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All race reports for Andy Wong

Event: Novice Fairbairn Cup 2000 -
Posted as: Andy
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I'd be lying if I said I could remember much about this race, but I remember Jesus won by about a second or two, which was very disappointing. I reckon the current didn't help us. It had rained the night before, and for whatever reason, we rowed in the afternoon rather than the morning with everyone else. Still, after the events of earlier in the term, it was nice to get around grassy in Peter Brandt.

Yup, my recollection is amazingly poor. Clearly as Dubya pointed out, we would have finished before Grassy. I expect I was probably relieved to get round Chesterton as well, after the, umm, aforementioned event :-o Apologies, didn't intend to suggest it was anyone's fault we raced when we did. Just one of those lessons learnt that I thought I'd put down, especially while Tom C seems to be revisiting past results.

Event: Lent Bumps 2001 - Tuesday
Posted as: Andy
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After a strong start, when we pulled to within half a length of Emma III, we were unable to hold off a strong CCAT crew, who bumped us before first post corner.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Friday
Posted as: Andy
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We did our start, then we did the stride, followed by preparing for a push on the legs. Oh, and then we stopped, cause there was a boat in the way. Bring on Jesus III.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Wednesday
Posted as: Andy
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A reasonably good start saw both Downing III ahead and Peterhouse II holding station with us. We suddenly made up ground on Downing and had overlap on them from just past the motorway bridge to just before First Post Corner, while Peterhouse faded away. Due to some slightly passive umpiring and stubbornness on the part of the Downing cox, we lost a bit of paint scraping our bows on their stern, before we finally pushed them towards the bank. Friday sees us behind Fitz II, who were bumped today. All in all, a good introduction to the bumps for the uninitiated in the crew, though the ban on greenery was a bit disappointing.

Event: Lent Bumps 2002 - Saturday
Posted as: Andy
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Well, after the pretty easy bumps of Downing III (crabbed) and Fitz II (fell off seat), we were left with Jesus III who so far had failed to get past First Post. Lacking a cox box on the way down, we managed to snaffle one off the women at the start. Our start was reasonable, but nothing special, so it was a long haul to bump Jesus. Just before Grassy, we were a canvas away, and then had a little overlap, when disaster struck. Four's seat came off, which somewhat slowed us round Grassy. Fitz behind us were unable to pressure us while Jesus pulled out a length with their extra two rowers. Coming out of Grassy though, the crew got it all together, and with all eight cylinders going again, we closed on a tired looking Jesus and bumped just past Ditton. Great feeling, carrying a flag back to the boathouse. Bring on the Mays!

Event: May Bumps 2003 - Wednesday
Posted as: Andy
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A good start saw us close to a length off Selwyn before they pulled away. Ahead of them, Girton bumped Downing III, Selwyn achieving an overbump on Maggie III scum ahead at Ditton.

A strong push from Fitz II towards the end for the overbump saw us scramble over the finish line with not a little relief.

So tomorrow, a weak Maggie III in front of us. Scum.

Event: Lent Bumps 2004 - Tuesday
Posted as: Andy
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Well, we turned up to find Corpus II behind hadn't bothered. So Hughes Hall got a technical bump and with Kings II bumped pretty quickly by a strong looking Queens III crew, there was a lot of clear water behind. So a reasonably nice firm row to the finish, good practise given that this was the first time the whole had rowed together.

PS. I say to the finish, but it went some way beyond. Someone forgot to tell Honey, who was still calling pushes after the railings. Once she gets going, there's no stopping that girl! :-)

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Saturday
Posted as: Andy
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They were wearing devil horns. They were Maggie. They were on for spoons. In short, they were asking for it and we obliged in short order after about 35 strokes, just past the motorway bridge. Perhaps one of our better rows.

Overall, pleased with our performance this week. We have surpassed my prediction of about +2. Many thanks to Jo Sampson and John Earl for organising and coaching. I hope that the girls continue on their successful rowing ways (five of them are up 10 after two sets of bumps!) It was a pleasure coxing you. (And thanks for the box of chocolates :-)

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Friday
Posted as: Andy
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To be honest, a pretty ropey start, got it back together and closed on Corpus quickly. Maggie were bumped by Downing ahead, and Corpus were impeded more than we were, but the result was never in doubt as we were already about half a length from them. They conceded quite late and Jenny's blade ended up attached to their rudder strings, making it somewhat difficult to get out of Clare Hall's way. I believe they were awarded a technical rowover. For their part, they made a fast start, closing to about a length on us from the start, but making no impression afterwards.

