All race reports for Andrew Gayfer
Event: Emma Sprints 2012 - Division 2
Posted as: Andrew
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A complete lack of practice of racing starts as a full crew meant that our start was predictably poor, and after an early blade clash and a crab (or two?) we found ourselves half a length down on the Jesus boat. We soon found a reasonably good rhythm though, and despite plenty of bad strokes we were clearly the faster boat and soon took the lead. We continued to pull away until the finish, winning by a good length or two. It was a little sloppy at times, but overall a fairly decent first race.
Event: Emma Sprints 2012 - Division 2
Posted as: Andrew
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After a much better start, the two crews seemed to be reasonably well matched for the first 150m or so. Unfortunately for us, however, the Christ's boat didn't seem to understand the concept of rowing in a straight line. The first time they veered into us the resulting blade clash disadvantaged both crews equally, and once they were back on their side of the river we managed to pull ahead by about half a length. The second time they veered into us, we weren't so lucky. A huge blade clash which caused a couple of crabs and most of bowside being unable to row allowed Christ's to take the lead, and by the time we had regained a decent rhythm they had pulled out a length and a half, which they held until the finish. Despite Yimin (our bank party for the day) fighting our case, the marshalls made the outrageous decision not to disqualify the Christ's boat. A disappointing end to the regatta, but we were able to take solace in the fact that, before they ruined our race, we had half a length on the crew that went on to win the NM2 division.
Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2012 - 2nd division
Posted as: Andrew
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Despite not quite being able to get Titan up to race speed by the time we crossed the start line, we soon managed to find a good rhythm, settling on a rate of about 29spm for most of the race. The rowing was feeling good from the stroke seat - the major landmarks were going by faster than I had expected, and some top class steering from Catarina (and a little help from stroke side around Chesterton) meant that we took some good lines through the corners. We pushed off the Pike and Eel, and on Catarina's call we took the rate up two just before the railway bridge. After a sprint down the reach and the usual confusion about where the finish line was, we were eventually able to bring the rate down, park up, and join NM1 to watch the remaining boats finish. Overall, a really good performance and a great way to end our novice term.
Event: Lent Bumps 2013 - Tuesday
Posted as: Andrew
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Going into this race knowing that Catz M3 had beaten us by 15 seconds in Newnham Short Course, and that Clare M3 ahead of us were likely to get an early bump, it was obvious that we would have to row very well to evade a bump from Catz. Unfortunately a poor start allowed Catz to close much of the gap very quickly, and although we held them off for quite a while I don't think we ever managed to settle into a solid rhythm. Despite our efforts, they eventually managed to get some overlap, and about 8 strokes later they got the bump. A disappointing start to our bumps campaign, but Catz were a fast crew and probably deserved the bump. Having said this, I'm still very confident that we can get a bump or two later in the week as the slower crews in the division move down.
