All race reports for Julia Attwood
Event: May Bumps 2009 - Friday
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Event: May Bumps 2009 - Thursday
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Event: May Bumps 2009 - Friday
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Event: Fairbairn Cup 2009 - Senior VIIIs
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Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2010 - 1st division
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All in all, I don't think the length of the course did the girls justice, as we're strongest over longer distances, but they produced a strong race, and I'm looking forward to the results of senior Fairbairns tomorrow. (ice permitting!)
Event: Fairbairn Cup 2010 - Invitation VIIIs
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Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2011 - 3rd division
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Event: May Bumps 2011 - Wednesday
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We may have strode too early, but the rhythm felt nice, racy and powerful. We attacked the corner, and I heard someone say 'They're moving' but wasn't sure if this meant Clare or if Jesus had pulled away. We began to worry coming around Grassy that we hadn't had any whistles, and this was really where Clare moved up on us. They seemed to take a strange line coming up to the exit of Grassy, but it obviously worked as they soon bumped us.
Not what we wanted, but we raced our race, and I couldn't have hoped for better first day rowing. I'm not foolish enough to attempt to predict any Bumps race outcomes, but we're going out tomorrow keen and "fierce", to quote Ms. Poseidon.
Event: May Bumps 2011 - Thursday
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Another good row with another disappointing result. Queens picked up a lot of speed from yesterday, bumping us around Grassy, but we were about on station with Clare, who were in turn on station with Jesus.
Rhythm was nice, chunky and long, but obviously rowing nicely (while wonderful for Doug's photos) isn't helping us in the bumps department.
Liz advised us to just start enjoying it and go for it tomorrow, which is what we'll do. Glad I didn't try to predict anything in my last report.
Event: May Bumps 2011 - Friday
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We were determined to row over, and though I don't recall much of the start as I was concentrating on feathering, it seemed nice, and our pushes were effective. We pulled away from Catz quite quickly, who then fell under pressure from Tit Hall, and soon bumped out. With nothing chasing, and unsure where Queen's were in front of us, we fell off a little in the middle third of the race.
It was nice to finally get onto the reach, and having reached a state in which I couldn't imagine what it felt like to be dry and being amused and somewhat perplexed by the sloshing of water in the boat, we put in a strong finish. The course seems remarkably short finishing at the Railway Bridge, which was a pleasant surprise. I feel like this row-over has helped us find our feet and we're going into tomorrow in high spirits come hell or (more likely) high water.
Event: University IVs 2010 - 1st division
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We were hoping for a re-row, as we were all keen, but ended up having to race the clock down the reach (which is where the above time comes from). All credit to Sidney for a win with probably the greatest margin in the history of Uni IVs, and apologies we couldn't give you a proper race!
HUGE thanks to our continental bank party. Merci to Masset for the encouragement, confidence boost and jaffa cakes. Thanks to Ulrike for pointers and support during the piece. And finally a big thank you to Raf's lovely parents for the french cheerleading! Much appreciated. :)
Event: Lent Bumps 2012 - Tuesday
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"Yeah Michael, great line!"
Michael continuously gave us distance around the corners with brilliant lines. Queens, behind us, took a 'Garcia Bumps line' round Ditton, which distracted me momentarily from the pain.
"Wolfson have dropped out behind you!"
Obviously this was garbled in the distance between the towpath and the river, they must have meant Queens or Christs. However, this call came a good 2 minutes before Christs actually bumped Queens and the epic battle behind us came to an end. However, the confusion did result in more pain relief.
"Remember what they did to you!"
Neil's motivational call seemed frighteningly close to us, to the point where I wondered if he had fallen in the river and was clambering back out. Apparently you can just be heard a lot better from the grass near the water.
*2 faint whistles* - all the way down the reach
We sat in a 2/3 length sandwich consisting of Pembroke, Emma and us for most of the reach, oscillating from time to time. I kept hearing whistles that seemed too faint and the wrong tone. They were so insistent and seemed so close that I wondered if Iain had bought a new whistle. In an uncharacteristic breach of my 'eyes dead ahead' policy, I turned to look at him, realized it was Emma's whistle, and resumed what Neil referred to as a 'personal push' with gusto.
And finally, after the race,
"None of the women at the top of the division were the speed I thought they were."
At least we have a better idea of what we're dealing with tomorrow...
Event: Lent Bumps 2012 - Wednesday
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Michael took a brilliant line round Ditton and we quickly heard 3 whistles, then the overlap whistle. We knew it was make or break, but Emma did too, and used their push off of us to gain on Pembroke.
Motivation to push was lost when they bumped out in front of us and we let it slip until we came under pressure from Christs, giving everyone on the finish line the wrong impression. Never mind.
Event: Lent Bumps 2012 - Thursday
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We were feeling nervous rowing up to the start (in fact, our paddling was so bad that Fordy felt the need to jump in after the race to remind us how to row).
Our start wasn't great, I was distracted by Christs appearing to point into the bank rather than at us. We strode to 40 and kept it high through Grassy. I was concerned about how much Christs were gaining through the corners, and Kerrie kept calling for pushes. Michael responded with calls for length and power, which worked well.
Iain was calling for time over the feet to calm our frantic rowing, and Kerrie tried to change the rhythm, but it was feeling sharp and I wanted to keep it that way through the corners, consoling myself that we would stride properly on the reach.
Michael was excellent, telling us what was going on in front of us and exactly how we were going to respond to it.
I think we heard 2 whistles in Plough Reach, 3 just after coming round Ditton and then overlap on the reach. The whistles came mercifully quickly as we dug deep for a bit more at the end of Pembroke's sprint.
A very welcome result, my first greenery since Mays in my 3rd year. Pembroke gave us a very good fight, and were exceptionally gracious, congratulating us as we paddled past their boathouse. I wish I could have found the wisdom to be as magnanimous last year. All credit to them.
Bring on tomorrow girls!
Event: Lent Bumps 2012 - Friday
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Day 1: We had no idea what we were getting into. The Pembroke regatta results suggested that Christs would bump Queens' early in the race, leaving us with clear water behind so that we could go after Emma without worrying about blowing up. We weren't sure how we measured up against Emma or Pembroke, but were fairly certain that Downing would badger off into the distance.
What actually happened was that Christs and Queens' were behind us for most of the race, and we soon realized that our sprint for Emma might have to be more sustainable than we intended. Some confusion about how to deal with sitting 2/3 of a length off of Emma meant we never really put them under much pressure. We crossed the line largely confused.
Day 2: We resolved to really go for it on Day 2, knowing that Emma had a slower start than us, and figuring that the only reason for Christs appearing to lose a huge amount of speed since Pembroke was that they were holding back, thinking the bump on Queens' was inevitable. Iain came to us after the race the day before and said there wasn't much between us, Pembroke and Emma, but that if we actually settled the next day, we might have a chance. We did attempt to, but were far too excited when we started getting whistles on Emma. It was heartbreaking to get so close and miss, but you don't expect crews to break and give up at the top of the first division. Christs were nowhere until our pressure died significantly on the reach, and they got a few whistles after the railway bridge. By this point, we had stopped worrying about them, and were thinking about trying to bump Pembroke.
Day 3: Frantic, manic, crazed. Iain was not happy. We were after the bump, and it was a fantastic result considering what the women's side has been through in the past year. We were told Pembroke were inside station on Emma when we bumped them, so were focusing on bumping the next day as well.
Day 4: We were cocky. We thought we were going to bump. After coming away from a day with overlap on Emma, we figured they would be terrified of us. As it turned out, they weren't, they kept their heads, and it was day 1 all over again.
We actually did settle this time, albeit only to 35. Better than 40, like on day 3. It was a good row, and I said afterwards that if it had been a 2k head race, I wouldn't have done anything different. We didn't take as much out of them on Plough Reach as we had on days before, and as the race went on, there was no obvious place to make a move. It was committed and it was fast, but it was only when we returned to frantic rowing after the railway bridge that we closed to 1/2 length. It reminds me of not quite bumping Maggie on day 2 in Mays '10, but in reality it was nowhere near that close. However, unlike day 2 this year, the expectation was there.
Fordy said that obviously when both we and Emma rowed well, we were a length faster. We both had good races that day. To their credit, Emma were ladies about it, and seeing the 5 top crews collapsed at the finish line seemed to sum up the Bumps this year.
We have to look at this result in terms of what we, and everyone around us were expecting. My goal for this Lents was to stay level. I wanted to keep W1 within reach of the headship. Instead, we defied the early results, and most of Bumpit, and went up. The headship can still be the target for the crews that come after us, and we've pushed them closer to it. In a race which requires as much sweat and toil and history as Bumps, I think this is the best possible thing we could have done.
Now it's up to you, W1 2013.
Event: Head of the Cam 2012 - College VIIIs
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One of the marshals was kind enough to give us some encouragement near Ditton and we lifted onto the straight with much enthusiasm, even if not as much finesse as I would like. Yining turned this into a heartening call and we held the tempo reasonably over the reach.
At the railway bridge we had a big power focus and I felt the boat started to move well here, especially for such a late stage of the race. There was some confusion about the finish, and we peaked a bit too early, limping across the line.
There's still a lot to be gained from more fitness, more control and more cover, but a decent result early in term, giving us a benchmark for further improvement.
Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2012 - Saturday
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The Isis is wide, so wide that it seems ridiculous that it has a 'gut'. It is picturesque and the atmosphere for Summer Eights must be amazing, racing past the boathouses. But the stream is a bit of an inconvenience, requiring constant spinning and confusing pace data when rowing with it.
The races were run by the City of Oxford rowing club, who, while very hospitable, seemed neither aware of their own rules, nor inclined to follow them, as I'll explain further on:
We were expecting some good racing, a bit of practice on a smaller scale for the Mays. Christ Church were very kind to lend us a boat and blades, but they both took some adjustment. We were expecting to race mostly Oxford colleges and a few town crews, but found ourselves in a clump of Cambridge rowers, with XPress chasing us, and Christs in front of us at the bottom of the first division. I'll try to remember each race:
1. Absolute chaos on the start. Gonzalo had to go off to judge another crew's race and Fordy had forgotten a watch, so I was tasked with counting down. There was a lot of faffing and backing it down as Fordy experimented with the best way to push us off, to the amusement of our judge. We were discussing how late the race was going to be when suddenly all the boats in the lower half of the division began furiously rowing towards us. No one in the top half had heard the 5 minute, 1 minute, or start gun. One of the umpires shouted 'the bottom of the division is revolting!' which is a pretty good description of the scene. The start procedure was then altered so everyone would be able to hear it, but their horn still wasn't a patch on our little cannons.
The idea of possibly rowing 8 times as a sandwich boat did not appeal, so we took a tactical bump. (well, not quite. XPress rowed very well, and we consoled ourselves that, with most of the crew ill, it was better to be down 1 and warm than level and freezing) The masochistic Torpids rules meant we had to finish the course even after being bumped, but at least it felt exceptionally short. Attempting to follow the stream was a bit of an adventure, but Sonya assured us that we took the right lines.
2. After some debate as to whether to camp out at Christ Church boathouse or CORC's, Gonzalo, with his typical persuasiveness, convinced us that it was better to be close to food and transport.
The second race was unremarkable. We wound it very high, into the 40s and didn't settle much below 37. But the race felt sprinty and short, so I didn't complain too much. Though it was meant to be Christ Church W1 chasing us, in a nice bit of symmetry, it ended up being Trinity Oxford instead.
They got to about a length and a half when Charlotte started calling pushes, which Thornton assumed were to prevent imminent bumps. I must admit finding it difficult to summon an unsustainable push to 'escape' from a boat 3 lengths behind us, but it was good for my fitness. We didn't make much of an impression on XPress in front either. More like a very short head race than anything else.
3. By this point we were finally getting used to the boat and blades, and so were less cautious off the start. XPress were tiring from a demanding day and we made up some ground, but not enough to threaten them. Trinity got to a length around the corners, but clipped the bank and fell back in the latter half of the race. There was much jubilation from a riverboat of locals at the finish, on learning from Fordy that we were not Christ Church and that we had not been bumped. I believe there was some sort of wager at stake...
4. We had heard, through the Cambridge contingency grapevine, that XPress had bumped Barnes Bridge. Hopeful of getting a bump ourselves and for once not having to row the whole course, we turned up to our station eager to race. We knew Trinity were planning to go off very hard to try and catch us off the start, but hoped to be able to hold them off long enough.