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Thursday
Posted as: Andy
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As far as I can tell, Clare Hall pulled away slightly from us, before we started to reel them in. Clare Hall were themselves closing on Darwin II, closing on Vets School. According to someone on the bank, Darwin had overlap on Vets before a crab enabled Clare Hall to bump them around halfway before the Motorway Bridge and First Post Corner, at which point we were about 3/4 length from Clare Hall and about 3 from Vets. The distance rapidly decreased and the overbump occurred in the gut. Not a bad effort overall, Corpus tomorrow, with Clare Hall behind.

See, nobody really bumps before the motorway bridge :-)

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Wednesday
Posted as: Andy
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Not much to say, bumped pretty quickly. Not a bad row overall.

Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2004 - Lower VIIIs
Posted as: Andy
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Pretty good row there, good response to pushes. Held off a Cantabs M4+ for a good while, but eventually forced to give them the inside of First Post Corner and as they were a little wide of the bank, had to easy very briefly where that tree thing sticks just after. Good strong finish.

Second leg was absolutely solid, the girls gave it everything. Good result I feel, no other boats in our division raced, but we were a mere 6 seconds behind Homerton I and 5 behind Wolfson I, despite the incident.

Event: Lent Bumps 2004 - Friday
Posted as: Andy
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Pretty good start and a solid row after.

Long row leading to a bump in the gut more satisfying than bumping under motorway bridge. But less fun. I am uncertain which one I prefer yet.

Event: Lent Bumps 2004 - Tuesday
Posted as: Andy
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Having shivered through a good part of an hour (it's a lot wetter at 2 than the cox's seat...) while waiting for our next division, it was a bloody relief to get moving again. A few shenanigans getting onto station, not helped by the crosswind and the proximity of the lock, but got there in the end.

Pretty good start, possibly our best of the day. Can't really say much else from where I was. Apparently we closed on Clare Hall pretty quickly, but didn't personally notice until overlap. I think that whenever I heard something with the word length in it, I assumed it was us rowing short, rather than the distance to go. Still we bumped them shortly after the motorway bridge, held it up, I turned around and lo and behold there they were! Woohoo! My first bump (as a rower :-)

Event: Lent Bumps 2005 - Tuesday
Posted as: Andy
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Been there, done that. (in 2002. and Mays 2003)

Bumped easily probably closer to the motorway bridge than first post corner. Downing were slow off the start, and didn't improve much thereafter. Solid row.

Dunno about '98, but in '02, they were similarly slow.

Event: Lent Bumps 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Andy
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A feeling of deja vu. Next year...

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Wednesday
Posted as: Andy
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Armed only with our mandatory ten outings, and a dodgy cox box, we approached the start line with, perhaps, less optimism than ideal. We had been told on one of our outings that there were three things to make a boat go fast: length, power and rate. We had the first two and, well, 30 was probably the highest we'd done a head course at. As it was, we stayed away from Fitz and gained steadily on Caius. About ten strokes from the finish, I watched 2's blade catch about two-three feet from their stern. Sadly, it was not to be, gutted. But will approach tomorrow, more confident of being able to bump Caius II or Peterhouse.

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Thursday
Posted as: Andy
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Peterhouse managed to row over in front of Caius II last night in M1, so we were once again chasing Caius. We dispensed with the stride and even managed to row around the corners decently. A dizzying rate of 32 led to a bump coming out of Ditton. length + power + rate = speed. Happier, but job not yet done.

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Thursday
Posted as: Andy
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We gained slightly off the start, but then had to hold it up, as up ahead, Jesus had caught an ejector crab. On the speedily retaken rerow, we made a better job of the start, and made ground on Peterhouse, especially around the corners. A good push saw us make the bump just shy of the Plough. Pleasing day's work, Selwyn is the next target. Peterhouse were gracious enough to offer their congratulations on foot, after we had arrived back at the boathouse.

Event: Fairbairn Cup - IVs 2005 - College IVs
Posted as: Andy
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Having resisted the allure of blue and gold until the last division of the last race of term, I turned up for what can only be described as a somewhat less than stellar performance. There was no lack of effort going down, but everyone was just too knackered after the preceding VIIIs race.

