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All race reports for Erica Thompson

Event: May Bumps 2004 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
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Yes! Nervous beforehand; Addenbrooke's didn't look bad but (as usual!) we bumped just at the motorway bridge.

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

Event: Head of the River IVs 2004 - Senior3 IV+
Posted as: Erica
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Fantastic row! Despite missing the train to London, we got there on time and a really great start set us nicely into race rhythm to overtake Exeter (Oxford) and Emma very quickly; then holding off Imperial and an unidentified crew who were 'going for pennants' for a good time before they overtook. Unfortunately not too much chance for Jenners to practice swearing at crews for us to overtake because we were started a long way behind a group, but we made up good water on them by the end. Some confusion over distances led to us taking the rating up with about 800m to go, but probably this was a good thing...

Finished second college boat; a minute ahead of BP, only a minute behind CUW, very pleased and very tired!

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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Woohoo! Blue and gold triumph over the clearly inferior blue and yellow. They probably rowed technically better than us (not difficult), but Who Cares?

Now we all sound like bronchitic horses, but at least bronchitic horses that beat Robinson and are well up for (Peterhouse?) in the next round. Bring 'em on...

Event: Lent Bumps 2005 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
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Hurrah! A nice start; strode down to 38 and closed to within a length, then strode again to 32 and finished them off. Bumped just before first post (? I think... am still slightly hazy on geography beyond the motorway bridge after last year)

Event: Lent Bumps 2005 - Friday
Posted as: Erica
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!!!! We did it!!!!

Despite a somewhat uncoordinated start, and knowing that Pembroke were likely to get Tit Hall in about ten seconds, we strode to a really solid race pace and just kept it there, closing to station on Girton by Ditton. Pushing out of the corner, we hauled them in and they conceded about halfway down the reach.

A really confident row; we knew we could do it on paper and we showed them we could do it on the water.

Newnham will be a hard row tomorrow but they've got to be scared by our meteoric rise thus far (and the STRIPES!).

Event: Lent Bumps 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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All a bit anticlimactic really. I'd psyched myself up for a row similar to Friday, expecting Newnham to put up a good fight and be ground down over the course. However, they (or especially their cox) must have been scared by the way we shot up the charts behind them, because they clipped both corners in the gut, resulting in their 7-girl losing her seat and a somewhat earlier bump than expected.

More interesting to note is that they were closing on Maggie at the time, who were closing on Jesus - so if only Newnham had rowed a little faster, we would certainly have been on for our second overbump of the week on Jesus. So, a *slightly* disappointing result but I guess we can settle for Up Six this year... never mind!

Event: Cardinal's Regatta 2005 - Fancy Dress
Posted as: Erica
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I'm quite impressed that we won, given that we had a somewhat unbalanced boat with three boys all on bow side, no head start (despite extensive bribery...), wings flapping uselessly in the water and an enormous duck head which can't have made it easy for bow to row at all, especially in the ridiculously strong headwind!

...Peterhouse were dressed up as FaT W1 in stripes, but clearly they weren't actually imported from New Zealand as the magical go-faster-ness wasn't working for them :oD

QUACK!

Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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Well, we had to make this bump because our general lack of coordination and the immense mass of the boat meant that being forced to row over head of the 2nd division was a very unpleasant option. So we hit them. Quickly. :o)

Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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The hardest bit was extracting our pole-pusher from the pub before the race started.

Not much to say about the rowing really; we bumped them before we were even in sight of the City boathouse. Mini-blades! Yay!

Particular thanks to Jenny whose coxing was by far the best on the river as far as I saw, and to Honey for probably doing more exercise marshalling than we did in rowing!

Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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Well, we started out rather pessimistic, having had to swap our crew order from the one in which we had done every single outing of training so far due to the discovery on arrival that the boat was bow-rigged!

Our start was abysmal, but the crew one in front failed to appear on the start line and the crew two in front got their bungline tangled in their rudder strings, meaning that we bumped them almost before they had managed to start rowing. Some confusion over conceding and the foreign Torpids rules left us alongside them before we easied. Pleasingly, the crew behind had not gained on us at all off the start (despite racing in a boat that was probably about half the weight of our Log) so we went into the next race more optimistic.

Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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I can't remember which race this was. We definitely bumped someone though :o)

Event: City of Oxford Rowing Club Bumps Races 2005 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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We had a really nice start. Rest of the race standard plan: row, row, row, overlap, wait ages for the cox to concede, stop.

Event: Foster Fairbairn Pairs 2005 - Women's 2-
Posted as: Erica
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FaT women rock! Having knocked out all the opposition with relative ease, we knew that we were pretty evenly matched and even attempted to tell the umpires in advance that it would be a dead heat. Unfortunately we had to row anyway. Both crews had minor incidents involving large objects such as the bank a couple of times and I don't think any of us felt it was really a very good row. A massive lift out of Ditton though made for a great race to the finish ending in pretty much the best possible result: dead heat, to within the millisecond!
Celebrations, names on boards, and medals (!!!) all round :o)

Huge thanks to Jenny, without whose great banksteering we would have had much more trouble with barges etc!

Event: Lowe Double Sculls 2005 - Women's 2x
Posted as: Erica
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Report from the banksteerer:
This result is a bit misleading, the FaT girls were ahead pretty much all the way (Churchill having crashed just after the motorway bridge and working hard to make up a good amount but not by any means all of the lost ground by Ditton), and were only thwarted by a huge headwind in the reach which clearly favoured the much heavier opposition, who beasted it down after them to win by a few lengths.

Event: Head of the Cam 2005 - Women's Other Mays
Posted as: Erica
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Not a bad row at all; unsurprisingly a bit rusty for the first race of term but the girls held it together well even when under pressure from a Jesus boat behind. Technique not bad, finishes really improved, the "looking pretty" element is there to a tee ;o) so the main thing to work on is getting power in the water. Very promising for the rest of term.