However, as the minutes ticked away and the 5 minute gun was fired with no sign of Barnes Bridge, we figured we would be treated to a technical bump and a bit of a break. However, when our judge went to check with the chief umpire, he informed us that instead of a technical bump, everyone in the division would be moving up a place and we would have to row over head of the division. We protested, but there was no one else to appeal to and his decision stood. Having gone back to read the rules, they are very clear. Barnes couldn't make the race because someone in the crew was coxing another boat in the same division. Scheduling difficulties should result in a technical bump. There is no mention of 'shifting everyone up a place'.
After a well fought race with Trinity, we slogged it back up to the start line, worried by the dark clouds threatening rain on the horizon.
5. It poured. With everyone damp, aching and exhausted, we decided to go hell for leather in the first two minutes, and if we couldn't make an impression on XPress, to wind it down and row over as the sandwich boat, with no pressure from behind.
However, it looked like this plan was going to be foiled when the same chief umpire called to us that they had given the Barnes crew which had failed to turn up to their own race, the opportunity to have a shot at us, by racing behind us.
At this point I lost my patience with this practice of making up rules as they go along and vowed never to row in Oxford again.
As it turned out, Barnes had enough class not to show up to that race either, and we followed our plan of going flat out. We gained a bit, but fatigue and the mysterious crew illness got the better of us, and we wound it down when it became obvious that a bump was not imminent.
Though this was meant to be our leisurely row-over, this race was the most painful, seeming never-ending as it was so much longer than the others.
We spun a few more times and eventually landed back at Christ Church to half de-rig the boat so that it could fit back on its rack. All in all, an amusing, frustrating, but hopefully ultimately useful day.
Many thanks to Christ Church for generously supplying a boat and blades, to Sonya for letting us in and directing us, and to Gonzalo and Fordy, for spending a day following us up and down the river offering support and encouragement. It would have been miserable without you.
Event: Champion of the Thames Eights Head 2012 - Women's 1st Div. Mays
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Our relative inexperience of Fletch's beloved headwinds this term was obvious here. The conditions hit us hard and the catches suffered.
We have a long way to go, but having just settled into the crew and with the leaps and bounds we've seen in training, I'm confident we'll be able to handle whatever bumps throws at us come Mays!
Event: May Bumps 2012 - Wednesday
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We closed to a length after about 2 minutes of rowing, and then oscillated at about 2/3 - 1/2 a length off Tit Hall. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but the silent period that followed caused a damning drop in boat speed. We weren't sure where either of us were, and stuck about 2/3 of a length off them for most of the reach.
They moved away from us in the last phase of the reach as the technical side of our rowing deteriorated (though the power was still there, which shows that we have the ability to grit our teeth and keep pushing even when things aren't going our way) and we crossed the line about on station.
Being in the middle of 5 row-overs gives us the luxury of a do-over tomorrow, so we'll see if we can convince fortune to smile on us through the wind and rain.
Event: May Bumps 2012 - Thursday
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I would know Swords' cheering anywhere, and it helped lift our spirits, and the boat into a fantastic start at the Plough. This wasn't quite repeated on the start gun, but it was again calm, cool and measured.
We had laid clear plans for the race today at our crew pasta (or rather crew rice!) the night before, and it was executed perfectly by Yining. Maybe it was Gonzalo's arrogant confidence on the bank, maybe it was Iain's perfect pushing out, maybe it was that I washed my lycra, or Kingsbury's gold socks or the fact that every crew I umpired bumped today, but something clicked and we stepped up and performed.
The whistles came mercifully quickly as the wash started to rock the boat around. There was a lot of confusion about whether or not we had bumped, but the umpire had his hand up, and Iain swears he wouldn't have told us to hold it up had there not been contact. Bullock told us afterwards that there was almost a re-row, but the umpire was firm, and the CU went with him. Even the spectator at the greenhouse at Grassy was indignant on our behalf.
We're very sorry that we didn't get the chance to cheer Tit Hall. It was two excellent days of racing, and we were concerned when they rowed off, with the umpire trailing behind them. The boathouse was all shut up when we went past, but here are your three cheers: Hip hip, HOORAY, hip hip HOORAY, hip hip HOORAY!
Well done girls, and thank you for all the support from the bank!
Event: May Bumps 2012 - Friday
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Our starts were messy in the tail/cross wind, but the support at the Plough was welcome, as were the rousing cheers to my epic umpiring earlier (thanks Swords and Aaron).
Thanks to the anticipation surrounding bumping Maggie and the chat from Tit Hall about how they were going to get us back today, I was more nervous on the start line than any other day this week. The draw strokes into the headwind were agonizingly long, but apparently effective, as soon after our surge we got a whistle. Gonzalo says that by the time he was on his bike and caught up to us we were almost at a length.
We had a bad stroke under the bridge, but keeping our heads allowed us to recover quickly, and Yining's amazing (and now famous) bridge call gave us a surge in power. The second whistle came quickly, and we lifted again for 3 whistles, then continuous and an increasingly exuberant bank party. This gave us the shot of adrenaline we needed to finish off a very aggressive race. We bumped them somewhere between 2nd and 4th station. Thankfully, the Maggie cox conceded, and we held it up quickly. Pulling in was difficult, made worse by my insistence on back-seat coxing (sorry Yining :( ).
Maggie were perfect ladies about it, cheering us quickly as our bank party gathered greenery. After missing the bump on them two years ago, a bump which would have led to blades, I thought 'revenge' would be sweet. However, I found it lacking. Good luck tomorrow Maggie, give Tit Hall a good fight.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 1st division
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I'm not sure what happened off the start, but if we moved on King's, it wasn't by much. The start was good, and we weren't expecting to stride by much, but I was concerned when the rate was sticking at 37. We were sitting at half a length up, very aware that it was still anyone's race. The rate gradually strode out to 34 with length and rhythm, but most of what I could hear was the King's bank party, and I ended up rowing the race by responding to his calls in order to absorb the King's pushes. We probably should have called one of our own to attempt to gain more seats, but the technical lift after the railway bridge accomplished this reasonably.
I thought the margin was closer than Pembroke say it was, but by 300m to the finish, all I was aware of was Kerrie's back.
King's were very gracious after the line, especially with our indecision causing us to block their path. An excellent race. They stuck with us the whole way and were very worthy opponents. Certainly a crew to watch out for in Bumps, and we wish them all the best.
Event: University IVs 2011 - 1st division
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After a very quick series of starting calls 'Firstandthirddowningattentiongo' I proceeded to air stroke through the start. No doubt because of this, we were rating 38 (fair higher than we had ever attempted in training) and Downing took a quick lead. Alex tells me we gained a little of it back, but at this point I was more concerned with getting my blade in the water.
The race then became an test of extreme cardiovascular fitness down the reach, overrating and losing ratio with every stroke. The final margin was 31 seconds.
When I decided to enter a IV for the competition, I did it to give meaning to our training. I figured at the very least it would give us a wake up call, possibly light a fire under the squad. The positive that we took from it, walking out of the crew room afterwards, was resolve. That's what I've seen in every outing since.
Event: Cambridge Winter Head 2011 - Student Senior VIIIs
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Bursts on the reach felt chunky, rating 30. On arrival at the lock we seemed to be the only crew told to spin (and indeed the only crew complimented on our spinning). We confused ICSM by wishing them luck and set off, behind Caius and in front of Newnham. Our plan was to keep it simple, and put distance on Newnham. At Ditton the plan had to be swiftly changed to putting distance on Pembroke as they came round the corner instead of Newnham.
The start was good, winding to a nice 30. I was concerned that my legs weren't burning 10 strokes in, but I think we were all aware that we were setting ourselves up for a 2.5k race rather than a 4 minute piece. We kept it chunky to Grassy, and lifted out of the corner with a power 10. We took a nice line off this push and then Miles called for a plough reach burn. This caused the rate to rise with adrenaline, but we found a new rhythm coming round Ditton and held 32 for the rest of the race.
The cover dropped somewhat on the vacant expanse of the reach, but calls for pressure from within the boat spurred us on, powering through the railway bridge for our (moderate - I quite liked the rhythm) sprint for the finish.
Spirits were high at the finish, despite exhaustion. Without much pressure either from behind or in front, we were able to concentrate on our own rowing and row the race we planned. The result doesn't properly show how far we've come, but it gives us a target for the next two weeks. I'm proud of how we rowed in the race, of how we reacted to it off the start and held it at the finish. Now we just need to get massive.
Event: Fairbairn Cup 2011 - Senior VIIIs
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After some panicked starts in practice pieces, we started the race calmly, perhaps too much so. It was our intention to race our own race, without concern to those in front or behind us. The twisted course of the first half of Fairbairns allowed us to do this. We followed our plan of quick catches around the corners and a power 10 after each one, but the number and proximity of these meant that our power strokes started to run into each other and become worrying like race rhythm rather than a surge of speed. The ratio was 1-1 for most of the first half and I debated calling an up 1 down 1, concerned about how it would affect the pressure. I felt that things were starting to get out of hand after Chesterton and asked Alex to call it. Almost immediately afterwards, at the P&E, Iain started shouting for more pressure, confirming my suspicion that the call hadn't been the right one after all.
At the railway bridge we had a restart, and it was probably the single most important point in my cobbled-together race plan, as we would certainly need the change in mindset for what was coming next.
At the P&E I finally saw Christs coming around the corner, and struggled to remember where they had finished in Winter Head. I realized this was too much thinking and not enough pushing, so I put the blue blades out of my mind for the next few 100m. On the reach it became evident that Christs were moving on us, and our series of technical calls was abandoned in favour of Alex calling for us to push Christs away. I'm not sure how she knew how close they were getting, as I don't remember seeing her turn round, but perhaps it was just coxing instinct and Iain's suddenly more urgent calls for power and commitment.
After Ditton, I figured Christs were going to come by us and started worrying about where this was going to happen. I decided the safest place for this was First Post Reach, and so determined to hold them off till then.
In the second half of the race we found ourselves. Alex stubbornly held the racing line, forcing Christs wide around Ditton, Grassy and First Post, and gaining us valuable time. We stepped up the power and the rate to Iain's calls of 'FIGHT THEM! FIGHT THEM OFF!' and general clamour from the Christs bank party who obviously didn't read the 4 person limit rule. (I believe I fined them for that in Mays too...)
Christs gained on us quite quickly after the reach, but each time their bow ball crept closer we would find another power 10 to push them away again. The second half felt like a row over in bumps, complete with the heart-stopping (literally) panic of their bow overlapping your stern at 100m from the motorway bridge, when Alex finally responded to the calls for us to drift over. We did indeed fight them up to the finish line, and we held them. They didn't come by us. I think they were a bit annoyed not to have passed us, as the reply from the rowers to my congratulations on a good race was an order to move on.
I think the whole race was summed up well by what Iain said to me once I was back on land.
"I don't know whether to scream at you or cheer for you. You rowed like pants in the first half and fought like hell in the second!"
More of the second half next term, girls, please.
Thank you to everyone who coached us this term, to everyone who said it wasn't hopeless, who gave up their time and sleep to help us make sure it wasn't.
Thank you to the Christs men who helped us drag Valkyrie out of the water over the lock, to the Peterhouse guys who pulled us in and pushed us out in the post-Fairbairns marshaling. I hope the guy who looked like he should be taken away in an ambulance for hypothermia survived.
Most importantly, thank you to Christs W1. You pushed us, and shook us out of our complacency. You undoubtedly gave us a better time, while I'm sure we hindered yours. You were the faster crew by a large margin, but now that you've taught us to fight, I hope we can narrow it. See you in Lents.
Event: Fairbairn Cup - IVs 2011 - College IVs
Posted as: Julia A.
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I don't think any of us knew how this was going to go, with very little rest time between the VIIIs race and this one, losing all of our possible bank parties to the spur of the moment Black Prince IV, and people switching sides and crew order. We consoled ourselves with the fact that it was 'only about 3k' and the day was 'almost over'.
The rowing was scrappy up until the white bridge while we sorted ourselves out, and then Alex called an up 2, which fixed most things. I was a bit concerned at the call, as we typically do our best rowing at middling-high rates, but I did my best to follow it.
The P&E came up faster than I was expecting, and at the same time I was aware of some sort of activity at Chesterton, but couldn't quite see what was going on. We had our restart and calls for catches, moving together and finishes, and by the reach the rowing had gone from acceptable, to really quite nice. Halfway up the reach we became aware of some epic battle between the two IVs behind us, but it was a relief to be able to observe it rather than be in the thick of it this time.
We crossed the finish line strong, and slightly worried that Sara was about to die after the battle cries on the reach.
The final verdict was that it felt much better than the VIIIs race, but probably could have done with more oomph overall. Reasonable result considering how pleasant the race was.
