The Club's Results

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! (Erica)