Event: City Sprints 2005 - CRA Nv 4+
Posted as: Erica
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Yay! Pots! V pleased; first race a bit scrappy but all the others felt smooth and powerful; really fantastic starts especially :oD

Event: City Sprints 2005 - Women's Lents Div. 1/2
Posted as: Erica
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Started off looking to be a close race, but once we were clearly gaining some ground they flagged a lot and despite some extreme spackiness we made it to the finish line well before Darwin (whom we are chasing in Mays......). Not very good rowing really but a perfectly acceptable result!

Event: City Sprints 2005 - Women's Lents Div. 1/2
Posted as: Erica
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We were late to marshall as five of us had only just got back from winning the other division, so Girton were waiting on the start (having also had to wait through another division for us because of our doubling-up issues).

Black clouds looked ominous on the row down, and as the marshall shouted Attention, Go! the heavens opened to the point that I couldn't tell whether I was being splashed by Pia, a massive gust of wind, or the plop of hailstones (approximately the size of apricot stones) in the water (usually this is very obvious :oP). Anyway, Girton put up a very good fight and we were level with them for most of the course, just managing to push slightly harder to the finish after a minor blade clash. I am very impressed that Jenny could see anything to steer by in that weather!

Again, not the prettiest rowing ever, but the start was well together and the last push to the finish was very satisfying.

Event: Champion of the Thames Eights Head 2005 - Women's 2nd Div. Mays
Posted as: Erica
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Wasn't bad at all; the practice starts were better than the real one but as usual our main strength was ...er... strength! Could have been a lot tidier, but on the other hand we were only about 10s slower than Jesus W1 (who have hundreds of Blues etc) so this is something to work on but not worry about. Will be interesting to see times for the other W1 crews; of those so far posted I think we are second (to Jesus).

Update: We got pots, and apparently also a goblet for Jenny's fantastic coxing! Second overall college W1 boat, and by a pretty small margin at that.

Event: May Bumps Getting-on Race 2005 -
Posted as: Erica
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Fantastic; well done girls!! For a crew with a start-of-term agenda "should aim to exist" you've really shown the men how it's done ;o) Let's see some bumps!

Event: May Bumps 2005 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
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This race went pretty much as we expected, apart from the very stiff head wind in the reach. A fairly controlled race to Ditton, followed by a massive spack to Peter's posts, complete with air strokes, timing issues and multiple ratio calls. Luckily we were quite a few lengths ahead at this point, and we took it down after the bridge, to paddle across the line at half pressure well clear of Queens'.

Event: Itchen Imperial 2005 - Senior Ladies
Posted as: Erica
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With only one practice outing on the millpond-like Cam under our belts, very little idea of what a "racing turn" involved, and a stroke-rigged boat, we weren't expecting much more than a fun day out at Itchen. The day got off to a flying (fish?) start with this race, however. We had had a lot of interest from more established coastal crews coming over to inspect our shiny new boat, ask about the Channel race, find out why we were stroke-rigged and whether we could actually row (and seeming rather sceptical about the answer). Having made their reconnaissance, they went down to the end of the course to settle their bets on whether we'd fall in or not at the buoy...

Can someone link this to the picture in the gallery of our turn? Anyway...

They can't have been very impressed with it. We lost half a length on the start by waiting for "GO" instead of starting on "attention", made up the difference to be a length up on the next crew as we reached the buoy, but went at least a length past it before even starting to turn, so lost a good deal of ground at this point. Our re-start was good despite a slight crab, and we made up the lost ground quickly enough to win reasonably comfortably by the end of the course.

Event: Ross Regatta 2005 - WS2 4+
Posted as: Erica
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This wasn't much of a race really. We didn't row our best, but it was clear that we were considerably more experienced than our opposition, who dropped behind off the start and continued to fall back through the race.

Event: Ross Regatta 2005 - WS2 4+
Posted as: Erica
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A more satisfying row altogether than the heats had been. Llandaff kept in touch (though never ahead, despite their advantage of the corner) for about half the course, and we continued to push to the finish.

Event: Bristol Avon Regatta 2005 - W Elite 4+
Posted as: Erica
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We were nervous going into our first Elite (!) race, not helped by the red and white England blades Molesey had chosen to dig out for the occasion or the large delays requested by our opposition in both events.

Molesey were a strong crew and we were level off the start, then pulled away from them slightly on the stride as we settled into a good rhythm. A series of good pushes kept us just ahead and we lifted it to the finish to take the Elite pots by half a length. Non-qualifying though, so we remain S2 for the moment.

Event: Itchen Imperial 2005 - Senior Ladies
Posted as: Erica
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So near, and yet so far!

Our turns let us down again; faced with the memory of our rather wide turn in the heat and the knowledge that the Coalies were south coast champions and hence rather good at this buoy-turning lark, we managed to mess up rather well. Coalporters took a much sharper turn to make up the ground they lost on the first leg and put themselves a couple of lengths into the lead. Our re-start was again a definite strength, and we beasted the coastal IV down the course with lots of pushes, to finish just three feet short of the Coalporters crew on the line. A bit disappointing, and perhaps we have a moral victory for having been clearly a considerably faster crew on the straight, but in the end coastal racing does include the turn and our inexperience just counted against us.

On the bright side, the weather was wonderful, the atmosphere a lot more relaxed than at many river regattas, the coastal rowers very friendly and helpful to incompetent visitors and the coastal IV much admired. I'd definitely go back again!

