All race reports for Matthew Crowe
Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2012 - 1st division
Posted as: Ronnie Coleman
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We started with a wind that took us up to racing speed (and rate 34) as we crossed the start line before settling into a consistent rate 30 that was maintained for the rest of the race. After focussing on some technical points (catches and finishes) and pushing off Chesterton Footbridge, it became clear we were gaining on the Maggie boat that had started about 50 seconds ahead. We had another push off the railway bridge and despite looking exhauted (Alexa's "angry face" had been replaced by a rather more tired looking expression) the rowing was still technically good and we were still gaining on Maggie. I called a push for the finish as we approached the railings and we took the rate up to 32 before crossing the finish line of our last race as novices. Overall an excellent race. Very well done girls!
Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2013 - 3rd division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Unfortunately strong winds and a fallen tree resulted in Jesus cancelling the division half way through, just as we were about to push off.
NM3 Undefeated!
Event: Sudbury International Regatta 2014 - Mx.IM3.4+
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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We now have pots for beating a bunch of 18 year olds. Nice.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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First Mays M2 not to spoon since 2010. Nice.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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I woke up (later than planned) to find an email informing me that a pyromaniac had reduced the toilets at baits bite to a heap of molten plastic and advising 'suitable preparations' be made. While wondering if they where suggesting investing in 6 crews worth of nappys I looked outside and found that it was rather overcast. This was especially disappointing as a term out in the sun wearing sunglasses had resulted in some strange tanlines that made me look like a reverse panda and any chance of correcting this issue appeared to have vanished.
Hungry for bamboo I set off towards marshaling and soon received a phonecall from Barney requesting I return to the boathouse to retreive a new cox box. Luckily I'd been lugging one around for the whole week as a spare so continued my journey, happy in the knowledge that my ridiculous over-preparation had finally come in useful (I've yet to find a use for 100m of gaffer tape, 20m of rope, 3 pairs of sunglasses, 4 spanners, 15 cable ties, a first aid kit, a sewing kit, an emergency blanket and 10m of velcro though).
When I finally arrived I found that the division was running late, possibly nappy changing was delaying the lower divisions as the horse appeared to has sated it's desire for adventure and remained at home. Eventually we set off and as we arrived at head station the 4 minute gun went leaving us no time to inspect the molten heap of plastic. 5 minutes later, (yes 5), the start gun fired and M4 began their last race of the year.
Unfortunately it would appear that Jesus have learnt how to row since day 1 and they began to close the gap coming into First Post Corner and managed the bump coming onto Plough Reach. Of course this could be a cunning ploy on the behalf of M4 to obtain as many different results as possible having already bumped, rowed over and been over-bumped. If not, at least being bumped prevented the guys having to row the course again, (as sandwich boat), and saved me from having to cycle it 4 times in one day, thanks guys.
Overall I'm extremely proud of the crew and their rowing this week, indeed this year. While Down 3 is not the result we'd hoped for and certainly not the deserved result for the amount of commitment shown thoughout the term, Bumps is, as a nice old guy from jesus told me on day 1, a good reminder that life isn't necessarily fair. Next time guys, Next time.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Forced to sprint early to avoid a desperate Newnham crew, W2 weren't quite able to settle into a fast enough rhythm to catch Girton. Despite this they've had a great week and 'Up 2' is the best result for the second womens eight in 5 years. Well Done Girls!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Unfortunately Maggie were quite fast and managed to catch M3 at some point along the course that I currently can't remember. Anyone else wish Peterhouse and Selwyn had made up their damn minds a bit sooner?
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Saturday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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While we had discussed the possibility of going for the bump on Pembroke, I don't think any of us really thought we could get within a canvas of them considering the results of day 1. We had a fast start and a good first post corner and came within half a length into the gut. I called a push and we reached 3 whistles into grassy thought weren't quite fast enough to catch them. Pembroke then managed to hold us off past the plough, around Ditton and down the reach though we were still within 6 feet at the finish. Overall an excellent race and definately our best of the term. We rowed home proudly knowing that beer awaited us back at the boathouse. Then they threw me in the river. Bastards.
