The Club's Results

The nightmare conditions made things difficult on the start; after 10 minutes of attempts, the start marshall had to just start it with the boats at wierd angles - a fair call, but unfortunate given Delini had just asked bow and three to straighten it up.

Having lost between a half and one length in the ensuing confusion, the guys then held their position for a large part of the reach, despite 2's blade popping out (and calmy sorted!), and a couple of small crabs en-route.

Having made little impression on CCAT's lead, approaching the railway bridge they needed to dig deep; a storming run into and under it saw them move up to 1/4 length ahead... but it was too near the ragged edge and what looked like a v. promising position was struck by one disaster too many.

A disappointingly early exit, but the crew hope to make up for it on Thursday. (Martin)

They were dropped a length on the start because they didn't hear the marshal's start signal over the howling wind. They rowed through CCAT by the railway bridge, only to catch a crab and come to an abrupt halt on the finish straight. (Dubya)

The girls won by a significant margin even though it was a row none of them were especially pleased with. I think the nerves and tension probably showed themselves, but then so did the ability and determination, and Fitz never really stood a chance. (jo)

Our 1st girls beasted it off the start, pulling ahead convincingly from the beginning. Despite 2 impressive over-head crabs (also impressively recovered) we just extended the lead and crossed the finish pretty comfortably. A very good row with slightly high rating but generally powerful and certainly effective! (Danae)

This was a close race, and a satisfying one. Jesus were probably one of the best crews in the competition, and the strong cross wind made it very hard work. The FaT girls always had the upper hand though, and while it was closely fought in the early stages, the Jesus bank-party's cry of 'they're dying!' as they passed under the railway bridge was clearly wishful thinking. (jo)

A closer race, Jesus stayed with us until about half way down the reach despite a solid start from our girls. Sally's yelling 'Come on girls, Jesus are dying!' seemed to do the trick and Jesus obligingly, died. We steamed ahead and although Jesus chased us all the way down the reach and even closed down slightly at one point (and despite an amazing bouncing crab which flew out of the water so far we got it straight back!), we stayed comfortably a full length up at all times, and finished about a length and a half ahead. A good row - pretty calm, controlled and generally business-like. Nice. (Danae)

It was clear for the duration of this race that our girls were simply not going to let themselves be beaten by Maggie. They were tired and cold, but gritted their teeth and pushed off them all the way from start to finish. Maybe not the prettiest of races, but man was it good! (jo)

A convincing race from the start - we pulled ahead and despite somewhat dubious timing we stayed comfortably ahead throughout. Not our best race, but who gives a damn, we beat the Maggie scum!! No competition really. We are simply better, oh yes. Ra ra 1st and 3rd. (Danae)

Awful luck, a real shame, this one. A bit of a dodgy line-up at the start (at Morleys Holt to race the 'wrong' way down the reach) didn't do us any favours, then an unfortunately timed crab and a strong cross-wind blew us into the bank just before the bridge. The girls kept it together really well though and pushed off ultra-efficiently. Despite the length lead we'd had by that point Emma got their chance to get away from us and went on under the bridge. The girls gave them a brave and very impressive chase down the reach, immediately bearing down 2 lengths on them, but their lead was too great. Despite an amazingly gritty and skillful row with Liz setting an awesome rhythm and the girls backing it up with some beautiful rowing, we could only get the gap down to about a length before Emma crossed the line. Their captain did apologise to us, and their bank party looked frankly disbelieving - so the crew rowed home with their heads held high and singing at the tops of their voices. In the dark. Onwards and upwards to Fairbairns, where we will thrash Emma, and our 3rd ladies will beat Tit Hall B. Overall a very pleasing day, and we go away not with a cup, but with a mission! (Danae)

A race with some promisingly good rowing as a crew led to a first round victory over Caius A. After we gained 3/4 length off them in the first minute they pulled back past us. We were able to row away going under the railway bridge to win quite comfortably in the end. (Little Jenners)

An easy win here, pulling away from Corpus all the way down the course to win by many lengths. The rowing was not quite as good as the first round, but with more effort and an effective push after halfway. (Little Jenners)

*note. The only other 2nd novice VIII in the Cup was knocked out in this round. (Dubya)