Event: Bristol Avon Regatta 2005 - WS2 4+
Posted as: Erica
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Afer winning the Elite race, we were keen not to embarrass ourselves by losing in a lower category to the home crew. This final ended up being the second-last race of the day, after the Bristol IV had finished racing in their VIII. Our nerves turned out to be unfounded as we took a lead off the start and lengthened it to clear water as we strode to a good race rhythm. From that point Bristol were never really in contention and we took it home for the second pot of the day and the Cleveden Scaffolding Trophy (apparently).

Event: Bristol Avon Regatta 2005 - Victrix Ludorum
Posted as: Erica
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Definitely weren't expecting this. Just WAIT till you see what the prize was... (photos will follow)!

Have First and Third ever won a Victor/Victrix Ludorum before? It usually needs quite a lot of entries (from the same club) but it seems that at Bristol there was enough competition that nobody won more than two events.

Event: 50k pre-Boston Marathon erg 2005 - Elite IV-
Posted as: Erica
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A useful exercise for timing purposes, but not one we'll be repeating in a hurry.

Event: Boston Marathon 2005 - WS2 4+
Posted as: Erica
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Even worse than the erg! A reasonable start left us only a couple of minutes off target pace after a very efficient lock-traverse. We passed our only opposition in the WS2 4+ category relatively early on and it was fairly clear that they wouldn't present much of a threat. Unfortunately, we were so quick that we got there before our bank party, who had been held up, and who were carrying most of our water. (Fortunately, this didn't end up being too much of an issue, since we had enough to keep us going until more could be passed from a launch.) After the lock, things went downhill a bit. A massive lump of weed got stuck to the fin and made the boat extremely heavy for a few k, until most of it dropped off leaving us feeling only like rowing through maple syrup rather than golden syrup. This threw us even more off our target pace, and I think it became obvious here that we had little chance of making it under 4 hours, which perhaps contributed to a further lessening of pace in the middle stages of the race. Added to this were the absolutely horrific (I mean it - see photos, later!) blisters on Lilie and Catherine's hands and the stabbing pains experienced by middle pair's hamstrings, something we hadn't quite anticipated. I felt like jumping over the side of the boat at one point (but didn't). Jenny somehow managed to keep us going through the long dark wilderness that is the 8km completely straight stretch (punctuated only by bemused cows, telegraph poles, and the occasional bunch of fed-up scullers). After that, things really looked up again - the end was (metaphorically, then literally) in sight and I think we put in a really good push for the line, finishing a good hour ahead of our opponents but, sadly, three minutes outside the course record. Disappointing in that respect, especially since we were so close, but I don't really think we could have done much better on the day. With more inside knowledge, perhaps we can tackle the course record next year/later (depending how long it takes to recover..)

This race also marked the end of a summer of Light and Dark regattas, and probably our last outing for some time. It's been really great rowing with such a committed and generally-fantastic group of people (including all our various coxes); also, huge thanks to everyone who came along to help/bank-party/give moral support, etc. Ra Ra First and Third!

Event: Cambridge Small Boats Head 2005 - Mixed S4 2x
Posted as: Erica
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We weren't expecting to do very well, having had only 4 practice outings beforehand. However, this was really quite a pleasing row, all things considered. The steering wasn't great, but we managed only to crash once, as well as overtaking a sculler from Nines, coming in only one second slower than the Clare mixed double who started just behind us, and beating several men's doubles. Not the prettiest of sights, but a reasonably respectable time - just wait till we learn how to scull...!

Event: University IVs 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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Rhythm was pretty good, power was there, but we just weren't very well sat for more than 5 strokes anywhere (which is something of an achievement at race rating!). Nevertheless, the start was well together and we took water on LMBC from the stride and continued to push past them until the Railway Bridge, where they were a length clear water down and moved across into our wake, cutting the corner and effectively admitting defeat. They hung on from there to remain a length off our stern for most of the rest of the race. The boat felt very heavy in the second half and we didn't make the victory as convincing as it should have been. However, a clear win and a row we look forward to improving on tomorrow.

Event: University IVs 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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The first few strokes of this race were a little disheartening. Newnham went very hard off the start and took an early lead of almost a length as we spacked around trying to cope with large gusts of wind and find a rhythm. However, their early burn strategy - perhaps ideal for most rounds of the university fours, in which typically one crew dominates from the start while the other is left demoralised in their wake - didn't pay off when faced with a crew who don't give up under pressure. We found the rhythm coming round the small bend in the Reach, and pushed through them steadily as they flagged after their efforts in the first few strokes. Magnus called the killer push as he passed their two-girl, and from there we didn't look back except to see their bow-loaded cox growing gradually more frantic. We lengthened out to show them some clear water after the Railway Bridge and responded well to their final push, which made little indent in our lead. A very satisfying, properly side-by-side row.

Event: Cambridge Winter Head 2005 - Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
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This row was awful. I can think of very few positive points. We have rowed much much better than this in training over the past week.

Event: Clare Novice Regatta 2005 - Cup
Posted as: Erica
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This was another unlucky and disappointing race from the First Novice Men. A fantastic first few strokes saw them a length up on Emma 1 at the end of their start and powering away from them... then Disaster Struck (TM). The failing cox-box prevented a cohesive stride, and stern four took it down to race rhythm while bow four continued at high rating. The resulting wobble cause our stroke-man to crab, which swung the bows round by about 30 degrees and into the path of Emma 1. Both boats headed for the bank at high speed and unfortunately Emma came off worse, their bows hanging off limply.

NM1 headed home, hoping that the umpire would have the sense to award the win (or at least a bye) to the obviously faster crew, despite the crab. However, it was not to be - on marshalling for the next round we were informed that they had been disqualified and that Emma would be racing with their bows duct-taped together instead.

An unfortunate race, and a real shame about Emma's boat, but I think the moral victory goes to the crew who were that far up after only about 30 strokes. Well done guys - don't let it get you down. Revenge will be taken on Thursday.

