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All race reports for Kevin Lim

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2018 - 1st division
Posted as: T.P.K. Lim
Event Link

Coming off a dismal showing at Newnham Short Course two weeks before, we'd had several outings and were making steady improvements in terms of timing and technique but still lacked fitness and stamina overall.

The morning was cold, just above freezing but thankfully not windy. We were running behind schedule and things got more exciting when Hadi realised just after we pushed off that he'd forgotten his lifejacket (which he announced over the coxbox to the amusement of crews we were passing). A quick stop near the Elizabeth Way bridge for Charlene to throw Hadi his lifejacket over the railings and we were on our way. Rowing to the marshalling area proceeded smoothly and we got through some decent pieces and practice starts.

Queuing before the start line at Fen Ditton, a thick layer of fog covered the ground and the surroundings looked drab and grey. Meanwhile Hadi was busy trash-talking our first opponents Jesus M4 over the coxbox. The effect of this show of bravado was probably somewhat diminished when we couldn't sit the boat properly at back-stops despite our best efforts. The other crew was a good bit bigger than us as usual, and didn't seem to make any attempt to respond -- more the strong silent type perhaps, or just not in the mood for banter.

Hearteningly, our boat felt much more sat at front-stops right before the race started and remained mostly sat while we were rowing. We were neck-and-neck with the opposing crew at first but then unexpectedly pulled ahead within the first 30 seconds or so. Spurred on by this initial success, we made the most of the opportunity and pushed hard, maintaining a solid lead for the rest of the race down the Reach (the other crew stayed within sight but a good distance away). Apparently their #5 had caught an overhead crab which gave us our early advantage, though it still took quite an effort from all of us to keep them at bay. We eventually won by two boat lengths.

Visibly tired but in high spirits, we spun and headed back to park and wait for our next race. A bank party of three postdoc ladies was there to fuss over us with offers of water, tea, and biscuits. Rather fancifully, I imagined that this must have been the sort of hero's welcome received by airmen returning from a hard-fought battle and I basked in that glorious feeling for a brief moment. But there was no time to lose: after many cycles of compression going up and down the slide, I really needed to empty my bladder yet again...

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2018 - 1st division
Posted as: T.P.K. Lim
Event Link

The sun had come out properly by now and the temperature reached a more comfortable 4 or 5 degrees, for which I was most grateful. Less happily, my forearms had completely seized up and felt rock-hard by the end of the first race and there hadn't been much time to recover. I spent most of the second race struggling to control my oar and trying not to crab. As far as I could tell, most of the others seemed fatigued as well and our rowing felt less powerful and coordinated than before, and quite rushed and desperate. We were overtaken from the start by the significantly faster opponent crew and lost the race by a large margin.

We learnt later on that it had been the first race of the day for our opponents Clare M3 as they had drawn a wildcard. It felt unfair that they were so much fresher than us, but in all honesty they appeared technically superior from what I could see of their rowing before our race (and they were also again bigger than us).

On the way back, we saw that one of the riggers in an Emma boat had come off. Freed from its restraints, the offending oar was proudly on display; its owner brandishing it and at times holding it vertically like a mast. In the ensuing (unrelated) traffic jam we were also treated to the spectacle of Cambridge '99 attempting to throw scones from one boat to another, most of which of course landed in the river. A dropped scone, rescued as it floated by, was sent on one last ill-fated flight and promptly disintegrated upon recapture.

It was a beautiful day for a light paddle down the Cam and we rowed back to the boathouse at a leisurely pace with a good morning's work behind us, looking forward to a well-deserved rest.