A slightly rushed row down to the start following the marshall having to get us from the pub was not ideal preparation for this race. Clare obviously had a much stronger crew than ours which meant they took a length away from us off the start. They slowly took out another two lengths before our pushes began to effectively pull them back. We gained all the way to the finish but never really managed to be in contention.
Overall a very satisfying day following a week of great improvement by the whole crew. Bring on Fairbairns! (Little Jenners)

A slightly frantic start in which Sidney looked strong soon gave way to long, powerful strokes from the team and the other boat began to recede into the distance. A long initial push gave 1st & 3rd a comfortable lead and a gradual wind down "Down four... down two... down two" at around half distance led to a very gently rowed cruise to victory, to the accompaniment of the "Hi ho" song and much merriment all round. (Daniel)

Our girls looked professional and unphased from the start, despite Lilie going a worrying shade of blue as Newnham faffed about trying to line up for about 20 minutes. The 2nds proved to be made of stronger stuff though and rowed a convincing and powerful race, bringing the rating down about 12 by the end, as we paddled across the finish line over 20 lengths ahead. The girls were disapointed to have had no real competition in either round - but onto tomorrow where they will be put to the test.....an excellent day of superb rowing - keep it up! (Danae)

This was a difficult one as the conditions on the reach were shocking. The first start was great, Daniel holding a brilliant line despite their proximity to the bank, and the crew pulling away smartly from 'Binson. Unfortunately Binsons start drove them straight into us, and a restart was ordered. The crew were taken somewhat by suprise by the second start, but edged away despite not rowing their usual calm best. By the railway bridge Binson looked like they might take it back, but a determined push for the finish and a Binson crab secured us the win. (jo)

Very good race, really - after a VERY dodgy start in which Lilie was backing up to straighten the boat, the cox's (Daniel's) hand was up and he was calling to the marshals, and the yellow vest dude called the start anyway... The team soon settled down after a panicked flurry and produced some top-notch rowing.

New Hall had an intimate encounter with the bank and so the last 100m of the race was taken on stern four, with stern pair giving us the final push before we easied over the line (much to the lack of amusement of the marshals).

It was unfortunate that the race wasn't as gripping as the one before or after, but New Hall had some bad luck at the start and deserve congratulations for making it through as a C team. (Daniel)

There isn't much to say. The girls rowed well, and were able to row over half the course at sub race speed as New Hall C (who deserve credit for getting into the semi's) never really got away from the bank. They were able to cross the line comfortably with no-one rowing... (jo)

A very convincing row, against a very good Clare crew. The crew combined the calmness of the semi final with the grit of the quarter, and refused to let Clare take back the length that they had taken over the course of the reach. This win was well deserved and well earnt. Well done! (jo)

We had a slightly slower start than Downing, but came back fast, quickly getting about a quarter of a length up. Using the inside-line advantage coming round the railway bridge, we managed to get clear water between us and Downing - they pushed hard for the finish for a very good first round win. Overall, it was a very good row, fingers crossed for round 2. (Richard)

After a slightly shaky start with CCAT going nearly a length up, the 3rd novices came back at them from about half way down the reach. Gradually, their stern went from level with our bowman to level with our 6 man. We had the advantage going underneath the railway bridge and once through the bridge we managed to get ahead by about 6 feet. CCAT pushed hard for the finish, and we tried to respond, but unfortunately, this resulted in some anti-phase rowing, allowing CCAT to win by the smallest of margins. (Richard)

A solid start gave us an early advantage of about 10 feet, and despite a few bad strokes things were going pretty well. Unfortunately bowside all got stuck in at the finish somewhere about halfway down the reach, causing us to crash into the towpath. We gained on them considerably up to the railway bridge, but it fell apart slightly towards the finish. Pretty encouraging overall, and we'll undoubtedly beat them in Fairbairns. (TomC)

A good row in very difficult circumstances - thanks must go to Agnes who subbed in despite never having rowed with the crew before, and having done no high rating work in an VIII - a daunting experience no doubt!! The girls coped well with a new boat and I think they all know that they have the potential to whup Tit Hall B's arse in Fairbairns, and will be going out to prove this. This wasn't a defeat, it was unfortunate but doesn't reflect their ability in the slightest. We're still really proud of them and our high hopes and expectations haven't altered - bring on Fairbairns! (Danae)