Event: Fairbairn Cup 2005 - Lower VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well rowed! This was a really committed piece; the work stayed on right through to the finish line, even though it was considerably further than they've rowed before. A very creditable result, and well up there with smaller college's first VIIIs and other second VIIIs. More importantly, they beat LMBC III (scum ex-novices) by nearly a minute and a half. Nice work.

I hope you've enjoyed rowing this term. This result shows that if you guys come back to row next term (please!) you'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Event: Fairbairn Cup 2005 - Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
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Really not bad at all, considering the trials and tribulations we've been through this term.

As for the rowing, it was quite ok - not the best we've ever done, but not nearly the worst (that was Winter Head!), and certainly well committed through the boat. The race was well planned and we stuck to it confidently.

Third is a very solid result, and one we should be looking to build on for the Lents. There's a lot of potential, we just need to get back into it quickly at the start of next term and make the most of it.

Event: Fairbairn Cup - IVs 2005 - College IVs
Posted as: Erica
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Hmm. I think the pictures say it all really :o/

Having all already raced the full course at least once, we were pretty knackered coming into this one. But, it was the Last Race of Term. So we decided that actually, it would be quite worth really killing ourselves for a good time, even if there wasn't much chance of winning. We duly emptied the tanks, collapsed on the finish line (didn't see many other crews who weren't able to row on prettily after their races), and won, despite the row not being very technical. I think that result says something about the absolute commitment in this boat. Really really worth it, even after the rest of the day.

Coming third in the VIII was a very sweet icing on the cake after we heard about this result. A good day all round!

Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2006 - Women's Lents 1
Posted as: Erica
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Highlights of this race were:

- seeing Clare fading into the distance on the second leg
- rounding Ditton to find Caius closer than expected
- being able to sit the boat quite decently between single strokes
- having Jenners back where she belongs!

It's also very pleasing to see that after ourselves and Caius the nearest opposition was over 40 seconds slower. Not sure what happened to Caius - on getting round Ditton we discovered them going slowly and having some trouble with something in the boat. We made it level with them, before they performed a very creditable restart and just about got away from us again. In the end we came out on top, by 6 seconds. However, this is a pretty small margin and it's probably fair to say that Caius were the faster boat when they actually had their blades in the water. On the other hand, this was our first outing in this crew, and we certainly have a lot of possible improvement before Bumps. Looking forward to opportunities for us to prove we can beat Caius without giving them any excuses.

A very good start to the term!

Event: Head of the Nene 2006 - Senior2 VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
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Not at all bad, and pleasing to be solidly at the top of the college leaderboard. We would probably have shaved a few seconds off had there been any competition within 750m of us. A good sustainable rhythm took us all the way with very little to remark on.

Event: Robinson Head 2006 - 1st division, 1st run
Posted as: Erica
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Update: we won, and we came second as well(!) A pleasant if unexpected surprise!

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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Good work guys :o)

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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This was a bit disastrous really! Confusion over subs, and sides of said subs, and coxing, followed by a rubbish paddle to the start didn't set us up very well for a good race. It was duly awful, and Churchill capitalised on our spackiness to hold on to a pretty close finish. The row back was a lot better as subs, and those who had moved seat or changed side, got settled into the boat!

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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I was almost in favour of scratching before this race, given the previous one and Newnham's generally good form for the rest of term. However, we seemed to realise that we needed to pull ourselves together a bit and did so, taking more water from Newnham than expected and rowing to a convincing victory.

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
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A really good race! We were level with Kings for a good way along the Reach, but started to pull away coming into the Railway Bridge. The corner in our favour lengthened out our lead, which we then held to the finish.

Event: Lent Bumps 2006 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
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Congratulations girls - 4 days of excellent racing, barring a bit of bad luck! Well done all! :o)

Event: Head of the Cam 2006 - S3 IV+
Posted as: Erica
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This was quite fun, and surprisingly good for a scratch crew. Even the sitting around wasn't too bad. A good head piece marred only by a burst of latent incompetence at the end (trying to overtake a quad of small boys).

Event: City Sprints 2006 - Women's Lents Division 3
Posted as: Erica
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A confident row against the floundering Jesus 3, who were just no match for our mighty second women. Well done girls! A well-deserved tankard. I hope there's space on your mantelpiece for some more... winning can be addictive!

Event: City Sprints 2006 - Women's Lents Division 1
Posted as: Erica
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We were awful. Girton crabbed.

Event: City Sprints 2006 - Women's Lents Division 1
Posted as: Erica
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So much better! Despite our distinctly sub-par performance in the semi, we rowed much more efficiently this time and were taking water from the opposition right from the start. Once we were within sight of the boat house, the outcome was not in question.

Nice not get hailstoned on this time, too!

Event: City Sprints 2006 - CRA S3 4+
Posted as: Erica
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Simoco very graciously allowed us to delay the start of the race at the last minute after we realised there was a clash with the VIIIs final. Thus, we (and a sculler who had fallen in) were the finale of the evening. Jenny made sure it was interesting for the crowded spectators by taking bow-side rather close to the bank and attempting to sever a few ankles... by that stage, however, we had a comfortable lead and the final few strokes to the line were amused rather than panicked!

Event: Lowe Double Sculls 2006 - Mixed 2x
Posted as: Erica
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We were both rather tired (one London Marathon runner, one recently flown back from Berlin training camp) on the day, and decided to scratch, since the standard of the opposition was such that we were unlikely to win any races even at full strength. With me hobbling around in some pain and no practice outings, we'd have been lucky to lose by less than a rowover verdict! There's always next year...