To stay level near the top of the first division and to get within a canvas of a crew that bumped us on day 1 is a great achievment. Things are looking good for next year.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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We had a fast start despite being rather close to the bank and soon pulled away from queens and began to move on Catz. In the gut Catz pushed us back to just outside station though a move on Plough reach bought us back to a length and a half. We had a push through and out of Ditton gaining us almost half a length and once on the reach continued to close. At about a length, Catz appeared to be flagging and a concerted push bought us up to half a length rapidly. A final push into the railway bridge gave us the bump though since Catz seemed reluctant to concede we bumped them a few times before mounting their stern. A check revealed that our boat was still shipshape and we rowed home in style.
A great race and my first ever bump. The double overbump to headship is definately on.
Congrats to Catz for a great row.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Bumped by their coach. You should definately withhold payment unless she lets you get them back...
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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With Tit Hall falling rapidly to Maggie behind and Selwyn and Peterhouse continuing to repeatedly bump each other in front instead of sending some stuff down, M3 were soon left as the only racing crew on the river so rowed over yet again.
Overall a rather uneventful race. This turned out to be a good thing as Catarina lost her voice on the reach which would have made a close run race rather iffy...
Good luck for holding off Maggie tomorrow Guys!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Today was both Flump-free and horse-free. Unfortunately it was also bump free. Despite some good rowing and impressive cornering from Tom, Christs were able to hold M4 off and push away. Coming onto the reach it became apparent that Sidney were gaining and despite some evasive steering, were able to bump just before the railway bridge.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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A great bump that was described as 'textbook' by an umpire. W2 moved on Newnham continuously throughout the race due to a good rhythm and some impressive cornering that took at least half a length out of them. Coming out of Ditton they were about half a length from the bump and a determined push bought them up to two thirds of a length of overlap with Newham running away to meadowside. Chris held his line and slowly drifted over to secure the bump. A great race girls (+Chris), let's go out tomorrow and give Girton spoons!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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The start seemed to take them by surprise so was a bit scrappy but despite this they quickly began moving away from Jesus IV and gained a bit on Hughes. Unfortunately Hughes had gained rapidly on Tit Hall and caught them within 3 or 4 stations before forgetting to clear. Tom (correctly) elected to stop before any collisions ensued. Jesus and Magdalene also decided to stop resulting in a re-row of the bottom 3 boats. Unfortunately this left M4 with nothing to chase and after they'd rapidly pulled out to around 3 lengths on Jesus, Jesus were caught by Magdalene leaving M4 as the only racing boat in the division. Instead of winding down and paddling home Tom decided that some practise was in order so completed the course at race rate. From todays performance I'm confident that M4 are faster than most of the boats around them so it's upwards from Tomorrow! Well rowed guys!
(p.s. James Dixon: If the name tag on this race report shows up as Ronnie Coleman, you're in trouble...)
Edit: It would appear I am no longer Ronnie. Good.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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We had a decent start, initially holding Pembroke on station, but as we came into First Post Corner they began to close the gap before getting to overlap coming into plough reach. We responded well and pushed them back to a quarter of a length and held them before they had a second push and came back to overlap coming into Ditton forcing us wide on the corner. Once again we pushed them back to a quarter of a length and reduced the distance to Catz to half a length though about half way down the reach Pembroke had their third push. This time we couldn't quite hold them off and they caught us.
Overall a good row, let's go out tomorrow and see how they cope under pressure! This is my 13th bumps race and the 13th consequtive time I've been bumped (though we did set the record today for the first time I've ever reached a corner), this trend ends tomorrow.