Event: May Bumps 2006 - Thursday
Posted as: Andy
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From the bank, it looked like a very solid row. Good stuff! Never in any danger from Selwyn behind, who escaped from being overlapped by Caius II coming into the railway bridge.

Event: Champion of the Thames Eights Head 2006 - Men's Lower Div. Mays
Posted as: Andy
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Many thanks to the numerous subs who turned up for us (Dan J, Yung-Chin and Martin Y). We spent most of our slightly ropey row down, getting used to the shiny new boat and blades. The 5th VIII were using what, up to now, had been what we were using in our outings.

Once marshalled, it started raining, so someone had the bright idea of singing 'We're Singing in the Rain' on the start line. After a couple of practices, boats marshalling near us were left in no doubt as to our singing ability. And probably more bemused by the follow-up whistling of the chorus (bow 4 can't whislte...) There was also a round of guess Amelia's weight. Still, we duly sang on the start line and were rewarded with champagne. Ironically, it was no longer raining by the time we started...

Pretty good and aggresive off the start. Unfortunately once got around Ditton, it slightly degenerated into a bit of a standard lower boats spack up the reach, not helped by myself missing (what I assume were) 'up 1 down 1s' as the cox box wasn't working. I think the last half minute was a bit more solid.

Still, it was all good practice at something approaching race rating, and at least we won *something*. Plenty of room for improvement, and hopefully we might eventually end up faster than W1... Right, best get back to the weights, else bow and three will *never* get the boat round Grassy come bumps. And I've been in boats that didn't turn round that corner...

Event: University IVs 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Andy
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Technically, I have raced at 2 before...

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Saturday
Posted as: Andy
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Job done.

Will write a more complete, and upbeat, race report later. Though I am really happy. :-) Dinner and the smell of burning wood...

Coming into this term, the crew was pretty much unchanged from Fairbairns. Graham was taking time off rowing, but we had ample cover with Will. Who despite the teasing is still taller than me :-) Based on Fairbains VIIIs results, it was all looking pretty even at the top of M1. We'd ended up 7 seconds of the pace of Jesus, down in 5th place, so the potential was there for a bit of change at the top of Lents... To be honest, I was also considering taking it easy this term with regards to rowing. An extra-Cambridge girlfriend, PhD turmoil, the cold and wet campaigns of Lents 2004 and 2005 and starting to feel very old at the club being the primary reasons. Still, as Ming says, rowing is more important than girls. (Claire, if you're reading this, I don't agree, despite the last few weekends :-) And I wanted to bump Caius.

So first race, Head-2-Head. Not very special, despite coming 2nd of College VIIIs, were some 25 seconds off the pace of LMBC. Still, this was early in the term, and we'd not quite figured out how to deal with the windy conditions yet. Thanks to Andrew Lewis for subbing. Richard was still keen for lectures, so ended up winning a pot with M2 in another division. But something to work on.

Our next race was Head of the Nene. Solid row, in surprisingly pleasant weather conditions. We sent off quite hard, and showed a good level of fitness over the 5k course. The last half was pretty choppy, probably due to the concrete banking on both sides of the river. Ended up faster than the other college boats (though obviously, a bit off the overall lead), 15 and 18 seconds ahead of Jesus and LMBC. Which pretty much stated our intentions for the rest of term.

Geared up a touch after the Nene. Note: three pieces is not ideal the first outing after you've moved up three notches. Won the Robinson Head, though I was taking this result with a few large pinches of salt. Jesus, LMBC and Downing hadn't raced, and Caius' time was so laughable, I figured they were just pissing around. Conditions still notably good, which they have been all term really. Also, very pleasant to avoid early mornings altogether, as we opted to try and fit in outings when the river was as clear as possible. This has probably helped us a lot, along with a good steady state that Tom has been setting all term. Got a new boat at this stage, some teething problems getting used to sitting it. Took longer to settle than I liked, and briefly wondered whether it would be better to keep the old one.