Event: May Bumps 2006 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

I was on the bank for this one. Really, I didn't think it was a very fair race. The Vets and Addies crews were both considerably more experienced and should be a couple of divisions higher. Unfortunately, their inconsistency from year-to-year means that they stay low, occasionally going up lots. So, W3 got the worst of it here. The girls had a decent start but shortened up under pressure from behind; the lesson for the next race is to keep everything a bit more controlled and not to panic! Good luck!

Event: May Bumps 2006 - Thursday
Posted as: Erica
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OK, so people are waiting to hear what happened on Wednesday...

We had a decent start and were closing on Selwyn coming into Grassy. On rounding Grassy we found Downing and Christ's bumped out, with Downing's stern gradually drifting out further blocking the river. Churchill and Selwyn just made it past on the inside, both crews clipping their blades on the stationary Downing. Unfortunately, three seconds later Downing were far enough out that there simply wasn't space to get past and despite Honey's half-second warning, our blades started hitting their stern and cox. Jo (at bow) was lucky not to be thrown out of the boat as her blade bounced off them. My own blade (5) got lodged on the cox somehow, pushing me backwards into the river over my rigger. We weren't moving by then, so I just surfaced beside my empty seat and held onto the boat as we cleared to the side. There were no racing crews behind us since King's had bumped New Hall very quickly.

We were expecting a technical rowover and thus doubly disappointed on the row home, but the news came in fairly quickly that we had been awarded a re-row on Thursday before the other divisions. As we had been closing quickly on Selwyn, who were just inside station on Churchill, this was great news.

The re-row went very well. We had a slightly shaky start but settled quickly into a strong rhythm and soon had whistles. With half a length to go, Honey called our killer push and were on them within ten or so strokes. One of the best bits of rowing I think we have done, and very satisfying!

Event: May Bumps 2006 - Thursday
Posted as: Erica
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We knew that Christ's two ahead would be difficult to save from the bump by Churchill. We did not row our best but I'm not sure we could have made up the further half length that we needed to catch Churchill before they hit Christ's on the entrance to Grassy. As so often, it's disappointing that bumps are determined by the bad crews rather than the good ones, and even more disappointing to hear that the same situation prevented M1 from bumping today. We shall have our revenge on Friday.

Event: Cambridge Autumn Regatta 2006 - Mixed Novice 2x
Posted as: Erica
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Our first win in any round of any sculling race!

Northampton were ok, but considerably less powerful than us and of course we had the advantage of home water. They went up slightly off the start, but we pulled back to about a length advantage by the corner in the Reach, and were still moving away as they crashed about 50m short of the finish. The result would probably have been 2 or 3 lengths if they had not done so. We were hoping the the City crew we would meet in the final might be one we had seen out earlier in the week...

Event: Cambridge Autumn Regatta 2006 - Mixed Novice 2x
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

...but unfortunately, the crew we raced later in the afternoon were rather better than the one seen last week. They turned up looking very competent, in a boat with GBR plastered on the side. We did not rate our chances very highly...

We were also drawn on the towpath side, meaning that we were racing "on the wrong side" - a course we hadn't practiced! Accordingly we moved quickly into the opposite lane behind the bemused City crew, and proceeded down the course as before. They then took the sensible route down the Reach, swapping into our (inside) lane to finish several lengths up and worthy winners.

At least we got two races for our money this time ;o)

Event: Boston Marathon 2006 - S1 1x
Posted as: Erica
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Racing for Rob Roy.

A new course record for S1 1x category! Well done!

Event: Boston Marathon 2006 - Vet C 1x
Posted as: Erica
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Racing for Nithsdale ARC.

Only 35 seconds slower than the winner of this category.

Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2006 - Upper College IV+
Posted as: Erica
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Many things we can learn from this race that we will be looking to improve for Uni IVs, but nevertheless a good result which sets out our agenda clearly to the other entrants.

Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2006 - Lower College IV+
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

woooooohoooooooo! My first coxing pot! Well done guys - you will be awesome in Uni IVs.

(Beat: Queens', LMBC, Fitz, Emma, Downing AND Corpus first IVs)

Event: Queens' Novice Ergo Competition 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Good work, girls. I'm looking forward to seeing some further domination on the water at Clare Novice Regatta and Fairbairns. You'll make a fantastic addition to the senior squad next term - start getting used to being awesome!!

Event: Queens' Novice Ergo Competition 2006 - 2nd division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done! I hope you've all enjoyed your first taste of competition, now get ready for Clare Novice Regatta (prizes for top first boats *and* for top second boats this time).

Event: University IVs 2006 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

... 'cause we're having a good time, HAVING A GOOD TIME!



A racing shell, passing by.

Event: Cambridge Winter Head 2006 - Student Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

We did really rather a good burst on the way up, so I expected this race to go quite well. Unfortunately, upon turning around at the lock, we somehow went into an oh-dear-we're-racing mentality, and lost the rhythm which had almost been coming together. We nearly got it back through the Gut and in the first half of the reach, but lost the opportunity to overtake another crew in the second half by panicking slightly as we came close to them, allowing them to push back away from us under the Railway Bridge and into the finish. On the plus side, we coped quite well with the headwind and put in some good pushes out of the corners.

The fact that we were only 9s behind the winners of this category (Emma) with a fairly dismal row, however, is really quite encouraging.

Event: Cambridge Winter Head 2006 - Student Beginner VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

I bank partied the girls for their first chance to prove themselves on the water, after the heady heights of Queens' Ergs success. With some awesome lines from Sarah and tidy, powerful rowing from the crew, they closed on Magdalene (men!) ahead for the whole race. A good result (beaten only by Selwyn in the college stakes), and there's certainly a lot more to come from this crew.

Event: Michell Cup 2007 - College Boat Clubs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well, I feel as Captain I really ought to enter a race report for this one.

As we lined up for the start it was clear that Jesus had a good squad and it would be a race to the line for the Michell Cup won so narrowly last year. Their dominance in small boats events has always been their strength and we knew we would need a great showing in the Bumps to thwart a Jesus victory.