Also, it turns out that Barney's Lycra shorts were see-through. This was a source of great amusment.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Regarding accurate distances I believe it was three quarters of a length at Ditton and then closing to about a third of a length around the railings. W2 began to pull away briefly about half way down the reach, a move that possibly led to the aforementioned shrieks (and some impressive facial expressions), though couldn't quite hold it, crossing the finish about a quarter of a length clear. Well Rowed Girls, it's upwards from here!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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After nearly being run down by what initially appeared to be a large Flump while cycling round Chesterton (later revealed to be a hideously painted car), I arrived at marshalling to find the division had been delayed by an errant horse. Luckily M4 proved able to improve my mood and, after a respectable start, rapidly began to close on Tit Hall. A few frantic strokes later M4 got the bump just after the motorway bridge with Magdalene just coming into overlap from behind. A great row guys, let's continue upwards tomorrow!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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A great race. While easily holding off Fitz behind, W2 closed rapidly on Pembroke and bumped them around station 6. The pembroke cox seemed unwilling to concede and the umpire was rather quiet resulting in some confusion in which pembroke were bumped several times before both crews realised it was over.
Having Coxed W2 last year and spooned, it's good to see you back on the rise. Well done Girls!
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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After being bumped yesterday we were determined to row over today so decided to go hard off the start and not give Queens any free distance. This worked well and in hindsight probably gave us the race. We had a fast start and pulled away from queens, the exact distances are up for debate though the general consensus is that we were over 2 lengths up and maybe about a length from Pembroke in front. We had a good First Post corner and decent Grassy though lost cohesion a bit down plough reach and around the corner so coming out of Ditton Queens were either on or just outside station. Around the railings Pembroke managed to catch Catz and despite catching them far over on meadowside, decided to clear across the river resulting in some sudden evasive steering that cost us about a length. At this point Queens realised that they'd just gained significantly so called a push. By the time we reached the railway bridge they were at a quarter of a length and gaining, we had a push and managed to slow their progress though by Morley's Holt they were at a canvas and eventually they caught us ... 2 strokes after the finish.
After 14 races, I've finally completed the course and can happily say goodbye to my -1 bumps average and 13 consecutive 'bumped down' results; C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
Edit: The Catz day 1 race report claimed we're a 'poorly performing crew', guess they where misinformed.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Rowed over trivially. With Selwyn and Peterhouse swapping back and Tit Hall trailing by at least 5 lengths there was never really any doubt about the result, unless someone ejected of course.
Event: May Bumps 2014 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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With the crews around them quickly bumping out the guys relaxed slightly before getting to the reach and finding Queens going nuts behind them while going for the double uber bump (up 4 due to a technical row over and a bump). M3 responded briefly and held them at about 2 lengths before a small crab took the margin down to a length. By the railway bridge Queens were maybe down to about three quarters of a length though at this point M3 were spared an excessively painful row over by their start position with Queens being forced to stop at bottom finish due to starting on station 11. Overall not a bad row and a good reminder that you're only safe once you're past the finish (or at least the other crews' finish).
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2016 - Lents 1st Division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Well I was pushing as hard as I could ... however given that this was my 5th and 6th 2k pieces of the day that likely isn't saying much. The only things I remember of the race are pain (lots of pain) and moving through a very dense cloud of water being constantly generated in the river frame by 7's backsplash, I call it the Michael-climate.
Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2016 - Lents 2nd Division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Ok, who thought it would be funny to switch me to bowside?
Event: Lent Bumps 2016 - Tuesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Fortunately the kit had arrived this morning despite my expectations of a further 2 week wait, this afforded me the opportunity to dress entirely in tessellating lions so I rowed down to the start looked as ridiculous as I could (Barney pointed out that I need little help in this regard however). Sadly the rest of my crew (plus other crews, our boatman and various bystanders) disapproved of my fashion sense and decided to dress in less hideous attire. The row down was decent with some nice paddling and after a fairly fast start at the Plough we rowed onto station and began the tense wait until the start gun. Unfortunately the constitution and a zealous KSS prevented me from racing in lions so I was forced to change into the more traditional blue and gold, we then ate lots of jelly babies (thanks Millie!). By the one minute gun we were all ready to go and the final countdown began.
A combination of a good push-off, a fast start and one of the most obscure lines that I've ever seen from the pursuing Corpus M1 put us a bit outside station which we held into first post corner and down the gut. Around grassy and onto plough reach they began to move on us and an unmatched push by them bought the distance to about half a length as we approached ditton. Into ditton they managed to get their bows on the inside and as we slowed to turn bought the margin down to a canvas with the bump happening a few strokes later. They then failed to hold it up. Muppets.
