Race Reports by User

Find Rower Enter/edit crews

All race reports for Daniel Holland

Event: May Bumps 2002 - Saturday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not as good a start as friday, but still not bad and had only half a length or so on girton coming into first post corner and then they bumped the muppets in front of them. anyway due to our proximity to their tail we had to stop before we plowed into them. this enabled the sidney crew behind to close to within a length or so before we took off again after the overbump. not sure why but we didnt quite row as well as we had been and although we closed to about 2 lengths off we couldnt finish it.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Thursday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

The truly outstanding effort of the caius 3 boat today was particularly impressive. Its just a shame they forgot their lifejacket yesterday and we only got a technical bump.

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

This one was pretty hardcore for us 4th boat lads. We had a bit of mess at the start as we didnt hear the gun go off. however despite this we managed to take chunks out of Hughes early on. I believe we got it down to about 2/3 of a boat length. At some point on the run up to first post corner they started pulling away. We upped the effort again and managed to hold them for the next section until somewhere on the reach. As we chased them down the reach they pulled away fractionally but again we lifted and held them. Somewhere about 1/3 of the way down the reach our No7 vomitted, but didnt lose his stride. We continued to hold them until about the railway bridge where we started to fade but we drove it home and only truly relented after they'd crossed the line.

Huge credit to Paul Whiting at No2 - he rowed despite being somewhat under the weather. Unfortunately the result of the hard fought race told on him as he vomited after we crossed the line.

All in all a damn fine row. Tomorrow we will row over as head of m4 and then have another go at them as sandwich boat.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Saturday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

The first race as head of the m4 was nice and relaxed. We took it off quiclkly at the start and rapidly gained distance over the boat behind. We kept up the pressure until approaching grassy and then dropped down to half pressure for the rest of the race as no one was in sight.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Saturday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Second race didnt go quite as well. though we managed to hear the gun this time we were right on target with a good start and we managed to close them to half a boat length as we approached first post corner. unfortunately our plan was an all out sprint up to first post and if we werent within a canvas at that point we were going to wind it down and just row over, which is precisely waht we did. A real nice row right til the end.

Event: May Bumps 2002 - Friday
Posted as: Daniel
Event Link

Wicked race. we wound to 46, strode down to 39 comfortably held it there and had them by first post. Bring on Girton!

Event: St Neots Sprint 2003 - Novice 1x
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

It was against a Sudbury guy, apparently where Graham Sills has been training. Anyway he wasnt too bad so unfortunately I lost. The steering was marginally better than yesterday though :)

Event: May Bumps 2003 - Wednesday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was actually even closer than neil suggests. They achieved overlap as they came across the finish line. In a huge effort coming up to the line they closed 1 length in no time at all, however reminiscent of the last minute push by Cambridge in the Boat Race this year, they just left it a little too late.

Event: St Neots Regatta 2003 - Novice 1x
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Well this wasnt my greatest race. I had a fairly dodgy paddle up to the start and then a few pretty poor attempts at starts, having not practised these much due to cancelled outings on thrusday and friday, this wasnt surprising. The race didnt really go much better and if the other sculler hadnt been so far in front then I would have been disqualified for my poor steering, but thats the way of it. clearly i have a fair way to go before ill be seriously competitive in my single scull. But then at least I didnt fall in :)

Event: Molesey Amateur Regatta 2003 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Pretty crap row to be honest. My steering was awful. We proceeded to push into their lane move wide push into them again, move wide again and push into them again before the bend about 300m down the course. I then moved well wide of them and almost into the bank before hauling us back across the river to a more sensible position. The final straight wasnt quite so bad but I suspect if I had steered a good line we would have cut several seconds off the time. We had one bit just coming past the start of the island where I thought we rowed really well. Id guess rating about 37/38 and with a good solid rhythm, i reckon that littlebit was the fastest we've ever gone. but luckily for our opponents my right foot intervened and we lost the plot again.

Event: Molesey Amateur Regatta 2003 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Reasonably happy with this one. I pushed into their lane a bit off the start, a minor blade clash and then i went back where I should have been. They then pushed into us and I proceeded to steer us outside the course lines coming up to the island - a good three stroke corner by oli pulled us back onto the course before disaster struck and we then went on to row away fairly comforatably. we put in a push about 150m from the finish and moved from about 3/4 l up to 3 l. I think this was the fastest time of the day.