The events kicked off with the University Fours, FaT winning the Women's A division with some ease and Jesus drawing with Downing in the final of the Light IV division. A decision by CUCBC to change the allocation of points and award 12 for a dead heat left us on level terms with Jesus.

Next, the Clare Novice Regatta provided some good racing as well as a further chance for points, and the Men's First Novices took home the plate and 12 more points for the club. Luckily Jesus did not win anything.

However, disaster struck in the Fairbairns when wins by both Jesus' M1 and W1 left them topping the tables just ahead of us - 24 points to JCBC, 0 to FaT. Things were not looking good.

The only event in the Lent term to earn Michell Cup points was the Bumps. Blades from all of the top four crews left us in a good position, but unfortunately we were brought down by Jesus' strategic failure to qualify an M5 for the Lents. This meants that while our scores were divided by 8, theirs were only divided by 7 - a considerable advantage. The lower boats made a good showing but unfortunately there were no points available for M5's successful defence of the 5th VIII Headship. Jesus were now well in the lead and we started to lose heart.

Not to be beaten though, we resolved to enter many many crews in the Small Boats Regatta and drown Jesus by sheer weight of numbers (if not backsplash, or accidental collision). This was moderately successful and we won several events: Helen Ralston in the Delafield Trophy (WC1x), Bryn Garrod and Dan Jane in the Men's Foster Fairbairn Pairs, Helen Ralston and Fran Rawlins in the Women's Foster Fairbairn Pairs, and finally Erica Thompson and Lilie Weaver in the Women's Magdalene Silver Pairs. The last event was tied with Hopper and Couch of Jesus. Final Small Boats count: 54 to Jesus, 48 to FaT.

So, Jesus were a good way ahead coming into the final straight: the Mays. However, we went off hard and with a string of bumps (and an overbump!) on the first day it looked like the Michell Cup might almost be within our grasp. Sadly, Jesus took a counter-push (spurred on by the Women's May Headship) and despite our gains stayed just ahead to win by a canvas, the two leaders many lengths ahead of the nearest opposition.

Interestingly, the total number of points of the winners was considerably larger than in the previous year, not solely due to the "bonus" points for ties. JCBC and First and Third have certainly raised the bar with another successful year for both clubs. Being competitive in the Michell Cup standings is a great indication of a club's quality, especially for ones with boats this highly-placed already. So congratulations to JCBC and their captains on a worthy win, and congratulations also to all those who have raced so successfully for First and Third this year. It's been another good one!

Event: Women's Head of the River Race 2007 - Senior3 VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Really not bad at all - certainly not our best rowing ever, but I think the hard training we have done this year really showed through in the longer race. Overtaking always helps, too! Top college crew by some way (although a slightly disapppointing turnout, and some crews noticeably off-pace even from two weeks ago). And of course, fantastic to beat Blondie, even if only by a second. Very satisfying. A pity we couldn't have done the race in our full Lents crew, but thanks to Emily for being an excellent sub and well done Corinne for the medals at BUSA judo!

Event: Newnham Short Course 2007 - Lower VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Beat two first eights (Churchill, Clare Hall) and two second eights (Clare, Peterhouse) - good work!

Event: Robinson Head 2007 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

A good race. Many things to improve, but committed and reasonably neat, barring the odd wobble.

Also nice to put 17 seconds between us and Emma, though it's a shame the other main competition this term chose not to enter.

Lilie, what on earth do we want donkeys for? They would bring the crew average weight down :o/

Event: Robinson Head 2007 - Lower VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done girls. Looking forward to more of the same!

Event: Lent Bumps Getting-on Race 2007 -
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

I am so proud of you, girls :o) You've worked so hard for this, you really deserve it! First EVER FaT W3 in the Lents!!

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

Going into this race it looked like being make-or-break for us. Emma were evidently a better crew than Caius and likely to bump out at some stage, so it was a question of catching them before they caught the crew ahead. If we hadn't made this bump, it would have used our get-out-of-jail-free card (the extra day) very early on, putting us under some pressure.

We nailed the first few strokes and shot off the blocks, closing to a length almost before Iain could raise the whistle to his mouth. An awesome start which broke Emma; we continued to walk through them and they conceded just out of Grassy.

I think after this race I knew we would make the Headship. With three days to take two places and a confident and buoyant crew, we had the best chance possible.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Thursday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Further crew illness worries. Amelia had been unwell at the weekend, Lynsey on Tuesday. Today, Jane turned up to our morning paddle looking distinctly pale and feeling queasy, and was sent home to bed. By lunchtime she had been throwing up and felt worse, so Jo was drafted in from the second eight to sub.

The row down was decent and Jo fitted straight back in to W1 in the 4 seat. Chesterton was a rather depressing place to marshal, as we attempted not to watch a Robinson rower chucking up his (seemingly very large) lunch into the river after rowing over. The crew plague had spread further than we realised - Catherine was sick at Chesterton, but did her best to hide it from the rest of the crew (only myself and Amelia realised).

Given all this, it's unsurprising that our start was not the best we have done. We took longer than usual to settle into the race, with some wobbles in the gut. Coming into Plough Reach, we found our rhythm and suddenly, from calls of "on station", we were somehow magically at a quarter-length coming into the corner. Magnificent cornering gave us a considerably tighter line as Caius swung out wide to avoid (postpone) the bump. Sticking to his guns, Magnus steered us down the racing line on the Reach, and we had over half a length of overlap without concession before we finally moved across to take them down.

As we pulled in to the bank, Jesus bumped Emma right next us. They are a good crew looking to blade in parallel with us - hope we can continue sending crews down to them.