Our actual opportunity to finish Sara off was on the paddle back, with SP sitting the boat at bow, unable to row due to her Mars bar and jeans, (Becky having run off to catch the Varsity bus) and Alex swapping Nina and I in to row with Sara. The proof of her power was in the length of time it took certain crews to come by us. It was an amusing row back, (probably less so for our amazing 3 girl) and a nice way to end the day.
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2012 - 1st division
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In our race plan I had insisted that we rate no higher than 30, preferably 28, recalling past experiences with too high rates, too early in term (Uni IVs). On the first leg, with the help of the stream and a hefty tailwind, the reach flew by and we were able to develop a nice rhythm with lots of ratio.
On crossing the line, it started to rain. The Met Office had promised me that after a week of miserable conditions, it would not rain today. The Met Office lied. It poured. Thornton and I inspected our wounds in the stern, concerned about contracting one of the many diseases the H2H Safety document implied the Cam contained.
We had a solid start in the second leg, rating 30 with good length and ratio. Our Plough Reach Burn was slightly frantic, but we recovered coming around Ditton. Unfortunately, our wind for the finish induced a larger adrenaline shot than I had intended, as we caught a crab by the white house. In the stern, I wondered if we were towing a fishing net, but Thornton's response soon allayed that fear. A quick analysis of the situation by our cox allowed us to cross the line with 7 people rowing and some creative steering. A shame to end on a low note, but as our first training pieces, the race was a success overall.
Event: Robinson Head 2012 - 1st division
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Matt told us to push hard as the race would be over before we realized, and I was worried that the first half would be spent warming our stiffened muscles.
We built the power nicely from our rolling start and maintained a comfortable 33 for most of the reach. We had been working on time into frontstops on the row up and this paid dividends as the rhythm was good, with enough length and ratio for me to sit comfortably in the 7 seat laying down power.
We wobbled under the railway bridge, and lost a bit of our rhythm and stride. I lost feeling in my fingers and implemented a novice death grip in an effort to make sure my hands stayed on the blade.
Our wind for the finish was scrappy, but did the job. Not very well paced on my part, but I guess pacing doesn't really come into bumps strategy anyway....
Thank you to Mark for braving the temperatures and super subbing, to Matt for braving my tiny bike and bank partying and Yimin for the sympathy measure of taking off his coat to bank party so he'd be cold too.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Our start wasn't as panicked as I was expecting, and we got as much power out of the 3 draw as could be expected in the conditions. We moved on Girton on the start and steadily extended our lead. Clipping waves and wobbling slightly, we carried on at 34 for possibly longer than was necessary. I discovered that the perspective on distance is very different from the 7 seat, and was unwilling to wind it down for fear that something disastrous might happen.
Insistent calls from our bank party brought us down to 30, then 28, eventually crossing the line at about 26. A good race for shaking out the nerves. Many apologies to Girton for having to cheer us first, I was concerned about breaking my blade on the bank as we pulled in and forgot to call for it.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Our second start felt much like the first, but I particularly enjoyed the wind. It felt neat and together and we moved away from Fitz nicely. There were a few big strokes at the surge, but I felt it wasn't as definite as it could have been. We built up a lead and then began a series of strides to bring the rate down and conserve our energy. There was a bit of confusion on the finish line, with our 'wind down' coming before the whistle, but we didn't feel it would have made much of a difference anyway.
All in all, this race would have been enjoyable without the weather.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2012 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Our start was probably the best of the day, but they moved on us here, and gradually ate up seat after seat. As they were edging out to clear water around the houses on the reach I called for a push. There was little response, which (I was assured afterwards) was because we were all at max pressure already. In retrospect, I should have called for it earlier in an attempt to gain back a few seats, but I don't believe it would have changed the end result.
After the railway bridge Michael assured us that we were still in the race and we called a series of up 2's. Unfortunately they had little effect.
Christs definitely deserved to win this race, but I hope we gave them a good one.
Thank you to our incredible super sub Hannah, who we dropped into the 3 seat, having not rowed in months, and slotted in perfectly. Neil's presence on the bank raised everyone's spirits, as ever, and all the support and kit was much appreciated!
Thank you to the Pembroke marshals, who were pleasant and very competent in both rain and shine, and wonderfully patient with all of our faffing.
A good day of racing, and a solid platform to take into Bumps.
Event: May Bumps 2013 - Saturday
Posted as: Julia A.
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It poured with rain as we all made our way to the boathouse, and extra layers were recruited for marshaling. However, by the time we had the boat on the water the rain had stopped and there was a glimmer of sunshine breaking through the clouds.
We watched the top of the M2 division row over, speculated about possible potential shoulder injuries in the crews rowing over. We gathered in a huddle for a calm collected pep talk from Chris, and clambered back in the boat, sure of what we needed to do, and how we were going to do it.
There was less wind than in the past 3 days, and our starts and paddle up were a little disturbed by this. By the time we were at Grassy we had adjusted and were paddling regally to our station. We stayed loose with jokes and jazz hands and I said a silent thank you to fate and Iain for giving me a dry, roughened handle to work with.
The gun fired and we went hunting for a bump. The start was calm and powerful and we strode to a long 34, inching up on Pembroke every stroke. We were all expecting to bump early, some earlier than others, and there was a terrible 10 strokes after the start where there were no whistles and we weren't sure whether to settle in for a long race, or maintain a sprint. Thankfully, while we were making this decision we got our first whistle amid cheers from our bank party and a call, in finest Fletch form, of 'YOU OWN THEM GIRLS!'. We were waiting for 'OUR RACE' but I'm not sure Chris thought the sprint was going to be long enough to require much thought about whose it was.
On 2 whistles we hit the wash and our rhythm suffered slightly, but this quickly became 3 and we struggled to keep things the same. On the overlap whistle Yining called a Bumps push and two strokes later we were holding it up just before First Post corner.
There was mad celebration, posing for many photos and a palpable sense of relief at having accomplished what we set out to do and not let anyone down. We rowed back amid applause from the spectators and the sun shining on our greenery. We congratulated everyone we passed and wished Homerton, our boys and Caius luck. It's amazing how animosities which drive our actions so definitively during competition dissolve in the happy glow afterwards, sharing in the success of others.
There comes a point every Bumps where I'm cycling to the boathouse and I pass the non-boaties, wandering the streets of Cambridge in pretty clothes, with picnics and nothing to do, and I am intensely jealous. However, this feeling is always far diminished by the feelings of pride, both in myself, my crew and the club, for the epic battles we undertake on the river for these 4 days. Knowing that you have spent your time in the pursuit of something, as Ali said last night, is indeed a rewarding feeling that I am so grateful to be able to share with everyone at First and Third.
The girls should be very proud of what we accomplished. With the help of many many bufties and boaties we made a boat that was competitive in Mays, and that continued our rise through the charts. However, as in Lents, I'll offer my plea, both to those who rowed this term and to those still around. The women's side will only grow stronger if we all have the loyalty and dedication to the club that I have known in the past. We need a strong W2 to feed rowers into W1, we need returners to keep raising the bar for each other. We need to get back where we belong.
Event: May Bumps 2013 - Friday
Posted as: Julia A.
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Having started a trend amongst the women of pushing off ridiculously early, we were one of the last boats to get to marshalling and had to squeeze into an inadequate gap and stay in the boat. The divisions were running very early and we rowed up to the start well ahead of time.
Our practice starts felt really good, and we were able to settle onto a smooth rhythm to carry us up the reach. Our supporters at the Plough cheered us through another good start, and we paddled up to the start nervous but excited.
Once we had parked Richard told us that if all was running on time, we could expect the 4 minute gun in 22 minutes. We had a leisurely drink and de-kit as our bank party speculated about how early they would set us off, for only the second time in my 41 bumps races.
Starting in a new position must have disoriented us slightly, as our start was comfortably the worst of the day. The boat crashed from side to side under the motorway bridge as we caught and recovered from mini crabs. Christs took advantage of this to get a whistle just after the outflow.
We began to settle on the straight and found a long powerful rhythm. This was then destroyed by the cross-head winds at Grassy and half of the crew believing, with unshakeable faith, in Yining's calls that we were coming into Ditton. Through the corner Eva was insisting that we were actually at Grassy and bowside were struggling to get their blades in, causing a call for early squaring from the bank.
Our rowing on the Plough Reach straight was more effective, and Christs started to fall away after gaining slightly round Grassy. We moved into Ditton praying for an improvement in technique on the long glorious straight of the Reach.
We really settled into our racing rhythm here as Christs started to worry more about being bumped by Maggie than trying to get us back. Having held them off at no less than a length across the course so far, we were building confidence each stroke. Maggie bumped Christs at the railway bridge and, having been granted this bit of relief, we wound it down and settled onto a long loose rhythm, paddling across the line.
Definitely our worst row of the week, but thankfully it got the job done. Yining commented after the race that the commitment was really there today, so we can now go into the final day knowing that we have the technique to get us over the course effectively, and the guts to hold off a sprinting crew. Let's just hope we can execute the plan with more style tomorrow.
Event: May Bumps 2013 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
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Though the thunderclouds had been threatening all day, they were starting to break as we rowed off towards marshalling. This hopeful sign had us debating leggings or shorts. Buoyed up by new kit, shining in the sun, we were one of the first to marshalling and the disorder was behind us this time. Having declared the portable toilets 'structurally unsound' we watched the end of the M2 division, hoping to see M2 with Greenery or rowing over. Sadly things didn't work out for them today.
The first few strokes of paddling were a bit shaky, but we found our rhythm on the reach after the practice start. Our start at the plough was clean and sharp as 'Mr. and Mrs. Yining' were watching. We had some difficulty pulling into the bank in the crosswind, but the benefit of starting 9th is that there's plenty of chaos ahead to delay the 4 minute gun.
The sun was shining as we lined up on the start, but no one was able to enjoy the beautiful conditions as we squared up and hoped for a good start. Our prayers were answered, it was clean and powerful, and we strode to a higher rate than usual. Queens got their customary whistle on First Post reach, but didn't make much of an impression over the course and were bumped by Maggie on the reach, impressively spearing across almost the entire river behind us.
We rowed a solitary race in the first half, with little awareness of what was going on around us. Coming around onto Ditton things started to get exciting. Iain started calling 'On station!' as we came straight, and 10 strokes later we got our first whistle. We stuck here for a while, adjusting to the wash, and oscillating slightly. We heard a second one whistle, swiftly followed by 2, 3 and continuous. On the continuous whistle I remember thinking ' we still need another 6 feet', but by this point Alexa was making contact with Christs' stern and Yining was spearing the 7 girl's blade with our bows. We held it up, and thankfully had plenty of time to extract ourselves and clear as most people had bumped out behind us.
A gorgeous day for a great result. There's nothing like greenery in Mays.
Event: May Bumps 2013 - Wednesday
Posted as: Julia A.
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The M2 division was severely delayed, giving us plenty of time to critique the lycra around us and complain about the Chesterton marshaling. Thomas, why weren't you there a division earlier?!
We were told off for taking a practice start off the railway bridge, but it was good practice for rowing through chaos. The tailwind made our starts seem light and racy, a cruel trick of Mays weather.
Iain pushed us out late in order to deal with the gusts, and the first number we heard was "5! Square!" Despite this the start felt strong in the draw strokes, although the rate lagged and we didn't wind as high as we usually do. The rhythm call came in the chop under the bridge and it took us a few strokes to really find our racing speed. Queens started sprinting and got a whistle on First Post reach, but we didn't change our rate or pressure, having settled onto something sustainable. The crews around us appeared to be alternately sprinting and prowling as I'm told that Caius were trailing Christs by about 3 lengths, who were in turn looking like they were on for a bump on Emma. At this point we were about on station with Caius, but they soon began to move steadily away.
We kept it technical through the corners, with Yining following Iain's advice about how to steer through the gusts, and took a push into Ditton, watching Queens fall away every stroke. We were told that Caius and Christs had bumped out ahead of us and settled into the last 'hundred strokes' of the race, as I heard called from the bank.
The reach was difficult, with the headwind pushing us back and the gusts playing havoc with bladework, but we kept our heads, an action that had saved us earlier in the race, and ploughed on. We had a brief bridge call and used the corner at Morley's Holt to initiate a brief wind. We wound it down slightly before the line, conscious of CUCBC's complaints last term about racing to the finish line, and paddled through the last few metres of the race.
A good race in tough conditions that are set to repeat for the rest of the week, so hopefully also a useful learning experience.
Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Clare had just come off an hour's rest while we had had an hour's racing and faffing, so I suppose the marshals thought it only fair to put us back on Meadow side. Fordy had told us to really attack the first minute, and privately encouraged stern 3 to wind quite aggressively, but on the start line it became clear that the match-up was David and Goliath style. After the race I got a text from my mother saying "Never mind, you did well for being such a tiny skinny crew!" and Fordy said that the difference in size looked like the difference between a men's and women's crew. Sadly the margin was of a similar scale.
Our start was aggressive, and we held Clare for the first 10 strokes. After that point they moved away swiftly, and a combination of wash and loss of technique caused a drop in boat speed that we never recovered from.
Despite the corner advantage, we were so far apart on the finish line that I didn't even hear the air horn for Clare. I'm told the actual margin was 20s.
It's true that Clare are mostly irrelevant to us in Bumps, and that they're a big crew, but it's important not to become complacent or discouraged. Smaller and skinnier crews than this one have beaten university crews in the past, by being bloody-minded and refusing to accept 2nd place. We have two weeks to figure out what they did better than us.
Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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The start was efficient, and I felt like I was able to lay down a fair bit of power. We were up by 3 seats at the lengthen again, but this increased to clear water in about 20 strokes.
Initially we lengthened to 36, but a series of strides brought us down to 30 by the finish. Being on Towpath side allowed us to hear more of Fordy's calls and we kept it technical in preparation for the next race.
Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Nines were running behind and so our first practice start was rolling, an interesting experience. When we got to the Plough and were informed that we were on Meadow side we complained bitterly about the general inferiority of the station, though only Yining seemed clear on what this was.
Our start was slightly hesitant, but relatively clean, and when we lengthened onto our rhythm we were 3 seats up. Selwyn stuck with us for longer than we had been expecting, given the margin between us at Champs, and we steadily rowed through them for most of the course.
Yining took quite an aggressive line, to the point where I was expecting either a blade clash or a warning from the umpire (but it turns out we didn't have any umpires with us, I guess they expected us to form a gentleman's agreement on the start line). The one advantage of Meadow side was the 1/3 length advantage at the corner under the railway bridge, and at this point we broke free of overlap and quickly took a length.
Yining had just started to call the final stages of our race plan when we heard an air horn blast and were told to wind it down. None of us had noticed the finish sign at Morley's Holt on the row up, which gave us a surprise short race.
Overall the row felt solid. The balance was still a little off, and the catches a little shabby but it got the job done.
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2013 - 1st Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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Until then, we must be satisfied with the rest of the women on the Cam.
A good performance for early in term, but perhaps not a brilliant indicator of Bumps speed as it conflicted with BUCS, meaning that many crews were missing their Uni rowers.
As ever in Mays, the wind played a significant part in this race. A swift tailwind made the first leg feel light, though still somewhat restrictive in length. We wound to 34 and settled at about 32, feeling fairly racy if a bit strained. Coming around Ditton fatigue hit and we lost some rhythm and technique. We rolled around and hammered the boat through the corners before getting a grip on the straight again. We had a push for the finish, but mindful of the second leg, didn't go for a wind.
The rain which marked the break in between races brought many strong comments about British weather, and we scrambled back into the boat as the clouds broke and the sun returned.
We strode to a strong, stable 32 which Fletch thought was 28, but didn't manage to hold it for the whole course. Regular updates from Yining about Clare in front of us spurred us on to push through the burning in our legs, but sadly mid-race injuries and loss of effective work and catches in the headwind meant we rowed a fairly contained second leg. On the reach our rate dropped to about 30, and though pressure briefly brought it back up to 32 for the finish, we need to be looking to higher rates for the adrenaline and madness of Mays.
Event: Champion of the Thames Eights Head 2013 - Women's 1st Div. Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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The marshal complimented us on being the only boat that had managed to hold its ground during marshaling on the reach, while various boats encroached from behind and drifted away up to Grassy. Our practice starts weren't bad, especially considering they were Danielle's first and second with us. However, our modicum of confidence in the day deteriorated quickly when the marshal above the start repeatedly demanded that we back it down to a spot ahead of us, and simultaneously Jesus attempted to spin into us. Now it was a real Cam river head race.
Despite all of this chaos, the first 500m felt very solid, with a nice flowy rhythm and a solid corner round Ditton. I felt we dealt with the renewed gusts on the reach well, but as we reached the kink both pressure and placements were deteriorating rapidly. We gained some speed back at the bridge, but failed to produce a convincing wind for the finish.
There's speed to gain from higher rates and working together, but continual improvements in both technique and fitness are still needed before Bumps.
Event: Lent Bumps 2013 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
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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.
Event: Lent Bumps 2013 - Friday
Posted as: Julia A.
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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.
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2013 - 1st Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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Eva set a strong rhythm into the first leg, which I probably failed to transmit since X-Press' insistence on sitting on the start line and not moving caused my fingers to numb. Blissfully unaware of the strong stream and tailwind (soon to be headwind) it felt like we were flying down the course. We were chunky at 32, which I thought justified a 'woohoo' on the first finish line. We were buoyed up by Yining's calls, having lost our two cheerleaders to an icy towpath and skinny tyres.
De-kitting was chaotic and caused some anguish, but we started the second leg strong. By this time, Fordy and Thomas had developed a relay system to deal with the difficult conditions. Coaching points were hurled at us up until about Grassy, where Thomas then took up the charge. We were surprised by the headwind on the reach, but soldiered on and dutifully (though possibly not too effectively) wound it up at the white house. Angela's personal paparazzi also appeared at some point and gave us some gorgeous photos and a new resolve to concentrate on bladework.
A good result for early in term, and the best race I've had in a long time.
Points for next time:
1. Don't take your hands out of your sleeves until the last possible moment
2. Wind it up in the water
3. Someone should take my Canadian mountain bike instead of insisting that your hybrids are 'preferable'.
Event: Robinson Head 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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The strategy of marshalling in reverse order with a range of boats from very disparate bumps divisions caused some amusement and a chance for some pausing on the reach. There was a lot of shuffling of blades on the water and coxes leaning out to try to inform their crews of the offending boat.
We were hesitant about spinning in the gut, but seeing that Clare Hall, Emma M2 and our M2 hadn't totalled their boats, we proceeded and were saved the energy-sapping row up to the lock.
De-kitting seems to be a perennial trial for this crew, but I believe everyone was appropriately attired by the time we wound to our race rate. It's a difficult race to judge, and just doesn't seem right without a Plough Reach Burn, but I believe we hit something reasonably chunky on the reach and ground through the metres. Yining's bridge call was, as ever, effective and we held it together until the finish line.
I would have liked a bit more send, a bit more flow and a better platform, but whatever we did was successful, so I guess I just have to remember that women's rowing is no longer about style, but grunt and guts.
P.S. To the Emma M2 cox, sorry about embarrassing you in front of your crew. Yining just meant she was really grateful that you weren't sitting on our stern before the race as what was going on in front of us was stressful enough! I don't think she'll actually be asking you out anytime soon.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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We hadn't really 'road tested' our start yet and so were a little apprehensive on the start line, but we kept our eyes in the boat and very soon Yining was shouting 'Bowgirl!' and then 'Bowball!'. We strode once or twice and began conserving energy for the next race. The boat felt solid and commitment was good. We knew complacency could finish us off earlier in the regatta than we wanted, and so kept the pressure on across the line. A good race for our frazzled nerves.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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If Pembroke would just rent some portable toilets I would have been much less stressed during marshalling. I'm sure the locals at the pub would be grateful too. Having sweaty rowers in damp lycra traipsing through your pub can't be nice for them...
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2013 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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We settled onto our race pace with a big rhythm change that set us up on a solid platform. Yining buoyed us up with calls for power and reports of what was going on on our right while steering such brilliant lines that Fordy was worried we might lose a blade.
While Downing maintained their lead, a series of pushed from both crews saw the gap between us oscillate. Jon, Fordy and Neil were fantastic, shouting encouragement and generally drowning out the Downing bank party. Definitely some psychological warfare taking place there.
The end of this story is that in a hard fought race, Downing won (and won the regatta), but we've made huge strides in the past few weeks, and we're going to continue to get stronger, sharper and more determined. This was some of our best rowing so far, but there's more to come. Next week we'll see if we can surprise everyone again.
Event: Lent Bumps 2013 - Saturday
Posted as: Julia A.
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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.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: Julia A.
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Our row-over the day before had given us the opportunity to adopt an ambitious race plan. We were sure that Maggie would take care of Newnham for us, hopefully bumping them quickly, allowing us to go hell for leather and sprint for Jesus. We knew we had held them briefly round the corners on a more steady pace the day before, and we figured our only chance for a bump was to rattle them with an all out sprint in the first two minutes. We planned a series of up 2s and bumps pushes, committing to a 500m race. It was gutsy, but we figured we had nothing to lose.
Sitting on the start line was tense. We had been trying to make some technical changes on the row up, and Yining reminded us of these as we sat waiting for the cannon. As we pushed out, I readjusted my grip on the handle, watched my blade to make sure it was clear of the reeds. I had been thinking about lasts. Last crew pasta, last row up to the start, last tense stance in the boat, waiting for the start gun. When the cannon fired, time seemed to move slowly. Our draw strokes felt long, and then we were in the race, firing our legs and sprinting away from Newnham.
Off the start, Maggie didn't seem to move on Newnham, and we pulled away from them slightly. Newnham's sprint for their lives seemed to be working, but they weren't moving up on us enough for me to be worried. The information from the bank was that we were holding Jesus around station, and we began the first of our lifts and power 10s to try to get a whistle and start our sprint. Around Grassy, Yining decided that it was now or never, and called the first of our up 2s. Behind us, the Maggie bank party were frantically whistling, and as Newnham came round the corner I expected them to be pulling in. They managed to pull away, and we took yet another huge lift in Plough Reach as a last ditch effort at a bump. Our bank party swelled with cheering, and I believe we moved on Jesus slightly here, which was as close as we got. We were red lining it, and our pace fell as we came around Ditton. Jesus started to move away down the straight, but this is when the race behind us got more interesting.
Newnham went wide round the corner, and Maggie followed them. I thought they were attempting to drive them into the tree but aborted at the last minute and steered. With significant overlap Newnham pulled away, and Maggie started to fall bad. With our legs screaming we were all internally begging Maggie to save us from a painful row over under pressure. As it became clear that Maggie had missed their bump, our bank party turned their attention to distances between us and Newnham. Halfway down the reach they called a stride down to a long race rhythm, and we tried to open up our 3 length gap to gain some space. The rowing was smooth despite the fatigue, and coming under the railway bridge to the cheers of the mens crews we had a push off the bridge and started our wind. Maggie was still close on Newnham, but we were comfortably moving away. We crossed the finish line as the highest placed Mays W1 ever. Crews around us were cheering and lying exhausted in their boats. Newnham were jubilant at having rowed over, Maggie crushed at missing at Ditton. We waved to our bank party and began the last row back of the year.
As I've become accustomed to now, Blanka laughed manically at the ridiculousness of rowing, and bow six and Yining sang our theme song as we rowed back. We paddled with a mix of little and some pressure, glad to be finished and proud of what we had done that term. The plan had been to bump on the first day, with no dress rehearsals, and as Kate pointed out, we had done just that.
This bumps marked a milestone for me, my 50th bumps race, and my last bumps at First and Third. Thank you all for this unbelievable journey. It's meant more to me than you know. I remember listening to the bufties talking about how their time at First and Third was the beginning of so much for them. Through the club I've found my best friends, a love of sport my parents never would have believed, and a purpose and drive that have carried me through the stresses of a Cambridge degree. I hope that this is just another beginning for me. It's time now for me to find out what the real world is like, pass on the torch and leave all of these rowers I've seen grow and learn and become the core of the boat club, carry it on to greater heights. I know it's in good hands. Good luck, I'll be watching the website. Make sure someone writes race reports.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: Julia A.
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Clearly, our new resolve showed, as Gonzalo, bank partying us for the first time in a term, was shouting encouragement and surprise about how much power we were putting down. We had a very solid paddle to marshaling, buoyed up by his confidence. We elected to sit in the shade this time, but discovered the perils of marshaling towpath-side when we had to leap up to keep our blades from clashing with the racing Caius and Downing crews.
We had another practice push-out on the start and this time knew that we had it right. With my blade safely buried away from the reeds, we had a good start and began to move away from Newnham. Our of our stride, we were just inside station on Jesus. Our plan was to row hard to Ditton and try to get inside station, then go unsustainable to try and bump them.