Event: Molesey Amateur Regatta 2003 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not a bad effort. we were a bit scrappy but i managed to keep us mostly on the course and didnt have to stop at all. Good to make it through if nothing else.

Event: May Bumps 2003 - Thursday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Quick race. I managed to miss the entire thing by trying to catch the guys on my bike and dropping my chain. i just caught them up in time to tell them to easy coming round the first corner (before the motorway bridge).

Event: May Bumps 2003 - Thursday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Comfortable race for the GradVIII. Were roughly 2 lengths up on Catz coming into grassy after catz had a much better start than yesterday. However catz crumbled and were about 5 lengths off when they got hit just out of grassy corner. Rowed the rest of the course with pauses at hands away coming past bottom finish.

Event: RTT Regatta 2003 - Open 1x
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Another stirling row from me, start was worse than the previous one as i noticed id managed to half-feather my strokeside blade just before tom called go. Suret proceeded to take a length and a bit off me and then added to that until about 50m from the finish. it seems the corners on the reach can be particularly deceptive to the novice sculler. anyway after disengaging from the bank i crossed the line some distance behind the winner, deservedly earning the "easily" margin.

Event: Bedford Quarts Regatta 2003 - S3 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

An interesting race. It was both Oli and my first attempt at racing in a pair and about our 5th row together. We had a start of sorts and were tonking along at about 38 after our second stride. we did manage some sort of rhythm in there but it was pretty well hidden. I think it might have ended up quite a close race except that I managed to guide us into the bank on two seperate occasions. oh well better luck next time.

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

Not quite there

Event: RTT Regatta 2003 - Open 1x
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not sure i agree with RTT's report on this. hed definitely won it by the start but as this was my first attempt at a racing start i guess it could have been worse. anyway i then edged my way up the course thanks to a rather generous tailwind and proceeded to crash into the bank pretty much at the finish line.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2004 -
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

A pretty good start to this race. Though we could have done with double clamming as the wind was quite strong. We were chasing though and were about a length off at Ditton and so despite a very bad corner and a bit of a slog up the reach we still had them by quite a good margin.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2004 -
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Dont know the official result yet but Im a bit gutted. We had a nice start and I think closed on them a bit. We failed to take first post properly, had a nice grassy and then an ok push down Plough reach. Unfortunately it went a bit wrong from there. Ditton was very bad, I came over too soon and then really struggled to get round what becomes quite a tight corner. All the way up the reach I struggled to hold our line and in the end I dont quite think we capitalised on our power.

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Friday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

An amazing row from the crew today. The extra power of Jon was noticeable, but to turn around a bump in such emphatic style is very impressive and requires a full crew effort. I was a bit concerned when Rachel called for our bumps push when we had only just got the half length call about 3 strokes earlier but it turned out to be the right one. I guess the unexpected nature of our lift out of Ditton really shocked Queens and they capitulated somewhat. I am sure that Maggie will not do the same but time will tell.

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Thursday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was one of the most gutting races I have done. Partly because it was the first time I have been bumped, but mainly because I feel like we should have held them off. However they were simply a faster crew.

Event: Ross Regatta 2004 - Senior 3 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

A disastrous start saw Christian and I down by at least 1 length after the first couple of strokes. A few steering issues in the first half of the course meant that we didnt really improve on this. After coming through the bridge we picked it up and raced for the line and despite a minor semi-crabbing incident we took the race by the narrowest of margins.

Event: Ross Regatta 2004 - Senior 3 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This race almost didnt happen as we were on the water for another race when it was supposed to go ahead. We were promptly disqualified after not making it to the pairing up area within 20min of our start time. I argued the case and eventually we got a chance to row later on. We put in a much better start this time and were pretty much level by the bridge. A nice change of rhythm from Christian saw us push out to about a length or twos lead before they crashed just short of the finish line.

Event: Ross Regatta 2004 - Senior 2 4+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

I dont remember this as being a good race but we won fairly easily.

Event: Ross Regatta 2004 - Senior 2 4+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Again not a great race but we put down some power and crossed the line a fair way ahead.

Event: Ross Regatta 2004 - Senior 2 4+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Our best race of the weekend. This might have something to do with stern pair finally deciding to do some work but whatever the reason we won by a large margin and rowed quite neatly. We probably would have challenged the S1 winners with that row.