Crew pasta cancelled in an attempt to avoid further spread of the vomiting bug.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Friday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Jane and Catherine back on form, if not at full strength. Good to have a full crew back.

This is what we'd been waiting for all term. The Headship ours to take; we wanted to take it in style. Another good start and we gained a lot of ground on the corners. Clare tried to avoid the bump in the same way as Caius, by steering out of the racing line. We stuck to it and again made considerable overlap before Clare conceded the Headship outside the Plough. Much jubilation.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

We anticipated that Clare, behind, would go off hard in a last-ditch effort to reclaim the Headship before being bumped by Jesus. So it happened; they made some ground off the start and closed to around a length before fading into the distance.

As we pushed out of Ditton, to huge noise from the banks, it became clear that Clare were not going to appear behind us. The row over as Head would not be pressured at all. A beautiful day and we took the opportunity of clear water to do another great race piece almost to the line, marred only by a small incident with a log causing Julia to lose her blade completely, leaving it floating in the water behind us. Catherine at 7 stroked us across the line.

Event: Lent Bumps 2007 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

As part of the enormous contingent waiting at the Pike and Eel, I listened in on Neil's portable radio. The commentary was almost indecipherable, but we heard "First and Third... storming start" followed some tense minutes later by "First and Third pulling away". The boys came into view to huge cheers from the bank and we could see immediately that they had taken a couple of lengths from Jesus, rowing over comfortably.

It isn't always the fastest crew who end the week at the Head of the River, but today there is noone who can dispute it.

Event: Women's Head of the River Race 2007 - Elite VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Wow. As much faith as I have in our mighty W2, I admit I hadn't quite expected such a great result! Less than a minute behind W1, and beating many college and club first eights (including two of the top five finishers in the Lents) in the process. A really excellent result, which properly reflects the hard training you have all put in this term.

Event: Radegund Mile Head Race 2007 - College VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Not too bad. Should have held it together a bit better in the middle part, but it wasn't a disaster. Nice to round off training camp with a race and some free drinks!

Event: BUSA Regatta 2007 - Women's Junior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

We had drawn the most difficult looking heat of the WJ8 competition, so it was with some trepidation that we paddled up to the start line to meet our opposition. A pleasant surprise awaited us, however, when the marshal told us to line up against only one other crew! Four others in the heat had scratched and we were left facing only Oxford's A crew in the competition (they turned out to be Osiris, fresh from victory against Blondie the previous month).

Anyway, despite the difficult opposition the pressure was off a bit because we would go through to the next round automatically on finishing the race. We took the opportunity for a full dress rehearsal to calm our nerves, practising our lifts and pushes, and finally finishing about 3 or 4 lengths down.

Event: BUSA Regatta 2007 - Women's Junior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

We invested 10p in a copy of the results from the heats, and were pleased to see that on the basis of previous performances we should be able to secure a place in the final by rowing well. We were also pleased to see the Cambridge lwts record the fastest time of the heats by some way, setting them up for a good race later on.

Meanwhile, conditions on the lake had deteriorated. Rowing up to the start, we were faced by large waves both from the wind and from the launches' wash. The plan was to race for third place in the rep and the last place in the final. In the end, we found ourselves easily pulling away from two other boats and almost level with another, pushing for second place. They put in a big push coming out of halfway and gradually moved away from us. We stayed steady in the driving wind and concentrated on maintaining the pressure in the water, finishing well clear of the two last boats to book ourselves a place in the final.

Event: BUSA Regatta 2007 - Women's Junior VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Reaching the final was rather more than we had hoped for at the beginning of the day and a good result in itself, so when the organisers called a delay in racing due to the bad weather, we were almost inclined to call it a day and go home! However, having got that far there didn't seem much to be lost by waiting (apart from risking the wrath of the bus driver who had some drinking booked for the evening). Eventually we were allowed to boat and followed the CUW lwts up to the other end of the lake. We were under no illusions - we expected to be slowest crew in the final and were prepared to go out and row the race for second-last. The start was difficult due to the wind - several crews were blown around and Oxford Brookes took off at a very odd angle and ended up rowing behind us in our lane [to be continued...]

Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2007 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

From the bank this looked like a pretty solid and committed row. There were some wobbles in the first leg and a bit of panic crept in during the overtake on LMBC which threw the rhythm off slightly. However, the second leg looked a good deal more controlled, especially while overtaking Darwin, and it was great to see you start to sit up and walk away from them once you'd taken a few seats. Good racing.

The next fastest W2 crew were over a minute and a half behind :o)

Event: City Sprints 2007 - CRA Senior 4+
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Actually quite a nice row, surprisingly good for a scratch IV!

Event: City Sprints 2007 - CRA Senior 4+
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well, after a rather miserable afternoon we were quite keen to make up for it with some pots. Unfortunately, to top everything off, City had taken the unprecedented step of entering a pretty good crew in this event and they walked through us fairly easily. At least we didn't have to suffer the shame of losing to a worse crew!

Event: May Bumps 2007 - Thursday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well, the bumps chart says it all really. LMBC were bumped back by Downing in rather unexpected circumstances after what looked like an overhead crab parked them on the outside of First Post. We made it to a length off the overbump on Clare by the Railway Bridge, but ran out of river.

Event: University IVs 2007 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Yay! Well done girls! Keep it up :o)

Event: University IVs 2007 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done guys. Another solid win and the times look promising. Looking forward to watching your final tomorrow (assuming I can make it to Cambridge in time).

Event: Fairbairn Cup - IVs 2007 - Invitation IV's
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

The first half of the race was abysmal. Caius took several lengths from us before Chesterton and were looking worryingly close.

The presence of a boat behind and the threat of being overtaken spurred us on, however, and our rowing improved considerably in the second half. Caius remained a couple of lengths behind us (despite their over-enthusiastic bank party continuing to shout "you're gaining on them!") until their line around Ditton gave them another half.