On Grassy, Christs got a whistle on Newnham, and Maggie one on Christs as the crews bunched up on the corner. Maggie were pushing Christs into Newnham and causing them to panic under pressure. I watched the rowing becoming scrappy as we moved steadily away from them. Coming onto the reach it was clear that we weren't making much of an impression on Jesus, but the huge margin we had opened up on Newnham was heartening, and our rowing became long and powerful in the second half of the race.
We watched Christs and Maggie bump out just after the Plough, but were beyond worrying about a sprint from Newnham at this point. At the railings, the gaps between the 3 racing crews had increased. Jesus moved out to 3 or 4 lengths, and Newnham had falled 5 or 6 behind. We strode onto a strong steady rhythm that saw us increase our lead by another length by the finish.
Gonzo called for a wind at the bridge, which became a half-hearted push, and then calls to conserve energy, when it became clear that there was no chance of a bump on Jesus.
We paddled back to the boathouse, pleased with our performance, and gathered around the radio to listen to the mens' race. We quickly gave up on the patchy Cam FM commentary, and huddled round the computer screen, staring at the live timings, waiting to see if a time would appear for Catz and FaT at the finish. We held our breath. When the crew names italicized out, we screamed and raised our arms, and Yining jumped into my arms and I spun her around. When I eventually put her down we realized she was crying with joy, and we all put our heads down and had a group hug, sharing in our happiness for the boys. We stood on the balcony, singing and waiting for M1 to come back so we could cheer them. As they rounded the corner, we counted to three and then screamed and cheered and pounded the railings. The row-over was sweet, but what I'll remember from Day 3 is the boys, and how glad we were to have them to cheer for.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
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There were high spirits in the boathouse as we celebrated M4 and W2's bumps. M3 were rejoicing at another row-over. We were distracted by the infectious energy and our nerves and excitement for the day led to a slightly scrappy row up to the start.
We knew our new station, 6th, with the outflow, would be a challenge for Fordy, our novice boatman. Since we arrived so early (some 10 or 15 minutes before the start) we had a practice push-out. There were plenty of acrobatics with Lydia's and my blades being held by Neil and Thomas and the discussion and constant fear of some reeds, which were 4 feet in from the bank and almost breaking the water, getting stuck in the fin unsettled us.
We pushed out, but not far enough, and as Daisy and I called a frantic 'Square!' amidst the confusion, I knew my blade was deep in the reeds. As Yining called the first draw stroke I felt my blade tug and pull under the water. I swore loudly as I felt the boat swing towards the bank, yanked my blade out of the water and took two of the biggest strokes of my life, watching the bank to make sure we'd miss. It's a credit to the girls that no one panicked, and once we were safely out of the reeds we raised the intensity to go after Caius. Newnham, surprisingly, didn't gain in the start, but coming around First Post corner it was clear that Caius were sprinting out of our reach. On Grassy we called it down for a long race, hoping Jesus would hold off Caius long enough for them to make a mistake we could capitalize on. However, it was here that our focus shifted significantly.
Newnham took a much tighter line around Ditton, and got a first whistle here. They followed the corner round, and lost some ground, but not as much as I would have expected, and I called for a move. It was becoming a very different race.
Caius evenutally caught Jesus on Ditton, and some chaotic and ineffective clearing here forced Yining to go wide, while Newnham could cut through the path we made, and started to gain heavily. I made an inadvisable move call on the corner, which was reinforced by Daisy a few strokes later, and we lifted again.
Despite our move, Newnham got 3 whistles at the railings, and it was at this point that I stopped hearing anything from the bank and fixated on my legs and Newnham's bow. Down the reach we took push after push, moving away, falling back, holding them, then nearly overlapping. Halfway down the reach I could see Newnham's rowing falling apart, and at the railway bridge we started pulling away in earnest. We knew when we saw the bow girl looking around that we had broken them. We kept the pressure on and moved steadily away out to station by the finish.
We limped back to the boathouse, spent in so many ways. Once parked, Yining collapsed in her seat, and my heart was in my mouth as I panicked and called out for Thomas in the hopes of a steadying presence. Thankfully, she just needed some sugar and water, and we were able to get the boat away with some help from Rosemary. We were proud of rowing away from them, but filled with trepidation about what Day 3 would bring.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: Julia A.
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The plan today was to bump Newnham 10 strokes out of Ditton. We executed that plan almost perfectly. We bumped them 8 strokes out of the corner. Fletch described it as clinical, and it was certainly the closest adherence to a race plan Ive ever experienced.
At crew pasta the night before the race, Sara Lackner texted me and said she had left a good luck present in my pigeonhole. This turned out to be a piece of our greenery from bumping Pembroke last year encased in epoxy. Thinking back to the last day of last Mays made me wistful for greenery in the sun. When I got to the boathouse, Yining showed me her pendant, from the Christs bump. With good luck around our necks, we hoped and wished for the best. Despite our race plan for the bump, I was privately concerned about the possibility of being overbumped by Maggie. I was running dozens of scenarios over in my head, involving sandwiches, technical row-overs, sprints and surprises. I knew we couldn't be prepared for anything, but hoped we would have a little luck, and the courage and skill to re-think the race if we needed to.
This was my very first Bumps without the steadying presence of Iain on the bank. His absence had generated a vast amount of admin, resulting in multiple purchases of whistles, stopwatches and Fordy effectively becoming our boatman, complete with VIP bank pass. I had drafted Fletch, Gonzalo and Thomas in to whistle for us on various days, being skeptical of Fordy's ability to row in M1 and bank party W1 at virtually the same time. He made it in time to push us off with whole minutes to spare. He spent the day pedalling furiously up and down the towpath with a schedule no one but him could make work. He deserves a medal.
We went into this race as the underdogs. We had raced sporadically in the past term, and never in the full crew, so no one (including ourselves) knew what to expect from us. We knew we had found moments of speed, but we didn't know if it would be enough. We had discussed the race in detail, practiced moves to run away and kill calls to go for the bump ahead. We had finally peaked.
Cursed with the 7th station, our whole bodies shook when the start cannon fired, and I understood what Erin meant when she said she felt like the start was in slow motion. I couldn't hear Yining's calls, and wasn't aware of my body moving.
The start was effective, winding to 43 and settling onto a 38 that felt much lower. We quickly moved away from the carnage that was to become the Pembroke-Christs-Maggie sandwich.
Moving down first post reach we heard calls of 'just inside station!' and took a lift for the first whistle. Newnham were sprinting hard to get Caius and we sat somewhere between station and a length until Grassy. As we started to take the corner I saw the Pembroke bow-girl catch a massive overhead crab as they rounded first post corner, and watched my best-case scenario of Christs bumping Pembroke and messing it up enough to impede Maggie playing out behind us. This gave me confidence that we could afford a sprint.
We took a good corner and got our whistle. Yining called for another push and and we started hearing calls of 'Mooooooving!' from Fletch and 'inside length!' from Fordy, duly repeated by Fletch. As we powered through push after Plough Reach burn our bank party became increasingly jubilant and I began to get concerned that Fletch might forget his whistling duties when he screamed '1/2 a length!'. Thankfully, whistles soon followed.
Newnham took a wide line around Ditton, which Yining communicated to us and immediately took advantage of. We started to get overlap whistles and bumped 8 strokes out of the corner, though Nina says she hit their stern 2 or 3 times, and I was told that if we hadn't held it up when we did we would have mounted their riggers, though I didn't hear any calls from Yining or the umpire besides wild cheering.
Once clear, we crossed over to get greenery and celebrate with our bank party. The row home was sedate, except for the moment of high spirits when I told the girls that this was the highest position FaT W1 have ever held in Mays (while its been rowed in VIIIs, we were briefly 6th in the 1987 IVs races). An exciting achievement for us, and I hope to see further rises in the future. Now all that remains for tonight is to prepare to surprise everyone again tomorrow.
Event: Champion of the Thames Eights Head 2014 - Women's 1st Div. Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2014 - 1st Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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I haven't studied the results in detail, being somewhat preoccupied with looking for jobs and apartments and generally coming to terms with the fact that in a few months I need to figure out how to be a 'real person', and all, but those who have tell me that there's a unique and comedic element to our upstream and downstream time difference in that they're not that different at all. I attribute this to the fact that Thomas was late. He is our good luck charm and we get unsettled without him.
Our first leg of the race was nervy and scrappy. It was our first close encounter with Emma after the WeHORR duel (albeit many places apart) and while we were determined to show that we were still a top crew. It didn't quite work out that way. Our lack of training due to early exams and holidays at home meant we didn't have the legs to make up for our loss of technique. Emma gained slowly but surely on the reach, and on Plough reach crept dangerously close. The Emma bank party was jubilant, but stopped short of giving advice on how to steer. Caught on Grassy, and with them criss-crossing our stern, we didn't know which way to tell Yining to steer. The Emma bank party implored the umpire to give us some instructions, to which they responded 'conceed the line'. We ended up on the inside of the corner, with a brief duel along First Post reach before Emma passed us and walked away. We crossed the finish line demoralized and upset.
While we waited for the second leg, Thomas gave us a pep talk and some advice about pressing through the strokes. We resolved to make some technical changes and set off on the next leg with Downing behind us. The rhythm immediately felt better, and we committed to the race early, moving solidly down First Post reach. Despite our renewed belief and calls from Thomas on the bank, Downing started to gain. On the reach they crept up to overlap on our stern and things began to feel like a regatta. Sensing the gains that they were making from the motivation of revenge, we upped our game and took power 10s all the way down the reach. We crossed the line heavily overlapped but not overcome.
When I started composing this race report in my mind, just after the event, I had a very clear idea about how I was going to end it. Looking around at the competition during marshalling, you see a lot of light blue stash, a lot of people that I recognize as 'old people' like me, who have come back in Mays. May Bumps is, as Thomas once put it, the premier event on the Cam. People care about Mays. But when other clubs are welcoming people back, the women's side is losing people. I could write a lot about loyalty, or the importance of allowing your brain time to recover during exam term, or the fact that Headships aren't just magicked out of the air in a term. But I've written a lot of pleas for people to stay on, to come back, to support the club, and I'm getting tired now. I hope that there are always people like me, who keep rowing because they want to give others the chances they had, because they love it, because it's something so unique to Cambridge and to our time here. I'm so proud of the girls who do carry on, because they will carry the club on to even greater heights. But I guess when you get sore and tired it's time to retire. After all, if you can't beat 'em...
Event: Head of the Cam 2014 - Women's 1st Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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Event: Lowe Double Sculls 2014 - Mixed 2x
Posted as: Julia A.
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Rowing off top station this time, we no longer had the luxury of watching our opposition and were effectively going into a head race. Sean was bank partying and promised to give us distances. Our start was fairly clean, and of the format 'Julia will wind until Fordy gets concerned that he won't be able to follow and then we'll stride'. This had worked well in past outings. Our First Post reach was fast and sharp, and Sean gave us some encouraging calls, though it was at this point that we realized we had forgotten to agree a format for these calls. It wasn't quite at the level of Matt shouting 'Yes' and 'No' for whether Fordy was bringing his arms in too quickly, and 'Good' and 'Bad/Less Good' for whether my catches were going in, but it was approaching. Not everyone has Matt's digital brain.
Our rudder had garnered much attention at the start (and questions afterwards about the legality of it - yes it's legal) and some remarks about Fordy's desire, or lack thereof, to pressure steer the corners, but as we swept through First Post and Grassy I was very grateful for it. On Plough Reach we took a customary push, and it was at this point, after some vaguely conflicting reports from the bank, that I began to wonder if Fordy, Sean and I all had different ideas about the relative position of the other boat. I seem to remember thinking here that we were losing ground, that the opposition had taken a length, whereas in actual fact Sean was trying to communicate that we had taken the length out of them. I believe Fordy had a better idea of what was going on, as he was calling for looseness and shape at the back, which I took as code for 'take the rate down!' since if he was worried about shape and looseness we couldn't be in a do or die push.
Rounding Ditton I still believed that Lucas and Temple were moving away from us, so I initiated a final sprint. About this time I maintain (though everyone else reports to the contrary) that someone on a bike going the other way shouted something along the lines of 'Yeah Fordy, you've got this one!' and I suddenly realized that we might be ahead. I started to look for some rhythm and we crossed the finish line at a decent rate and speed. I took a few gasps, and then asked if we had won. Fordy turned around, saw that Catz were still racing and reported back. Pretty exhausted, but mostly relieved, I collapsed back onto Fordy's feet and accused Sean of misleading us, but forgave him for doing it for a good cause. Fordy thinks we peaked at about 40. Still though, I'm not sure I'd have done it any differently.
Event: Maiden Sculls 2014 - Women's
Posted as: Julia A.