Overall a good race despite the result. A few things we can take from the day are:
- Have a big push early to match pursuing crews.
- Square up!
- Wear more tessellating lions.
Event: Lent Bumps 2016 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Ow, my legs hurt...
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2017 - 3rd division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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I'd been asked to sub a few days beforehand with the promise of a bottle of wine. Since rowing is fun and drinking wine is arguably more so, I agreed without much convincing, thinking to myself that there didn't seem to be any downsides to this plan. I soon discovered the first downside: 6:45 atbh. Eugh. After dragging myself to the boathouse and raiding the lard cupboard for anything high in sugar or caffeine I found that we were doing the traditional pre-race ritual of a bit of erging, a bit of race prep and a lot of faffing.
After a respectable row down to the start we marshalled on Plow Reach and awaited our first victims. These turned out to be Emma M3 and after the usual Pembroke Regatta style 'line up, take some taps, drift for a bit, get lined up again, straighten up, drift, repeat until the umpire stops caring' the race began. As it turned out that it was mostly a formality. We took about a length out of them in the start sequence before moving out to a length of clear water within the first minute. Our attempt at a 'stride' didn't work so well and the power came off while the rate stayed pretty much the same. By this point we were over 3 lengths clear so we wound it down to 28 and pootled to the finish, winning with a verdict of 'easily'.
Event: Head of the Cam 2017 - 1st Mays
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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As our first outing this term in a scratch crew this went better than expected though there's definitely a long way to go. The plan was to go hard from the start and hang on, I managed this fairly well and hung on until the 2k mark. Unfortunately the race was 2.6k long.
Event: 2nd Trinity Challenge Sculls 2017 - Men's pairs
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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To quote Chris Elsby: "you're allowed one practise capsize before the race". Enough said.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2017 - 3rd division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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This was it. The final. The race to end all races. The race after which I could go back to bed.
Spoiler alert. We lost.
Overall not the best row of the day, the extra race against Caius had taken a lot out of us and while we rowed ok technically we just didn't have the power of our earlier races. Clare turned out to be similar to Caius from Caius: Part II, quite big and technically competent. The race went similarly as well just with larger margins; they pulled out to about a length up in the first minute and had half a length of clear water as we approached the bridge. We then took a push that brought us back to a length down and moved just inside a length by the finish.
No idea if we could have won, but if we'd had one less race and a bit more rest we certainly could have made things a lot harder for Clare. Despite this loss the crew should be very proud of their achievements, I was impressed by the standard of the rowing though the best thing was definitely their attitude. Even when a length down against Caius having pushed as hard as they could for 2 minutes they dug in and pushed through the pain to win. Definitely a mentality that will serve them well in the future and often something much more experienced crews haven't mastered. Well done guys and good luck with bumps!
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2017 - 3rd division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Despite what the official results may suggest, this was actually two races; to avoid ambiguity these will be referred to as "Beating Caius: Part I" and "Beating Caius: Part II". As is often the case, the original was better than the sequel.
Beating Caius: Part I was definitely our best race of the day, we had a strong controlled start, wound to about 38 and settled into a powerful 36. By the end of the start sequence we were half a length up, we pushed hard through the next minute and as we approached the railway bridge were leading by a length. The inside corner combined with another push gave us half a length of clear water and at this point things were going swimmingly (rowingly? we're not Homerton after all), our powerful rhythm would carry us to the finish and all would be well. Sadly this was not to be and at this point I heard a call of 'Maggie, move out the way' from Neil. Well this is odd, thought an oxygen deprived me, aren't we racing Caius and I'm pretty sure they're behind us?. I soon discover that despite starting a minute ahead of us Maggie W3 were sufficiently slow that they looked likely to be beaten not only by their opposition but also anyone racing behind them and maybe some particularly fast logs. Since Morley's Holt is not really wide enough for 3 racing crews, we were forced to wind it down and then told by the umpires that we would be doing a re-row. Fun.
