All race reports for Michael Simmonds

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Event: May Bumps 2002 - Wednesday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

A good race. We did not make an optimum start with Peterhouse II gaining half a length and Jesus III pulling away. By the time we strode things were more how we expected with Peterhouse losing a substantial distance to us. The whistle started to be blown at the Motorway Bridge and Jesus III were rowed down at First Post Corner with Peterhouse at least 3-4 lengths behind us.

Fitz II tomorrow, who have been bumped and were in a pack Jesus were gaining on. Bring them on!

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Event: May Bumps 2002 - Friday
Posted as: Michael
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We thought Sidney II would be in a different league to the previous two boats. They had entered several races and did well. We overestimated them. With the fastest start I've ever made in a boat we had taken a quarter of length from them before we had finished our wind and a bump followed several lengths before First Post Corner.

Looking forward to tomorrow. Girton II fancy their chances against a slow Selwyn II ahead of us, but if we manage a start half as good as today that will be academic.

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Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Friday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

Well we did it again, despite Fitz II having matching all-in-ones in a (failed) attempt to scare us. Downing made a great start and gained on us, but by the time we had strided, we started to pull away from them with every stroke. We don't know what would have happened next as we hit Fitz a couple of metres after the railway bridge.

Well its Jesus III tomorrow who have been bumped every day so far before 1st post corner. We'll be trying to maintain that trend...

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Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Saturday
Posted as: Michael
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This was possibly the most stressful race I've rowed. The start went well and we wound up to race pressure gaining rapidly on Jesus III while pulling away from Fitz II. Tben with canvas on Jesus disaster struck and our 4 man broke his seat. Visions of blades evaporated as we saw Fitz II start to gain. However with encouragement from the bank, we quickly realised that we had significant speed as a 6. Downing caught Fitz and that left Homerton about 3 lengths behind us.

4 recovered and we quickly got back to race pace. Jesus had failed to capitalise on our mishap and we were now moving faster than at any other point. With cheers from the crowd on the bank at the Plough, we knew we were really close and we finished them off after Andy took a great corner round Ditton. Simply unbelievable, an absolutely fairytale finish to a great Bumps.

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Event: Robinson Head 2003 - Lower VIIIs division
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

Excellent result. Only our second ever head length piece (the first being a minute and a half slower at a rating 5 pips slower) and our fourth outing. The best news for us is that we have plenty of room for improvement... we will be much faster come the bumps!

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Event: Pembroke Regatta 2003 - 3rd division
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

Just a brief addition: We lost to pots hungry Clare II rather than Clare III (through explanations to long-winded and implausable to go through). The 3rds have, however, beaten Maggie and Caius III demonstrating that we are the fastest 3rd boat and worthy of our high position in the bumps.

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Event: Lent Bumps Getting-on Race 2003 -
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

Assuming the reports are right on CUCBC message boards, the 2nds superb row only just missed out on a place. An excellent row, with massive responses to lifts and minutes faster than their last head piece length course.

An excellent row... bring on the Mays!

Beat Fitz II, Homerton II and Magdalene II along with several third boats.

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Event: Lent Bumps 2003 - Wednesday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

This was a much better race. We made a start and stride at similar ratings to yesterday, but today we acted as a confident and together crew. Girton lost stern pair for a couple of strokes, but that was enough for us to bump them.

The real racing starts on Friday!

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Event: Lent Bumps 2003 - Friday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

A very strange day. Having already considered the carnage generating potential of Clare II we already had warning calls, so when they did indeed start their (record breaking fined) post bump random motions a quick call of "Easy, Strokeside Blades In, Blades Out, Go!" was quickly followed leaving our boatman watching in disbelief that BP3 was still a single entity and the only boat left racing. We tried racing the rest of the course, but once we realised we had at least a long reaches distance on the next boat we moved to half-pressure.


The plan now is surely to hold Pembroke ahead until Clare II decide which bank/corner/barge they want to hit, let Pembroke bump them out and then go for the overbump on Catz ;-)

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Event: Lent Bumps 2003 - Saturday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

As usual Clare II were determined to muck up the division and did their usual hold up everyone behind them tactic after bumping. Unfortunately for them we came alongside Pembroke II (who we were chasing) and pulled them and us in, so they only caused a minor distruption. This being the last day we were refused the rerow which we deserved and got a technical row over. Needless to say, this is far from the way we wanted to end the bumps week...

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Event: May Bumps 2003 - Friday
Posted as: Michael
Event Link

This was simply stunning and quite possibly the best row I have ever had. Fitz M2 almost overbumped us on the first day, while Magdalene in front were substantially faster than us. We started off holding station with Magd. while Fitz started to creep up on us. Magd had bumped out by first post corner (to a simply shocking Downing III) while the boats behind them did the same. It was simply us or them. Fitz continued pushing hard and we were finding it hard to hold them back and by grassy they had overlap. Their horn was blowing continously, but there was no fat lady singing.

With Joan Osborn (and other FaT supporters at the plough) screaming support for us on the bank, it was obvious to everyone that we would only survive with amazing coxing, top notch rowing and a powerful response to every push they made. If one man in our crew believed that we were going to be bumped, that would have been it. But we are a bit more bloody minded than that. The push out of Grassy gave us 1/4 of a length of clear water, a better corner at Ditton meant that they were too far from us to make the bump physically on the reach. Much of the reach was spent with overlap, but we knew when we were going to really give it some. Our unsustainable push out of the Railway Bridge gave us clear water again and now, with Fitz directly behind us, it was the push for home. They got close to overlap again, but we were having none of it.

The call to easy was superb. Fitz behind us could not bring themselves to speak, our bank party were near hysterical, and this only left the afternoon to explain to all my friends on the bank that Fitz will be chasing us again tomorrow (but briefly, because we are going to hit Downing so hard and fast they won't believe it).

Todays row showed what its all about... what a team.