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I had a significant weight advantage over my opposition in the headwind, and once I was a few lengths up adopted a very conservative race plan of trying to get my catches in, not crab and not capsize. Fordy attempted to call a wind for the finish, but this was met with disapproval.
Event: Maiden Sculls 2014 - Women's
Posted as: Julia A.
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The reach never seems quite big enough, and I wasted a fair bit of time and energy between shaky strokes rowing much too far in one direction or another, ending up on the wrong station. Luckily my opposition was far enough ahead at this point that it didn't make much difference whose water was whose.
A late crab by Littlewood gave me some hope that I might be able to come back late in the race, but I only managed to shorten, rather than overcome the gap. As Fordy put it "You were taking more effective strokes, but she was taking a lot more of them." I guess I have my answer now to the age-old rate vs power debate.
Event: Fairbairn Junior Sculls 2014 - women's
Posted as: Julia A.
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I was lucky to be given the station I was more used to steering the start from, and to have such an experienced bank party. Having lost the Maiden Sculls earlier in the day by not rating high enough, I spacked around trying to find something high but sustainable until about First Post, when the corners I loathe so much came into play.
Fordy did an obviously wonderful job of steering me, after weeks of tireless bank-partying and developing our own special brand of calls, but I lacked the light touch required for effective singles racing on the Cam. I watched my zig zagging wake in slight despair as Lucas gained ground on me almost every stroke, but resolved to make the distance up on the straights.
Plough Reach was decent, but I was wary of steering too early for Ditton, as I had done on so many occasions before. A combination of fear of crashing and an ill timed crab caused my bows to swing out on Ditton, just as Lucas was attempting to come by me. While I tried to get back on course and get out of the way, she slightly overcorrected and ended up in the reeds. Watching this, I figured either way this race was pretty much over. She did a fantastic job of extracting her boat and passed me around the posts on the Reach.
I don't think I've ever been so demoralized in a race as when my opposition crossed her finish line and could sit in the middle of the reach celebrating while I had to row on another 100m. Next time I'm hoping for top station.
Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2014 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Event: Cardinal's Regatta 2014 - Mixed IV
Posted as: Julia A.
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Despite a clearly inferior bribe and better gender balance, the Catz Animals boat was set off level with us, in the unusual format of the Cardinal's final. We were told to row until the marshal, spin and race back. Setting off at 46 again, and with no visual reassurance of a lead, we only strode to 38. We mishandled the spin somewhat, ending up on the wrong side of the river from what we were intending, but managed to avoid capsizing and powered our way back to the 'middle' of the river.
With adrenaline and indignation pumping through our systems, we demanded a re-row, but were refused. Apparently I was more strenuous with my objections than I intended, as my parents, who were spectating, teased me afterwards for the tenacity with which I questioned the fairness of a 'fun joke regatta'. What can I say? Old habits... I should have demanded a declaration of 2k times.
We suspect the umpires might have realized their error in the placement of the 'middle' of the course, as they hinted we would be getting the best dressed prize. We were somewhat dubious about the legitimacy of the award, I thought the Ninja turtles were pretty good. In the end, Kate couldn't even eat her prize, as she's lactose intolerant. Sad times.
We rowed back hyper-Canadian style for as long as our cores could manage it, and Matt pointed out how much more length we got that way. Perhaps, but it will require a term of serious core exercises to sustain it over the bumps course.
Event: Fairbairn Cup 2013 - Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Julia A.
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Yining didn't call what we wound to off the start, but I suspect it was high as we settled to 36 and had to have a second rhythm call. For a crew that had struggled to rate high, this was a huge morale boost. However, after a blistering start, we were forced to take a brief pause in front of Downing boathouse due to technical difficulties. We re-started, wound, and settled back onto our race pace.
The next couple of hundred metres felt slightly shakey. There were concerning noises coming from behind me and our steely resolve to attack the race was waivering. I made a brief 'believe in ourselves!' call which I immediately regretted in terms of overestimating my race-shouting stamina, but which did give a heartening lift in power and rhythm. We were back in the race.
Our 8-man strong bank party was gamely providing a persistent soundtrack to the race, but Chris had warned us that between Chesterton and the P&E there would be a few moments of silence. We used these to gather ourselves, focus on technical points, and recommit on the 'mini reach'.
At the P&E we were once again riding on the waves of encouragement and ferocity coming from the bank. We hit the reach with an impressive level of commitment behind us, and a good rhythm to carry us through to the second half of the race. We laid down the power steadily, grinding our way up the reach. We cornered well on Ditton and psyched ourselves up for Plough Reach.
There was another lift in power here as we recognized that our epic journey to the finish was almost complete. We went into the corners at speed, cutting efficiently through Grassy and First Post on excellent lines by Yining. Coming around First Post I thought about calling for a wind, but I had neither the breath nor the mental capacity at this point to do anything but keep going.
The rate crept higher down this straight as we emptied the tank and cursed Jesus for placing the finish beyond the motorway bridge. We sailed over the line and all I could think of was 'It's done. It's over.'
This was my last Fairbairns, at least as a college rower. I am sad that I couldn't finish with a victory, but that's how life is. I wish it could have been a fairytale ending, soaring to a convincing victory, but there are no heroics in rowing. It's not a sport of amazing plays or backhanded goals or astonishing gymnastics on a pitch. It's about 9 people thinking with one mind and acting with one body and doing the same thing over and over and over again, cutting and slashing at the water to propel a huge cumbersome boat over a body of water. It's time consuming and painful and requires you to destroy yourself mentally and physically, repeatedly. However, today, we may have destroyed ourselves, but the race, the emotional roller coaster that it was, didn't destroy us.
The crab could have been the end of the race for us. An ignominious end to a term with many ups and downs. Instead, we took that stroke, threw it away and refused to be broken. If the live timings are to be believed, we came second to Downing by 8 seconds. I am still, somewhere in the back of my mind, holding out for a miracle of FaT error and the always entertaining Jesus timings, so until they actually post results I'll hold off on writing in a result here.
A recovery like that was something not every crew could do, and it gives me hope for next term. I told Jon Glass that I realized years ago that if I rowed only to win the race, I would be constantly heartbroken. I row because I love it. But today, I rowed to win the race, we all did, and we're hurting, but somewhere between love and competitive drive, I think we can find some inches for next term.
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2014 - 1st Mays
Posted as: Julia A.
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Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
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When Yining called for us to hold it up, I screamed. Then Canadian stern 3 burst into tears, and the bows started cheering.
UPDATE:
I can remember what it feels like to take a headship. I can also remember what it feels like to be bumped off of head station. Downing held on for a day and half a course longer than we did in 2011, and they were good and kind enough to smile at us when we told them they raced well when we rowed past them on our way back to the boathouse. There were times when I believed they were being held in that position by the force of Ian Watson's will alone. That is not true. They were a good crew, but this was our year. At the end of the race, Ian Watson came over to Fordy and said 'you should have got us yesterday'. That meant a lot to those of us who knew who he was.
Our race plan was to move the kill push to two whistles, and to stride to our long rhythm at 34 instead of a stabby 36. Off the start we needed 3 strides to calm the excitement but eventually settled onto a 34 that felt so easy. Our loyal bank party were telling us that we were inside station coming around Grassy. Our push in the gut had been effective, and we felt strong and calm. Thomas shouted that we were 'under-rating them and gaining'. We got one whistle on Plough reach, but they started to move away and we had to take a push to respond. Our lift caused the rate to rise a couple of pips, and Yining then had to change tack and call for a smoother ratio again. We had a good Ditton and knew that it was now time to bring the race to Downing in earnest. This time we had rate to spare for a big push, and the legs to match. We took a brilliant corner, as we always do with the powerful Yining/bow four combination we've come to rely on, and then we waited for our whistles.
I didn't even notice the headwind, hopefully because we've grown strong and comfortable in them through a term of typhoons, but more likely because Yining had us sat in Downing's wind shadow. Thomas and Fordy were screaming 'inside half a length!' which I'm told afterwards was being relayed from Iain, who was so far ahead, monitoring the gap between us and Downing, that we could barely hear them. Yining called our kill push from the bank party's calls and we moved. We lifted the rate and squeezed on the legs, the move we had been waiting for for 2 days. We heard 3 whistles, loud and clear, and it lifted our spirits and gave us the adrenaline to carry on. Amazingly, Iain repeated the three whistles at least twice more, something I've never known him to do, almost in time with the clunking of the blades. Yining was demanding that we give her the overlap she needed, and Thomas and Fordy became unintelligible, screaming that we were closing fast, that we had it, that it was ours if we could just carry on pushing for 3 more strokes, for 2 more. All I could hear was a mass of noise from them, desperate and jubilant and crazed at the same time.
Finally, though I can't be sure I actually heard it, or whether I just sensed that it was time, I held it up. The joy and shock and happiness were so overwhelming that all I could do was scream, and then burst into tears. All of my celebration plans, and victory fist pumps, flew out of my mind because I just had to press my hand to my mouth and look for Yining and think about everything that had happened in the past 4 years. Our bank party had swelled to include my parents and Neil and Matt, his arms raised in victory from the overlap whistle, running down the bank after us.
We pulled in, and cheered and hugged each other and hugged our bank parties and smiled for the pictures. People kept appearing and smiling at us and waving. We were so happy to have so many people to share our joy with. I still can`t believe that it actually happened. I expect to wake up tomorrow and either find that it's 2010, or I've been dreaming.
Headships are taken with one bump, on one day, but the making of them takes years. Every crew I have rowed in since the day we bumped Emmanuel in 2010 to today, has brought us closer to this. They pushed us to be better, they held our places for us in the charts, they fought and scrapped to keep us near the top. Bumps is a historic race, and it's not fair to the people who aren't there on the day, because it depends on them too. We got the greenery today, but it belongs to all of you too. Thank you.
Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: Julia A.
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While we hoped that Downing would cave at First Post and capitulate to the bump at Grassy, we knew in our hearts that they would be a decent crew. To field anything else when defending the headship is unusual. Our plan was to go off steady until in the first half of the race, grind them down, and then use our experience and guns to really take it up on the reach.
It seemed to me that the gun came far too early, and when sitting in the middle of the river listening to Iain count down, I was surprised. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing here, or how we had got to this point. I am always glad when the gun goes and we are in the race, as then there is nothing more we can do, but our best.
We stuck to the race plan, albeit striding to 38 just before first post and then to 36 in the gut, rather than our loose, long 34 from outings. We closed off the start, but they pulled away in the gut with a more effective stride. We sat inside station until the exit of Grassy, which we took much better than Downing thanks to Yining's line and got a whistle from Iain here. Both crews took a plough reach burn, but by the entrance of Ditton we were comfortably inside a length and began our big push onto the reach. This gave us two whistles.
We were getting constant updates from Fordy and Thomas about distance, but we went so long without hearing any whistles that I wondered if Iain had forgotten it. On two whistles, Yining called for us to get her three, but our lift here was ineffective. We were pushing on for what we expected would be a long race, and sacrificed a massive push here, waiting for 3 whistles for a big move. Downing responded to our two whistles and started to move away. We tried to respond after a call from Yining, but the momentum was now with Downing.
We started to hear less and less from the bank party, which the older members of the crew realized meant we were drifting back. We kept the pressure up, but the high rates in the early stages started to cost us as we limped along with dying legs. At the railway bridge I'm told Downing had to take another push to contain us, and we were never outside station, showing that we were putting decent pressure on them the whole race. We wound for the line, but too late, and rowed over the line without the headship.
We've shown that we're the faster crew, and that we can give Downing a good scare. Tomorrow we need to go out there and finish it off when it's still our race.
Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: Julia A.
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Today, I hadn't been nervous until we were sitting at head station. I had been so excited last night about what we had the potential to do, and what we had already accomplished that I had trouble sleeping and woke early this morning. The fire alarm test also helped with this.
Sitting at head station I worried about everything that could go wrong. Would my hand slip on the handle? Would we be able to contain Downings sprint? Looking at their blades at marshaling I was sure they had geared up. It was another grey, rainy, miserable day. Iain was chipper, and gave us three rules:
1. Don't give them a sniff.
2. Row well.
3. Enjoy it, not many people get to row from here.
Amazingly, this correlated very well with our race plan. We wanted to move away from them from the first stroke, and keep walking away.
Our start was a bit scrappy, as our nerves started to show. Downing may have taken a few inches here, but we strode, and strode again and finally hit a more sensible long-race rhythm. We started to move away around Grassy, and by Plough Reach our bank party was disagreeing about whether the gap was 2 or 3 lengths.