Event: Bristol Avon Regatta 2004 - Senior 3 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

The conditions for this race were awful. However it turned out our opposition were very small. So Christian and I rated about 26 and just got some good power down. We won convincingly, despite some dodgy steering.

Event: Gloucester Regatta 2004 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was a very frustrating race. We had a dodgy start (as proved to be true for the rest of the weekend) and went down by a length. However we then started coming back quite quickly but some dodgy steering from the opposition saw us clash blades and despite the fact that neither of us was that massively disadvantaged by the blade clash they stopped the race. We decided to race the course anyway. Although we didnt go full tilt we pelted out a fairly solid 26ish until about 50m from the finish.

However to make matters worse because we rowed the course fairly hard we were spun and on our way back to the landing stage before the other crew had finished. They then proceeded to head straight for us while we were trying to land. The end result was that we put our bows up the bank damaging them badly.

Event: Gloucester Regatta 2004 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was a frustrating race. We had decided to patch the hole in our bows and race in the Churchill pair again despite our earlier accident and the offer from our opposition to use their boat. We paddled up to the start and the gaffer tape seemed to be doing its job. We had another poor start and were down a length but i was confident we would come back as soon as we hit our rhythm. Unfortunately this never quite happened. The boat felt very heavy and we just didnt seem to be able to pick the boat speed or rate up to where it had been before. As a result we lost.

When we went to lift the boat out of the water after the race we discovered one of the causes of hte problem. Although the gaffer tape we had applied to the hole in our bows was still attached we had failed to notice the other hole. As a result our bow section was filled with a quantity of water sufficient to produce two 10cm high jets of water from our absent empacher number slot. Doh. I reckon there was probably close to 20 litres of water in the boat judging from the mess and weight.

I fear we may have finally pushed this boat beyond its limits.

Event: Gloucester Regatta 2004 - Senior 2 4+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

I dont remember any of these races. As JPD said in his report we had only got in about 5am. I was a bit better than him as i had got some sleep in the car on the way over, but I still was a bit out of it. Anyway we raced a round or two and won the final so thats all that really matters.

Event: Newnham Short Course 2004 - 1st division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Know idea what the ladies thought of their race but I think this is an excellent result and bodes well for the rest of this term! Congratulations girls.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2004 -
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Dont know what the crew thought but I gather they came past Catz in the Gut where they had crashed.

Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2003 - Lower College IV+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

A very pleasing result for our 2nd Coxed IV, bodes well for Uni IVs. Their time was comparable to most of the upper IVs and better than a fair number (including our own 1st coxed IV)!

Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2003 - Upper College IV+
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Pissed off about the crash. However if you take off the estimated 15 seconds we did manage to beat all of the coxless crews despite having a cox in the boat - i wonder what theyd do if we showed up to the coxless event in M4A?

Next time though we're going to have to pick the rating up by about 4 pips at least. We still have plenty more speed to get out of the crew yet.

The balance thing is quite possibly the result of slightly different styles developing between the 1st and light IVs. my outing with the 1st IV in place of Andrew LC after the races was constantly down to stroke side (though that could be my dodgy stroke side rowing).

Event: Head of the River IVs 2003 - Senior2 IV-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not a bad row overall. The time is a little dissappointing though. We had an interesting start with Goldie IV immediately behind us and starting with overlap. Some dodgy steering by them meant that coming through Barnes Bridge they had only just got their nose in front, however soon after they got a bit more sorted and left us behind.

We proceeded to be taken inside and out about Hammersmith by a pair of competing Imperial College and UCL crews which resulted in some foul language from the Imperial boys.

At this stage the boat was going quite well and we maintained this right through until somewhere around 3 min from the finish. At which point we pretty much lost it. Im not sure exactly what went wrong but we failed to gain more than a couple of lengths on a crew that we were 36s faster than over the course. The failure was a technical one though, which is frustrating.

Event: University IVs 2003 - 2nd division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

The crew ran into Maggie in the Gut. Thankfully I dont think we've been disqualified and the easily verdict stands.

Event: University IVs 2003 - Light IVs
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

In someones immortal words "shit happens". Today it did. We certainly deserved to do better than that. Very dissappointing to say the least.

Event: University IVs 2003 - 2nd division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not a bad row apparently, they were just beaten by a faster crew.

Event: University IVs 2003 - 2nd division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Looked good to me! Very comfortable and very convincing.

Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2003 - 1st division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

unofficial race time is 12m23s

Event: Newnham Short Course 2004 - 1st division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not bad. Good enough to win it quite comfortably but a long way to go yet.

Event: Lent Bumps 2004 - Wednesday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not too bad a row. We were a bit tense and nervous on the start and you could feel this in the first stroke in particular. We sorted things out quite nicely after that and had a pretty good race through to Ditton. Not so good up the reach or pushing for the finish though.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2004 -
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

A pretty awful race to be honest. We never found a rhythm and the boat never ran very well. however we put in quite a bit of power and that saw us through. We had a couple of dodgy moments including one where steered us into the bank just before the plough as i was watching them crash at grassy. After that there was a whole series of shipwrecks down the course. If we hit a rhythm and get it set up like it has been in our prerace pieces we should go quite fast.

Event: Lowe Double Sculls 2004 -
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

The winners completed the course in 8m05s, a cool 22s quicker than any of the other doubles races on Monday and Tuesday. So it seems like these guys might have been a bit unfortunate in coming up against a probable winner in the first round.

Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

I thought this was quite enjoyable. Its got a long way to go before its fast and cohesion was certainly lacking, but had good spirit. I guess we were 7th or 8th or something overall with couple of crews laying down around 18:20 times.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2005 - Men's 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was a pretty awful race. We didn't handle the wind conditions at all well. However we did manage to negotiate the course with only one minor altercation with the bank and were faster than them despite the shoddy rowing. Maybe they struggled even more than we did I don't know.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2005 - Men's 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

This was a very close race. We gained on them on the start (i gather they had some sort of incident?) but then we clipped the far bank down first post reach and got entangled in the trees. We probably lost a couple of seconds here and were down by a bit coming round first post corner. I think we then closed again up the gut and had an ok grassy (though i probably should have pulled a bit harder to keep us in tighter). This is where disaster struck our opposition. Some random barge decided it was a good idea to head back down the river towards the two crews racing upstream. Corpus managed to avoid this barge initially by ploughing into the Grey Barge. They pushed off from that and then ploughed into the barge coming downstream. We avoided all this despite me being blissfully unaware the barge was even there. Dan on the bank estimated their crash cost them 5-10s and we were well up by the time we got to the timing posts outside the plough. Thus we took it fairly cautiously home from there. I think they opended the gap between us again up the reach but it was all too late and we crossed about 4s up.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2005 - Men's 2-
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

I must confess I was less confident than Tom going into this. But their cock up on the start meant it was a very relaxing row. It will be interesting to see how the time compared with yesterday (if we get one).

Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Not exactly sure about the time but I think that is close. Both legs were over 9min anyway.

We struggled a bit going downstream, never really got into a rhythm. It started much better coming back up with a solid, relaxed rhythm and quite a bit of cover. We unfortunately fell apart badly into the head wind on long reach and it seems we posted quite a slow time for the leg overall. Still if we can replicate the rowing in the early stages for a little longer...

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Wednesday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Initially I was gutted. Coming round Ditton corner I thought we were still a length of Robinson and I had seen Queens closing fast all the way down Plough Reach and contact was made just on the exit of the corner. But then I turned around and I saw Robinson in front. It turned out we had the been awarded the bump. Last year I thought the bump back on Queens was the most rewarding bump ever - but Im beginning to think every one counts about the same! Its funny though, I know exactly how Queens must feel after we were in their situation in the Robinson - Maggie - Us sandwich on the saturday last year.

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Wednesday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Well done girls another very good start but Lillie, haven't you got another 16 places to go?

Event: Lent Bumps 2006 - Friday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Interestingly my house mate was in the bank party for the Downing crew. Always amusing to hear their side of the story too...

But well done guys. So far this is the highlight of the bumps for me!

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Wednesday
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

Surprisingly, I was more nervous for this race than I have been for at least the last three years. The start wasn't great. They held you well and I was having doubts. But along plough reach you were incomparable. A great result that you guys thoroughly deserve.

Thanks.

Event: Fairbairn Cup 2007 - Invitation VIIIs
Posted as: Dan
Event Link

One of the mystifying things about Fairbairns is why I seem to come back and race it almost every year despite never really enjoying it. But, all things considered, this was better than expected. It was quite short, but the Darley/Robson combination set a good consistent rhythm. It was definitely better than last years effort too. However, next year I'll try and at least be healthy even if I can't be fit.