very similar to yesterday's race. Jesus went out hard and we tried to respond by getting the gap to Churchill down to less than a quarter of a length, but we were caught coming into First Post corner. I think we need to learn how to maintain our composure to be able to react to crews gunning for us from the start. (Tony Song)
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4th men's VIII

Tuesday
Bumped by St. Catharine's III
A solid row under pressure from a faster crew. A fairly scrappy start saw St Catz pulling up to a length by the railway bridge but I was excited to see them more or less sticking there for another 20 strokes in the face of our valiant pushes. Catz closed in rather quickly afterwards and 5 strokes of marginal overlap later their bowball tapped our stern.

Now that the jitters from inevitable first-day nerves is out of the way, a clearer and more structured race plan should prove promising for tomorrow - good luck, boys! (Yining)
Going into this race knowing that Catz M3 had beaten us by 15 seconds in Newnham Short Course, and that Clare M3 ahead of us were likely to get an early bump, it was obvious that we would have to row very well to evade a bump from Catz. Unfortunately a poor start allowed Catz to close much of the gap very quickly, and although we held them off for quite a while I don't think we ever managed to settle into a solid rhythm. Despite our efforts, they eventually managed to get some overlap, and about 8 strokes later they got the bump. A disappointing start to our bumps campaign, but Catz were a fast crew and probably deserved the bump. Having said this, I'm still very confident that we can get a bump or two later in the week as the slower crews in the division move down. (Andrew)
Wednesday
Rowed over
After having been bumped by Catz the previous day we were eager to do better. It was remarkably nice weather, the first time any of us had rowed in both warmth and the sun - hopefully not the last!

We had Sidney M2 chasing us, and while their boat number was a bit ominous, we knew we had posted a much better time than them in the getting on race. Catz were ahead of us, but we knew that realistically we didn't have much chance of bumping them so our aim was to row over and polish our technique.

Our start was significantly better although both Tobi and I came out of our foot straps at one point. It was our first row over, so despite doing my best to concentrate on rowing, the carnage on the banks around us was quite distracting, in particular one boat which had mounted the bank. We gained a considerable distance on Sidney though unfortunately Catz had bumped meaning so we were able to row over without complete exhaustion.

Surprisingly enough, Igor was not late, while Stan only gave 5 and 6 a light shower of cam water.

M4 now has a rubber duck. Quack. (Tom)
Thursday
Rowed over
This was a committed effort from everyone in the crew. Magdalene got off to the better start and it took a while to get back on station. However, once the two crews came around Grassy, M4 slowly started to munch up the ground on Magdalene. They continued to gain ground right to the line but the finish came just too soon for the bump.

Due to the rerow, the course was quite a few hundred meters shorter and if it wasn't for this they would have probably bumped today.

You have one more chance to get your first bump boys and barring any more ejectors from Churchill it is well within your capability come Saturday! (Douglad)
Our bank party was really great, thanks guys! (Artur)
So gutting. This was the last day that out crew would all be rowing together and our best chance of bumping someone. We were chasing Magdalene III who were on target for spoons as well as having had posted a time significantly slower than us in another race. As a result there as almost a sense of expectation that we would bump.

Our start was as scrappy as usual but we apparently started to make some distance on them until everyone screamed to hold it up. Half of us thought we had bumped and celebrated, but the rest of us knew better. Apparently there had been not one, but two ejector crabs ahead of us. Two! And I still haven't seen one! Sidney had better eject tomorrow...

In any case the umpires decided to restart our half of the division. Again, our start was average, but we succeeded in getting the long whistle just before ditton. We all pushed, I blew up and they somehow got away. Someway up the reach we again got the whistle and pushed hard. And I blew up. Again. It turns out that we had been less than a quarter length from Magdalene for a considerable number of strokes until the finish.

I have to say that it was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had and exhausted me for the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure we're all out to (finally) bump on the last day, though our chances will be a bit more slim.

This time it was Catarina who was late, while Stan out-classed us all by wearing some incredibly stylish google sunglasses.

Good work Stan. (Tom)
Saturday
Bumped Magdalene III
After the previous days close miss we were very determined to bump Magdalene and get our first success.

I'll admit I don't remember much of the race owing to the fact I was concentrating on not being mentioned on Cam Fm as the 'slouching 6' again. This meant that the only thing I ever saw was the strap of Thornton's cap...

We succeeded in getting several whistles going round grassy and then a final burst just before ditton. Almost immediately there was a big jolt and cheering. It turns out we'd had a substantial overlap for a considerable while but the Magdalene cox had refused to concede, meaning that Andrew(2) ended up hitting her in the back with his blade. She was pretty quick to concede after that.

We completely forgot that there were boats approaching us, but we got out of the way at the last minute, unlike Magdalene, who forgot to steer and ended up crumpling their bow into the bank.

Dressed in the traditional greenery and less traditional garish sunglasses we rowed back very happily, and upon arriving at the boathouse threw Catarina (cox) into the Cam. Unfortunately I was pushed in as well, meaning that after Catarina stole my dry clothes, I was forced to pad home in lycra, soaking wet in temperatures of 2C. (Tom)
Yes, boys! A bump three days in the making but you did it - well done! (Yining)
A single word is too long - maximum length 58 characters - last bit is so-much-overlap-their-7-man's-blade-got-fully-stuck-under-our-bow (Thornton)
After a long race on Thursday which saw the boys finish just 1/4 length off Magdalene, I was confident that the bump was on. The race looked like it was going to go to the wire again but a great Plough Reach saw the distance between the two crews torn up and the bump happened finally happened on Ditton around 100m before the finish.

This has been a bumps to be proud of! A great success just to get back-on, even better to record your first ever bump! (Douglad)
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Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the following information, note that the results are unofficial.

Men's bumps charts

Men's bumps chart, Lent Bumps 2013

Women's bumps charts

Women's bumps chart, Lent Bumps 2013

Michell Cup points

Homerton33.00
Hughes Hall32.00
Jesus24.00
Darwin21.00
King's21.00
Murray Edwards20.00
Queens'17.14
Caius16.80
Christ's16.80
Fitzwilliam16.00
St. Catharine's9.60
Downing9.00
Peterhouse3.00
Churchill2.00
1st and 3rd-3.00
Clare-7.20
Selwyn-9.00
Emmanuel-17.14
Pembroke-18.00
Girton-20.00
Sidney Sussex-24.00
LMBC-27.60
Trinity Hall-30.00
Robinson-36.00
Magdalene-45.00

Ineligible after entering fewer than 3 crews:

Newnham36.00
Clare Hall6.00
St. Edmund's6.00
Corpus-6.00
Wolfson-6.00

Cambridge weather: Tuesday text or graph
Wednesday text or graph
Thursday text or graph
Friday text or graph
Saturday text or graph

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