We took a brilliant Ditton and started to feel comfortable enough with our position that Iain decided to hold an outing in the middle of the race and coach us about clearing our puddles and taking time over the feet. I was reminded of standing in someone's kitchen during crew pasta on the third night in 2010 and hearing that Julijana and Ulrike had been so sure of our ability to row over that they hadn't been at 100%. Having rowed in Ulrike's seat for the past couple of years, I thought, 'Badger it, Ulrike wasn't pushing, I can quiche'. I feel a similar train of thought moved through the crew at about this point, as in the crew chat afterwards we admitted none of us were at our limits.
Downing began to gain on us again as the situation with Emma became more critical around the white house. Their bumps push and Downing's response took them back to somewhere between 2 lengths and 2 and a half. Some interesting evasive action caught the attention of the crew and most of us became spectators at this point, as we realized a bump was imminent. The two boats speared across the river and we took a tactical stride.
The rest of the row was fairly processional. I saw a huge umbrella waving at me out of the corner of my eye, which was my mother doing an excellent Mary Poppins impression, jubilant that the crews had bumped out behind us and that we could have a gentler row. The men's crews at marshaling cheered us as we wound it down to 28. We easied once we were over the line, took a breath and rowed a chunky 22 home.
We have a new opponent tomorrow, and we'll have to face them knowing that on Saturday, there are no do-overs. Neil said this is what he wanted, for us to face all of our competition equally so that we can hold our heads high tomorrow and either say that we were defeated by a worthy, a faster crew, or that we were the fastest boat on the river, undefeated.
Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: Julia A.
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I woke up early on Saturday, earlier even than I needed to for the photos, because I was so excited about the potential of the day. The flurry of activity and club spirit that took place as we posed for our photos kept my mind off what was to come that afternoon. We had had our pre-requisite terrifying speech from Neil about what we were going to do if Emma got to a canvas off our stern, and were in a mixed state of nerves and enthusiasm. I spent the morning preparing presents for the coaches, thinking about what I would write in the cards later if the race went well, and if it went badly. We all desperately wished for it to be 24 hours later, so we would know. I was very nervous in the hour before I left my room, but as I was walking down the corridor, I had a feeling of calm and well-being, and I took this as a good sign, as I told Kate later. I walked to the boathouse, because I hoped I'd be carrying something rather heavy on the way back.
Today, we wanted it to be our race. We had let Downing dictate the terms of the race to us on Wednesday, and had allowed circumstance to convince us to take it easy on Friday, but today, we had to defend our headship. The river was flooded due to rain overnight and the works on Stourbridge Common, and there was some chaos with exchanging wellies with M3. We eventually rowed off at a long 19, all eyes in the boat and ready to face the task at hand.
At marshalling we had Aoife for stress relief and to take our minds off the battle that was to come. However, I had begun to see geared up blades everywhere, and Emma looked as if they were going for a 2 minute race plan from the placement of the stop on the collar. It took Fordy a few minutes of explaining the mechanics of collar placement to calm me down. We rowed up in beautiful sunshine, had a blistering wind on the reach and strode to our best rate 34 rhythm at the practice start at the Plough. We knew we were ready.
I wasn't nervous on the start line, and Kate agreed that we were beyond nerves then and just ready to walk away with a medal. Our start was good, we strode to a more reasonable 36 (Yining?) and then again onto our 34. We started moving away from Emma almost immediately, with our bank party calling '2 lengths!' in the gut. From there, we started walking away. We heard the cheers of encouragement, the roars from the bank. We had been expecting Emma to sprint, to test us in the first half of the course and then fall away after Ditton. Perhaps they didn't fancy their chances against Yining's steering through the corners. We continued to move away on Plough Reach and took a nice line around Ditton to open up a lead of about 3 lengths. We settled into our long race rhythm, and flew down the reach in a comfortable stride. We were later told that the update coming from the umpires at this point was 'FaT are 3 lengths up and don't even look like they're racing'.
Coming up to the white house I started to hear the word 'station' from our bank party. Long distances are difficult to judge, but I glanced up at Emma and determined there was no need for concern yet. We had a small lift, a squeeze on the legs, but didn't deviate from our rhythm. Just before the railway bridge the Emma bank party began whistling. They got one whistle, which confused me, as I was judging the distance to be outside or on station. I didn't want to shift to see if it was Downing making a late surge to bump Emma back, so I waited for more information from the bank party. Two whistles came as we came straight out of the railway bridge, but they still seemed too far away to justify anything but one, so I didn't call for our kill push. At this point, the Emma bank party seemed to be using their whistles more as encouragement than as a means of transmitting information about distances, as they were given three whistles soon after. Kate and I remained unperturbed, but Yining glanced over her shoulder and called a move, just to be sure. We shifted up a gear. It had been time for our finish line wind anyway.
We crossed the line about a length apart, with plenty of breath for cheering. We floated, dazed, for a few moments, enjoying the sunshine and the knowledge that the headship was ours. Some admin was communicated about whether to spin, how to collect the flag, and when we wanted our medals. We ended up following the men's division up for our victory lap. Yining discovered how large the flag is, and how difficult it is to hold it bolt upright and steer. We were exhilarated. We responded happily to the congratulations and cheers from the bank, waving to our friends and parents, who were smiling and jumping up and down along the river. We took another burst on the reach to see how straight we could get the flag behind us, with Yining and Blanka laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. We were getting updates from John about whether we could go to the Plough, and were able to collect other supporters and boaties as we spun at Grassy. The paddle back was solid, Yining told us we were rowing into the sunset, which seemed a fitting end to our fairytale.
When we parked there were reunions and photos and tears, but mostly smiles and laughter. We cheered the other men's crews and cheered our men back and forth. Everyone was hugging someone. There were so many people there to share in our happiness and who deserved to be thanked for making it real.
For me, this was an incredible ending to my rowing career. I'll be back for Mays, but this was my last Lents campaign and it was an unbelievable (and I mean that literally) way to finish. I don't think any of us (except maybe Yining and Chris, who found the wooden boat) had actually allowed ourselves to believe that we would find ourselves Head of the River until we crossed the finish line. Fordy and Thomas and Jon Glass and Neil and Peter Summers and Matt had all believed in us. We had bufties wearing FaT stash in support around the world. I told the girls to enjoy every second of the celebrations, carrying the boat, the bumpers at the dinner, jumping through the flames, because you need to be in the moment to believe it later. You'll want to have those memories to call back, to convince yourself that it all happened.
The glow of victory is amazing, but what truly amazed me was the support and out-pouring of good wishes during and after the races. Several times a text or email that I received that night would bring tears to my eyes, and the unselfish joy and congratulations of every single member of the club humbled me. I wish every one of you could have jumped over that boat with us, because you all helped us to get there, whether you were screaming from the bank, or finding us wellies for the flood, or giving up your morning outings, or getting in the way of our Headship video, or hiding incognito behind bushes to cheer us on. The past four years can seem amazing to me now because of the instantaneous happiness of winning, but they would always have been incredible to me later on because of the gratitude I feel for the friendships I've gained, and the camaraderie and happiness of being a part of First and Third. Fordy said it last night. We've lit the way for you, but it's yours to carry on and make into a dynasty. I can't wait to see it.
RA RA FIRST AND THIRD!
P.S. Yining, we all went in after you, and carried you back to college on a boat. Debt repaid.
Event: Women's Head of the River Race 2014 - Intermediate 3 VIIIs
Posted as: Julia A.
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Up until a week ago we weren't sure whether we'd be doing the race at all. High river levels and strong streams had the organizers sending out updates about abandonment plans and reduced entries. Luckily, our fine showing at Peterborough regatta last summer meant we avoided the very stringent new Novice entry requirements. When we arrived at Furnival gardens for our morning paddle the river was choppy, and there were a few strokes where I wondered if capsizing or an ejector crab were a possibility later in the race. We made it back to the (correct) pontoon eventually, soaked through and sobered by the river conditions.
The weather was beautiful, and we sunned ourselves during our picnic in Furnival Gardens. We had a surprise visit from Mark, when he saw Valkyrie's bows sitting under the cherry trees. By the time we were on the water for marshaling the river was much flatter and conditions were looking perfect.
Marshaling for WeHORR is always traumatic, with panicked umpires in launches screaming at crews overlapped for 10 boats to move up, to keep moving. It was a good chance to hone our tapping skills, and Blanka was delighted to have the opportunity to stroke when 'bow 5' were called upon. Early on we had our usual good-race mishap, when trying to extricate ourselves from overlap with Bridgnorth's bows caused us to knock their GoPro off their number. We felt terrible, but they were very kind about it. We're hoping to do something to rectify the situation though.
About halfway through our hour-long tapping session, we discovered that City of Oxford B were almost directly across the river from us, featuring our very own Liz Hill. Much waving and shouting ensued, but it was lovely to see some friendly faces on the river, as Olivia Skilbeck in the HSBC boat passed us on the paddle up as well. Possibly the highlight of the pre-race session though was getting to row next to the (eventual winners) GB Olympic composite boat for about 3 strokes before Yining easied and let us gape in awe. This element of British rowing always amazes me. Amateurs can watch world class rowing at HRR for free, and a bunch of college rowers, some of whom only noviced a few years ago, can row in the same race as Olympians.
When we eventually set off we had a long paddle up to the start. We wound to 37 just before Chiswick Bridge and settled onto a long, powerful 31 with amazing rhythm. We passed the crew in front within a minute or so, and then began the long row in relative isolation. There was little opportunity for sightseeing as the focus in the boat was absolute. Yining gave us some timing calls and distance gained on Churchill ahead. We took a few 30 stroke pushes, consolidating our speed and reminding ourselves to tap down, place early, and drive with the legs. The rate held steady at 30 or 31, and with the strong stream it felt like we were flying.
As we settled into the middle third of the race I was cursing myself for not memorizing Thomas' series of landmarks. We rowed through what felt like a desolate moor for several minutes before seeing the houseboats and Furnival Gardens come into view, to the rousing cheers of 'YEAH TRINITY' from the ever-audible Thomas. Yining told us we had gained another length on Churchill, and we came through Hammersmith ready to kill it in the final third.
By now our legs, core and backs were reaching their limits, but we had a new race to begin as we were beginning to close in earnest on Churchill. We were sat at 3/4 of a length coming by Barn Elm, and they were sticking. Yining called the mile post (I think - the race starts to get a bit foggy here, I can't remember if the buoys or mile post came first) and I tried to remember the conversion to metric, but my brain was so fatigued that there wasn't much I could think of other than legs, legs, legs. We took another 30 stroke push and started to move up on them, but were still battling as we came by the buoys. At overlap I could hear the crowds and Putney and turned to look for the pier. We were winding, taking up 2s and emptying the tank. We crossed the line barely able to move our legs up and down the slide, but managed to paddle through the bridge to the screams of the umpire.
After the finish, Kate turned around to me and said 'that felt amazing', which pretty much summed up my feelings too. The only way I could put it into words was 'the Fairbairns we never had'. Before today, I had only had one race that felt incredible from start to finish, and that was Fairbairns 2009. This race was a similar feeling. Our first strokes were crisp, there was consistent power the whole way through, and the rhythm and rate held steady. This was a brilliant way to wipe out terrible memories of WeHORR for me, and hopefully the first of many great races for the rest of the girls.
The results were tinged with disappointment for us, but ultimately it felt like a brilliant, solid race, and one which we'll remember proudly. It was the first time most of the girls had rowed on Tideway, and Yining did an incredible job steering a course she had never seen before. Huge thanks to Laura for subbing in seamlessly, and to Fordy and Thomas for making our lives very easy, as always. Now, on to Henley and Mays!
Event: Cardinal's Regatta 2014 - Mixed IV
Posted as: Julia A.
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Decked out in what passes for national dress when you haven't signed up for the RCMP - plaid shirts and and mittens - we turned up on time and cheery. I had slaved for hours over a hot oven to bring the umpires of Catz a true Canadian delicacy as a bribe: gluten-free Nanaimo bars. We felt bad for Chris Kerr in his cast, so we gave him some in the hopes it might pay off later. However, this turned out to be a tactical error, as we were unaware that our punctuality seemed to result in being allocated an extra race. This left us critically low on supplies of bribes, though Erin was flawless in her delivery.
The races appeared to be under the guidance of the Overall and Men's captains of Catz, referred to by Simon as 'the Chris-es'. We quickly developed a favourite Chris, when the Men's captain gave us a length head start, to compensate for having 3 girls trying to balance out Matt's massive catch, and because we 'gave them cake'.