Beating Caius: Part II turned out to be much harder than the first time round as it seemed that at some point between the races, their coach had either given them a lecture on how to row or found 8 subs. Either way they went from being a load of big guys to a load of big guys that could almost row. Our start was a bit less effective this time which combined with Caius being a lot faster led to us being half a length down a minute in. Now at this point I was somewhat miffed, I'd been hoping for a nice easy race with a quick start and then a casual row to the finish, maybe peaking at about 3 Watts as we crossed the line but it seemed Caius had other ideas, mostly 'push really hard'. Luckily our crew rose to the challenge and we never gave up. As we approached the railway bridge Caius had pulled out to almost a length but a push from us combined with the inside advantage brought this back to under half a length. We then held them around Morley's Holt and began to move again in the final 200m. We crossed the line almost level though I confess to having ignored the 'eyes in the boat' rule and glanced sideways as we crossed the line to find myself level with their 5 man, however I was too out of breath to communicate this information so some confusion ensued before it was eventually concluded that we'd won. We then rowed back up to where Clare M3, our opponents for the final, had been waiting, presumably enjoying a nice break while we were rowing our arses off. Downside number three as it turns out is that 1k sprints are really quite hard work.
Event: Pembroke Regatta 2017 - 3rd division
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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It was during marshalling for this round that downside number two became evident; it was rather cold and at high rate we were very splashy. This lead to me having to change out of my wet FaT kit into something dryer, unfortunately the something was CUL kit leading to questions of eligibility and accusations of cheating being levelled at us for the rest of the regatta.
The actual race itself was similar to the previous one, we pulled away off the start, opened out to a couple of lengths of clear water and wound down a bit for the end. I think Pembroke may have stopped for a picnic (i.e. crashed into the bank) but maybe I'm mistaken, after all they were a long way away by that point and I didn't have my glasses on. Our rowing was better this time, a greater focus on power rather than rate led to a decent stride and strong race rhythm though we didn't need to sustain this for long and again settled for a slightly rushed 28 for the last 500m.
Beating Pembroke crews at their own regatta is always fun.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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A technically good row but a bit lacking in aggression, it felt like we subconsciously knew that Magdalene would get Jesus pretty quick and we'd be in for the long haul. We settled to a relaxed 33 down first post reach and trivially moved away from Selwyn behind. Around the first corner Selwyn encountered a particularly large crustacean (shortly followed by Queens' bow and a bank) and with Robinson never a threat for the overbump we pootled around the next two corners, rowing efficiently if lazily. We briefly had a push on the reach to scare Downing (5 ahead) who'd wound it down a bit too far but a 6 length bump from the railway bridge was never on the cards.
Overall a decent row, but if we'd been any more conservative we'd have spontaneously turned into Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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The plan was to go hard off the start, settle to 38 and hold it until coming into 3 whistles where we'd take a push and catch Jesus just before first post. Surprisingly this is almost exactly what happened.
Almost.
I either misheard or imagined a 'hold it up' call 10 strokes before we officially bumped, this led to me attempting to fight the remaining 7 rowers in true three-seat fashion. Luckily I lost and thanks to the wonders of modern technology we know that I was only able to reduce us to a 1:33 split rather than the infinite split I'd been aiming for. Having realised my mistake I resumed rowing and we caught Jesus 10 strokes later which says a lot about either their speed or my ability to hold it up.
Yesterday Queens' had been bragging about how they were going to bump us so it was amusing to see them rapidly drop backwards off the start, in fact if they'd dropped back any faster they'd have been red-shifted out of the visible spectrum.
Overall a good row, let's try to do the same tomorrow.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Today things went exactly as planned.
We hit the start hard and took a quarter of a length in the first 5 strokes. Off the start we settled to what felt like a relaxed 34 but it turns out was somewhere above 40.
Around this point we received multiple 'moving' calls from the bank; however, as anyone who has done (and remembers) part IA maths or physics will tell you, this is completely meaningless without a reference frame. Conveniently we were moving in Peterhouse's reference frame and pretty quickly too with two whistles coming about a minute in.
