The Club's Results

My first race steering a boat off a stakeboat.
Start was ok, although we probably could have settled two pips lower. Our course wasn't dead straight, but luckily neither was the opposition's and thus we managed to meander down the course without crossing the buoys or touching the wall quicker than the Milton Keynes pair.
Out of the eight oarsmen in the semi-finals, only one was not a current Cambridge student... (Simon)

Some dodgy steering from both crews resulted in the Simons scraping the bank after the other pair had moved into their lane. (JPD)

A really nice start saw us take clear water off Wolfson/Darwin despite starting behind them on the stagger. This was followed by a much better settle into a very nice rythm. However, we were taking a fairly tight line along the Boathouse station wall, which became a bit too tight after about 250m. We pushed off, regrouped, and still led as we came across the weir. However (and in my defence, so many crews have done the same), I forgot that the wall after the weir sticks out 4 feet more than before and only shouts from the bank averted the collision.
By now, Wolfson/Darwin had taken the lead, but had crossed into our lane to do so. As we took it off again, I distinctly heard someone shout "disqualification", and given this and the presence of Darwin/Wolfson two lengths in front in front of us, we paddled to the line to appeal. Annoyingly, the umpires said we weren't impeeded and so the result stood.
On returning to the trailer we noted that the rudder had become set off-straight, explaining the constant drift to bowside.
Despite this result, a very enjoyable couple of races which went surprisingly well. Two lessons:
(a) Always check your rudder strings before each race, not just at the start of the day;
(b) Don't stop rowing flat out until you either cross the finish line or bump the crew that have moved into your lane. (Simon)