Onto Pembroke Regatta, which was good practise for us. Thus far, we'd done well in head pieces, but starts are pretty crucial in this and Bumps. The first couple of rounds were relatively easy. The third with Clare, almost caught us out. Where we were lethargic off the start, they blasted it, out to maybe three-quarters of a length by the railway bridge. (We were on the meadow side.) We came back at them slowly through our corner. It would have been very close, from there to the finish had it stayed a clean race. I would not have been confident about calling the result. As it happens though, Clare (quite rightly) tried to move onto our line through the railway bridge, I made use of our side of the river. After clashing for around ten strokes (good job kepping it together, bowside), Clare lost their rhythm and we rowed past. Still Clare gave us the kick up the arse we needed. Last two rounds much better. Maybe a couple of seats down on Jesus in the first half (meadow side again), but took plenty of distance at the bridge and over the line by about a length. At this point, we were starting to consider Caius and Jesus as the main opposition for Bumps, so this was especially pleasing, though I believe Jesus were missing a couple of rowers.

The last week before bumps was less than smooth, as a few people were away or ill. Thanks are due to Dan Jane, Graham Sills, Neil Copland, Karthik Tadinada (Christs) and Richard Mott (Sidney Sussex). Richard managed to sub in when we were sparring with M2, going on to getting bumped by M2 in bumps... Also, Clare agreed to spar with us. Very useful practise, 'bumping' them on Ditton from station and putting into perspective how bad we had been in Pembroke, when we weren't switched on.

Bumps, the first day was a bit of a head wind down the Reach(clams on). Our plan was simple, we'd go off hard from the start, race to the Railings, and then count on our fitness (which was pretty good) to grind out a result down the Reach. Caius had reinforced, though obviously hadn't been rowing together as long as we had, so we could expect them to be less strong in the wind and over the distance. It turned out pretty well, maybe a length off out of Grassy, really motored down Plough Reach, our ten unsustainable strokes going into Ditton closed up massively, and the bump happened just after Ditton. Sorry Iain, the bows got a bit of a dent, either from their stroke's blade or rigger. There were a few dodgy strokes at the end, understandable given the conditions, but overall a good performance. Pleased to get Caius, as were Tom and Pedro especially. Tried not to let people get too carried away, the week was yet young. Thanks to our bank party for collecting greenery, and apologies for not coming over the river to collect it. Wanted to get people back to the warm, and thinking about the next race. Used the same plan on Thursday (and in fact on every day). Weather was calmer(clams off), still a slight head wind. Was wary of complacency, since Caius would be that much stronger for their race practise, but in the end a comfortable lead by Ditton, which we held onto to the finish. Maybe lost a length or two from Railway Bridge to Top Finish, though not an issue by then. Caius put in a determined row to row over in front of Jesus. Strong committed row, though a few bad strokes with people getting caught out at the finish by the slightly choppy water. Dealt with it well, but better if we didn't have them in the first place. Friday, same plan, maybe marginally slower off the start, but much more controlled, looked and felt relaxed. Jesus moved quicker today, catching Caius just out of Ditton. Relaxed rowover, almost a warm down on the last half of the course. Saving energy for the last day. Saturday: first time I've felt particularly nervous in bumps for at least a couple of years. Woke up early, calmed nerves by reading about C++. We knew we ought to be faster than Jesus, but there's always that uncertainty when there's a new crew chasing you instead of one you've already comfortably rowed over in front of. Probably not the only nervous person in the crew. Still we knew we were better than Jesus, we had the results to back it up, all we had to do was prove it again. Expected Jesus to go hard off the start. They might have done, maybe inside distance on First Post corner, but thereafter falling behind. Easily the best row of the week. Fast yet relaxed rhythm. Some observors on the Reach thought we didn't look like we were trying very hard, which is a good commendation on the rest of the crew. In the end, somewhat less stressful than anticipated, and clearly showed our speed over the rest of the division. A pleasing week's, and term's, work. Good to see what looked like the entire club, past and present, gathered at the P&E and the end of the Reach. Your support has been greatly appreciated. Good bit of champagne and beer on the way home. PS: It IS tricky to steer while holding a flagpole (not just me being grumpy, honest). Very nice rowing side-by-side up the reach with W1, the other headship crew.

Boat burning was good, thanks to all those who helped to carry the Fair Maid, Magnus and myself back. There were a few hairy moments that first corner and down Chesterton Road...

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Friday
Posted as: Andy
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No pressure from behind. Controlled row-over.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Thursday
Posted as: Andy
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Overall an okay row, but a little scrappy in places. We could, and should, be rowing better.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Wednesday
Posted as: Andy
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Row was not too bad, but a good result. No reason to be happy yet though.