We hit a bit of wash here and they briefly held us for a whole four strokes, presumably with a bumps push, before we continued to move. A good line from Liv put our bows on the inside of their stern coming into first post corner and they sensibly conceded as our bowball passed their cox on the entry of the corner. Within two minutes of the start gun we were pulled in and waiting for our bank party to commence their assault on the local willow population.
Again due to magical technology, (or a random number generator), I'm told that the race took around 1 minute 40, which is a bit quicker than yesterday, and that we never dropped below a 1:27 split. If I were so inclined this information may allow me to calculate the effectiveness of my rowing and/or holding it up by comparison with yesterday. I will, however, avoid doing this due to the risk of concluding that they'd be faster without me and then being subbed out for a ham sandwich.
Overall a very good row, the best so far, partly due to me taking the same number of strokes as everyone else and partly due to us feeling a lot more relaxed and comfortable in the wash.
Let's carry this momentum (and decent rowing) into tomorrow.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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An unexpected crosswind put the bows in the wrong place and being on the end of the chain left little room for manoeuvring, in hindsight we should have got 7 to back it a bit or made bow pair two foot taller so they could have taken strokes further round the front. The net result of these issues was a somewhat sub-optimal starting position.
When the start gun went the crew went off hard, they had a massive 4 strokes and were on course to intersect the apex of first post corner nicely. Unfortunately, as anyone familiar with the river will know, the intersection of the straight line between station 15 and first post corner with the bank is non-empty.
Having taken the aforementioned four strokes it was remembered that eights are less effective at traversing fields than they are rivers and the crew were forced to stop and park in some trees with Clare rowing past and claiming the bump.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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A better push off this time resulted in the crew pointing in the right direction and they got off to a flying start. Unfortunately Emma were faster and consistently moved into half a length. A committed push by the guys held them off for a bit but eventually the bump came about half way down first post reach.
They pulled in and having seen the last crew go through, pushed off again ready to go; the very epitome of efficiency. Around this point a rather incompetent umpire announced that we would have to pull in again. After all sitting on the correct side of an empty river ready to row back was a terribly dangerous place to be, what if a barge spontaneously appeared despite a 400m line-of-sight in both directions? So they pulled in again and waited for a more competent umpire to conclude that the likelihood of rogue barges with rocket engines was rather low.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Definitely the best rowing I've seen the guys do. They had a committed paddle down, a good practise start and hit the race with great intensity. They held a good rhythm throughout however Wolfson closed consistently and got the bump on first post reach.
Sadly Wolfson were one of the fastest crews in the division and are currently up 7 with a decent chance of bumping tomorrow so being bumped by them is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
Best of luck for tomorrow guys, take the intensity from today and row away from Caius!
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Friday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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A scratch resulted in Churchill having to row past an empty station, no small task for some crews but they managed it.
Amusingly Trinity Hall proceeded to overbump Homerton resulting in the Grads being chased by them again tomorrow.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Wednesday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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I was somewhat confused when Dear started to explain how to do a racing start just before the practise start, I later discovered they'd never done one and the practise was predictably terrible.
A discussion of start sequences ensued before the four minute gun though unsurprisingly led to little improvement in the actual start, a saying involving polishing turds springs to mind. Despite their start being distinctly mediocre at best the guys settled onto a nice rhythm and matched the crews around them for speed having lost about a third of a length through the first few strokes.
Homerton behind appeared to not have been told that there's an aspect of technique to rowing and spannered along with great enthusiasm and power about a length back. Out of first post it became apparent that someone had done something silly on grassy and the division became one of many to be klaxon-ed. Given the distances a technical row over was awarded.
Event: May Bumps 2018 - Thursday
Posted as: MC Row(e)
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Somehow the start sequence improved considerably overnight and having done a vaguely respectable practise the guys hit the race a lot quicker than yesterday.
As we all know, boat speed is a function of power and efficiency and Homerton behind had given up any pretence of aiming for the latter. They did, however, have plenty of power and while ergs don't float there's no reason why you can't drag them along the bottom of the river. Around first post corner Homerton's superior power began to show and they began to move. The grads couldn't quite respond and were caught a bit out of Grassy with some good steering from Sayana saving them for a while.
How about an erg or two?