So, perhaps not the best rowing we've ever done but an exciting race and a win in the Invitational category. With a practice outing beforehand I think we could have taken quite a bit off this time!

Thanks to JCBC for the loan of the boat and to Jon for much-needed moral support from the bank!

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

Quite a tidy row at a consistent r30 - perhaps too tidy, as we stayed within our comfort zone and didn't really attack the race as we might have done. Our strategic use of macons (see photos) and (shh!) practice outing beforehand sadly failed to give us the ~90secs gained by Friends of Zambia's zebra-speed-striped lycra.

That said, it was an enjoyable row (Fairbairns??) and a pleasure to come back and watch First and Third do their stuff. Well done all!

Event: Head of the Nene 2008 - Novice VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Hey girls, it was nice to see you all yesterday and even better to see these results! Well done! You've clearly got off to a good start this term; make the most of that. (PS I am VERY excited about Lents...!)

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2008 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO PLEASED YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE!!!!!!!!

I never won Pembroke Regatta in four years of trying (bitter, me??) and you girls have walked away with it, you are awesome and I am now really really REALLY looking forward to the Lents! Wonderful news! Well done!! :o) :o)

Event: Pembroke Regatta 2008 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Hah! That must feel good ;o)

Event: Lent Bumps 2008 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Been listening on CUR1350. Great start!

Event: Lent Bumps 2008 - Thursday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Good work girls. You have a lot of great results behind you to take into tomorrow's race. Halfway there now.

Event: Lent Bumps 2008 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

You deserve this so much. I was going to email you all separately, but then I thought, I want other people to know too. I want the boys, and the lower boats, and all the other crews on the river to read these reports, and realise just how much this Headship meant to First and Third W1.

You've come so far since I coached you last year in the second and third boats. It's great to see that despite the problems you've had, you've all taken the self-belief that W2 and W3 had last year, and brought that into W1. It hasn't been an easy year, but you guys stuck it out and all that hard work has paid off now.

Crew spirit brings so much to a boat. This is an achievement you will never forget. I'm looking forward to see what you can do in the Mays (you only need one overbump and three bumps to get that Headship)!

PS You're the first ever FaT crew (men or women, since the merger) to retain a Headship for a second year! For 40 minutes you were the only ones. It's great to see the women getting somewhere first ;o)

Event: Lent Bumps 2008 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well, the second women's eight has always been the place to be! I'm sure you're disappointed not to get blades, but that's the way Bumps goes in the lower divisions - you can't help it if there are some "interesting" crews lining up around you. I just wanted to say that when I was in the second women's Lent eight in 2004, we got put on at the Foot (/Arse, if you like) of the River, and I'm pretty damn impressed by how close this boat is to being in the second division just 4 years later. Come back and do some damage in the Mays!

Event: Peterborough Summer Sprint 2008 - Senior2 2-
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

I did enquire afterwards and it turns out they geared the blades really hard for the tailwind and then took another pair of clams off at the start. We don't really do sprint racing at IC ;o)

Nice to see you all at the weekend though; good luck for the new season.

Event: Boston Marathon 2008 - MxE4x
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

The BPBC Elite Mixed Quad had been mooted some months beforehand but failed to find a convenient regatta at which to race, so we were left with the Boston Marathon as our first and only outing as a crew. However, with Jon's unbeaten record in this event we were confident and set off well within our target pace. Due to Emily's excellent steering, a good lock traverse, decent rhythm and only a few minor setbacks, we reached half way on track for a 3:30 finish and moving slowly but surely away from the pack of men's quads who had closed on us in the first part of the race. At this point I was starting to feel pretty good, as we had settled into a better rhythm after the lock and my hamstrings were complaining less than before. Tom, on the other hand, was running out of fuel having started feeling sick post-lock and not being able to eat anything. He manfully pushed through the hypoglycaemia and finished "presenting limply"! Luckily a speedy recovery was made.

We knocked 16 minutes off the course record for Elite Mixed 4x and pleasingly also beat the new holders of the Men's S1 4x course record by 15 seconds!

[For reference, the rate was 24 to the lock, 26 for about 6k following the lock, then 24/25 until about 10k to go, at which point we went up to 28/29 for a couple of k and back down again to 25 after we realised this posed difficulties for steering and food retention.]

Event: University IVs 2008 - 1st division
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Go girls!! Good luck for the next ones :o)

Event: Lent Bumps 2009 - Friday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Woohooo! Go girls!! Good luck for tomorrow.

Event: Lent Bumps 2009 - Saturday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done FaT W1. Looking at the last couple of years, there seems to be a history of underestimating this crew. I don't know whether that's a reflection of your own lack of confidence or just misjudgment by everyone else, but in either case I think you have proved a point this week. It takes a lot of guts to turn around and fight after going down two in the first two days, especially from the Headship, and all the more so when many of you have so little racing experience. You might not realise it, especially the freshers among you, but there are a lot of us bufties out there (in the Real World!) watching the progress of First and Third up and down the bumps charts. You've done us proud this week. Well rowed.

Event: Women's Head of the River Race 2009 - Novice VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Nice one girls! Gutted for you about that 0.7 seconds.

Event: Head of the River Race 2009 - Senior3 VIIIs
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Nice one, well done!!

Event: Metropolitan Regatta 2009 - IM3 4+
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done guys - good luck for Henley!

Event: Cambridge Small Boats Head 2009 - Novice 1x
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

Well done! Hope you are planning to come down to the Tideway for scullers' head (Nov 28 - doesn't clash with the Fairbairns this year).

Event: Lent Bumps 2010 - Wednesday
Posted as: Erica
Event Link

FaT W1 - Back Where We Belong :oD Well done!!
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