The start was a spastic wind to 46, and we quickly discovered a wardrobe malfunction in the making. It turns out that I have larger lats than a small man, leading to a lot of shrugging and twisting at the finish as I tried to make sure I could take the catch without ripping my shirt. We strode to 38, having taken a length or two out of the opposition off the start, and when (five strokes in Matt claims) it became clear we had control of the race, we began winding it down. I attempted to increase our lead by claiming that they were coming back, but Matt was having none of it. He had to think of his forearms, after all.
Event: Cardinal's Regatta 2014 - Mixed IV
Posted as: Julia A.
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Sadly, our clever ruse was not enough to convince our not-favourite-Chris to give us any head start at all. Simon had told me that standard practice was to give a boat with too many women half a length head start, and that I should 'really press it if they don't give it to you'. Naturally he denied all this later, when it actually mattered. We strongly protested when the umpires declared they would set us off level, tossing phrases like 'Trinity May Ball ticket' and possibly offering up the beautiful Erin as a sacrifice.
Off the start we wound to our now casual 42, strode with length to 36 and then decided to stop killing Matt and brought the rate down to a firm 30, finishing a couple of lengths clear of the opposition. As our mid-race motivational call Yining started to sing 'O Canada'. The girls were disappointed that Matt didn't join in.
At the end of the race we were told to stop, spin and row back up to the start for the final. We celebrated with some classic Canadian rowing - doing a sit up every stroke.
Event: Cambridge 99's Regatta 2014 - 1st division
Posted as: Julia A.
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Event: Fairbairn Cup 2014 - Invitation VIIIs
Posted as: Julia A.
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Though not quite as slick as our rate 32, near perfect race in 2009, the row felt smooth and well paced. Swords kept us technical and motivated with terrifyingly tight corners and a few 'Yeah First and Third' calls. There were a few good moves to break up the monotony of the reach, before the welcome distraction of a Plough Reach Burn and the corners. We pushed up to close the gap on X-Press throughout the race, with steady and encouraging calls from the bank, sending me back 5 years. The wind for the finish possibly rivaled the original race for grit, though probably not in speed.
It was a pleasure to row with these ladies again, and to be reminded of what I consider to be the pivotal moment of my rowing career. I'm definitely keen for the next installment in 5 years time. Maybe by then my shoulders will have recovered,
Event: Lent Bumps 2015 - Wednesday
Posted as: Julia A.
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On Tuesday there were predictions of strong headwinds for the first day of racing, but when I turned up to the boathouse the water was almost flat. It seemed that the weather gods were smiling on us, and I hoped this was a sign of further benevolence from fate to come.
The new marshalling instructions still confuse me, and I'm not sure if it makes me more or less nervous to essentially sit on the finish line and involve myself in the emotional turmoil and pain of the previous division, but due to a day's worth of smooth racing, we had a chance to gather our thoughts before rowing up. The paddling was smooth and powerful, and the burst on the reach wound to a snappy 37. Seeing the river empty behind us was somehow calming, and the practice start was enough of a warm-up to get our hearts pumping as we swung onto head station.
The four minute gun was always where the nerves hit me, the unstoppable countdown to the beginning and end of everything the term had represented for me, and this race was no different. I'm told that Lydia threw up from nerves on the start line, but I was so wrapped up in the race plan, getting a feel for the gap between us and Emma, and making sure everything was screwed on and in and tight that I didn't even notice. There was some confusion about the counting down (Iain's beeping watch had been resurrected just for me!) and between pushing out and the gun all I heard was a frantic '5!' before the cannons and Blanka's back moving towards me in the first draw stroke.
Our start felt powerful and very neat, and after the first 15 wind strokes (we weren't striding) I glanced up to see us moving away from the field. Through the gut we continued to take distance and the boat seemed to take heart, lifting in speed almost as our spirits lifted - thinking about walking away. As we turned into Grassy and took a lengthen, Emma began to move up on us, but very gently. They got an ever-optimistic whistle, which was immediately called down as bull---- by our bank party. However, as we rounded the corner it became clear that we were no longer moving away. Our Plough Reach Burn gave us a few feet of extra clear water, but once Emma got straight again they began their march towards us. Blanka was calling distances, but it was my job to call the move, when they were at half a length and closing. As their bowball began to inch forward, I called for a push just before the entry to Ditton. With two whistles ringing in my ears we squeezed on the legs and scraped back the few inches. We took a good line round Ditton with maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of a length between us, and once we were straight I called another move to try and break Emma as they lost speed, but they stuck with us. We moved down the reach on essentially the same line, hugging the bank with their bows sitting just outside our stern. I called another move, and Blanka let out an almighty roar, which spurred the crew on to ignore the three whistles now coming from the bank. As Emma inched up to overlap at the end of our unsustainable 10 the two boats were oscillating, almost meeting and parting on the rise and fall of the strokes. With my eyes on their bowball I called a final move as I watched them drifting towards our stern to steer for it. We had little left to give at this point, and Emma had one gear more. They absorbed our push and swung gently across to skim our stern. When Matt's hand went up to concede the Headship it felt as if everyone's heart dropped, exhausted by the battle. We managed to paddle on and clear, stopping on meadowside about 50 metres before the railway bridge. It fell oddly silent for a few moments after the three cheers, but in the stillness of the day we could hear almost everything the Emma crew and bank party were saying. I was reminded of the year before, and of 2011, the cycles of jubilation and despair, the sense of emptiness that comes before resolve.
Event: Lent Bumps 2015 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
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We felt that we hadn't made the most of our rhythm in the previous day's racing, and so the plan for the Thursday was to push Christ's away and see what happened with Emma, biding our time.
When we arrived at the boathouse reports starting coming in that the divisions were running a half hour late due to carnage and re-rows. While we all agreed that it was more sensible to sit in the boathouse than on the river, the captain (and ex-captain) stood, face pressed to the window, watching other crews glide by and their stress levels begin to rise. Lateness is probably the most feared sin on the Cam, and we compromised and pushed off about 10 minutes late. We still ended up sitting by the barges below the Green Dragon bridge, but at least we were entertained by the antics of the Clare cox, who seemed to have forgotten a life-jacket and made the epic sprint back to the boathouse.
With Emma now behind us to focus our anger and disappointment, the paddling was a little shakier, but our searing start brought that anger a purpose. We spun onto a new station and settled in for a new race. There was confusion again with the countdown, with several people shouting 'square!' with varying urgency and at different panic points, and our start was probably the weakest of the week. We had decided not to change our lengthen point, meaning that we held it at a brisk 38 for five or ten strokes longer. Coming through the gut we stayed fairly effective, but the huge energy expenditure of the start became obvious as Grassy cut into our rhythm. It was here that I began to notice Christ's moving up on us in earnest.
In lieu of a Plough Reach Burn, I called our first move on the exit of Grassy, and we moved out to a more comfortable half a length. Down the straight we were forced to absorb their move, leaving the clear water approximately unchanged. Around Ditton, a good line by us and a poor one by Christ's gave us a few extra feet, but facing the expanse of the reach, Christ's renewed their focus, and we were once again on the defensive. I'm told that somewhere around this point we moved up to an 'Iain length' off Emma, but I was beyond whistles, and trying to decide which were for whom, remaining fixated on their bows. Another move by Christ's and a few panicked strokes from us closed the gap to canvas, and then a few inches of overlap. The Christ's cox steered once, and I saw their bows pass over our stern. This cost them a few feet of distance and our bank party rang out with cheers that they had gone for it and missed. For 5 strokes or so, it seemed possible for us to walk away, but Christ's had soon brought their boat around again to closing, and steered to the outside to try to make a bowball bump. Again they missed, and we moved again to try to gain some clear water. There was a missed stroke from Christ's and we opened up a few precious inches, but the swinging of the Christ's bows back and forth across our stern seemed like the pendulum marking our time running out. Christ's finally decided to go for the full six feet of overlap and steer into Matt, rather than our stern, at about the same point as Emma bumped us the day before. With a sense of deja vu and burning lungs, we pulled into meadowside, still short of the railway bridge.
Event: Lent Bumps 2015 - Friday
Posted as: Julia A.
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In our first burst on the reach we attempted to wind to 40, but only reached a shaky 37, and lengthened to a few pips below this. Similarly in the start, we lacked a solid sense of how our cruising rate should feel and made our way to station 3 tipping gently from side to side after what was easily our worst paddle down.
The start was more orderly by virtue of several people bringing stopwatches, and by now we were learning how to channel the adrenaline of the start into a racy first few minutes. Jesus managed to largely stick with us through the start, where we were accustomed to gaining, and our lengthen was confused and ineffective, bringing us to 37, then ramping down to a 35 that was less 'chunky' than any of us had been hoping.
Jesus moved up on us very quickly, forcing me to call our first move in the gut as they tracked us round Grassy. There was no time for our technical calls on Plough Reach as once again we were sprinting for our lives and our bumps position. Jesus began to close the gap clinically, but stuck at a canvas just after the Plough, their bows bouncing in our wash. A big move on their part, and a painful one on ours closed the distance to a few feet coming around Ditton. We were overlapped going round the corner, but Matt's line taking us to the outside of their bows gave us a minute or so of grace. We were out of moves, and out of legs as I watched their bowball creeping past Matt and towards Blanka's blade. Some excellent evasive steering avoided the bow-on-blade bump that I would have predicted, but a final lunge wedged their bowball in Blanka's rigger and Matt raised his hand. It took us some time to disentangle ourselves, and we drifted together towards the far side of the reach.
That 100m of reach or so seemed to be sapping our energy and any sense of hope for our performance, so on the row back I called that training for the row over the next day started now. The paddling was smooth and powerful as we strived to not annoy Blanka. Some of us were channeling anger, some were coiling up a steely resolve, but everyone had only one goal in mind. Row over tomorrow.
Event: Lent Bumps 2015 - Saturday
Posted as: Julia A.
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The next morning brought fears of widespread food poisoning, as Becci had been suffering all night, but thankfully for most of us it appeared to be an isolated bout of the flu that had been making its way around the boat clubs. Having already employed our emergency sub, we asked Amalie to make a heroic effort and row with W1 after her own race. The relief when she agreed was palpable, and our optimism buoyed again.
Saturday brought a grey sky and the heavy winds that had been promised for a week. Watching the winds whip the boathouse flags impressed upon us all the importance of space around the corners, when we would hit the gusts in new and terrible ways. Preeyan told us that there was no predictable pattern to it, and we knew we would just have to grip our blades, square up, and row long.
After a few more chances to practice our big legs lengthen, we were feeling confident in our long race plan. Jesus had told us that Downing would give us a scare off the start, but reassured us that we were much faster. It felt like we were getting better every day, but sadly so were our opponents, Christ's having bumped to headship the previous day. We hoped that today would be the day all that changed.
We tore off the start line in our usual spectacular fashion, and I glanced up, hoping to see Downing fading and Queens' moving up on them strongly. Sadly, their green blades were well behind as we dragged Downing away from the pack.
The gusts that had begun to whip up the water just before the starting cannon after four minutes of calm were bearing down on us from all directions and playing havoc with our blade work. Coming up to First Post I felt like we were rowing through molasses, and Downing, steering effectively in our wind shadow, gained alarmingly. I called a move in the Gut, and we pulled out as the wind hit Downing, but they barreled on in what was clearly a do or die sprint to Ditton.
Coming around Grassy they managed to get their bows on the inside of us, and as the screaming overlap whistles came from the bank they hit us as we slowed to steer for the corner. We attempted to pull in near the barges amidst the chaos of crews rounding Grassy with variously efficient lines, and for a few moments I thought we were going to capsize. We moved on as soon as the sandwich boat passed us, seeking clearer water. The paddle back was muted, but long and effective, showing how much more we had wanted to give in this race. The reach was cathartic, a long, silent patch where we could row out our frustrations and shock.
I don't know if any crew 'deserves' to get spoons, as there's an element of bad luck involved that I wouldn't wish on anyone, but I can certainly say that the result the girls (and Matt) have faced this week is in no way representative of the heart and soul that they have poured into this campaign. This is a young crew, but they have shown commitment and maturity well beyond their years. They have dealt with injury, illness and uncertainty with the stubbornness and drive of true competitors. They were presented with a situation that would have been crushing to many talented oarsmen and women, but they rose to that challenge and embraced it. I am incredibly proud to have rowed with this crew. Despite what the numbers might say, and what those who only look at the Bumps charts might think, this is not the fall of the women's side. It's the fire before the phoenix rises again.
Event: Lent Bumps 2016 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
Event Link
Event: Lent Bumps 2016 - Thursday
Posted as: Julia A.
Event Link
