The Club's Results

Very steady start rowing well within ourselves - I kind of miss Pembroke Regatta and going for 60 though. Bit splashy but perhaps tomorrow we won't be staring at the chasing crew; the starts are damn close though, even after eight years. Heard some whistles in the gut but I assume they were for someone else. Took Grassy wider than usual (which worried me at first but then remembered Emma had warned us the line was different) before a comfortable push down the plough to finish it.

The rowing behind us was much more interesting... although obviously I was concentrating on the back of Bryn's head. However, have been told that Jesus really went for it and their technique fell to pieces on the reach, just as Caius put in a good push. Luckily LMBC showed their form and managed to save Jesus by literally seconds: I would guess the latter are really going to have to go for the long race if they want to hold onto second, as that puts LMBC three lengths up today.

Just after the railway bridge we passed a small fishing boat heading downstream... oh no wait, heading directly for Jesus. I didn't realise they'd crashed, but could hear Downing celebrate their 'overbump' later. Is their cox really that inexperienced?! I guess they did make it round Grassy, which is not a corner I can claim a clean sheet with.

More importantly, why was the fishing boat allowed through? Why weren't racing crews warned? Why wasn't the fisherman warned? And, above all, did the idiot get thrown in by the Jesus boatman? (Dan)

No worries. First few strokes were a bit messy, but we made it the corner at 42 and settled at a comfortable 36 out of grassy. We put in an effective push at the Plough which more or less ended the race. It was pretty close between Jesus, Caius and LMBC, with the latter bumping around the railings. We wound down gradually, settling at 30 by the railway bridge.

As an unexpectedly twist, some river pirates appeared at Morley's holt and tried to rob Jesus. The boys in black and red took evasive manoevures and managed to escape with their wallets, but only after some intercourse with the bank. Downing had a clear run and "overbumped" them, but the umpires bizarrely awarded a technical rowover.

We continued unperturbed, crossing the line 12 minutes and 15 seconds after the first shot was heard. (Tom C)

Ah, so the fisherman from yesterday really was clinically retarded from the gossip. Hope he restricts himself to the local chippie from now on, and doesn't have a driving license.

Row today was knackering - knew we had to kill ourselves or Ming wouldn't let us off the weights session (Seriously, have we earned it? Are you not entertained?!) Start pretty solid, corners much better than yesterday. Felt surprisingly knackered just before Grassy, but it was just the 'fake pain' I warn my novices about. Luckily I'd actually done some ergs this term and so - unlike my poor novices - the fake pain disappeared just in time for a gorgeous crowd pleaser down Plough Reach.

Bit of a tail wind, and we possibly even found a few extra pips before Ditton. Corner good again, although the lifts in the reach were a little saggy and we were only five or so lengths up on Jesus when they were bumped out (long race guys! I warned you... Best of luck tomorrow though). Thought I was going to blow just before the Railway Bridge, but a big push from middle four meant I couldn't really let them have all the glory and over committed once again to an enthusiastic legs 10.

Lots of shouting and support from our ever present and much appreciated bank parties meant we couldn't take the foot off the gas for a second, keeping the rate high and instead hanging around at the catch for a breather. Plenty of little things to change for more speed if necessary tomorrow: fingers crossed for more sickly-but-not-too-sickly looking faces. (Dan)

Conditions were good so we did a time trial. Start was a bit cleaner than yesterday, and the row through the corners pretty similar. But we never found a decent rhythm on the reach, and spacked along at 35 with our faces becoming ever droopier. The wind for the finish was more effective, but too little too late.

Won't be publishing the score just now, but suffice to say it's a useful marker and we identified some weaknesses to work on in the run-up to tideway. (Tom C)

Our intelligence was that LMBC were going to blast it off the start. They weren't as sharp as Jesus and never got within distance, but were only about two lengths off at the Plough. We hadn't bothered clamming because the wind didn't seem too bad on the paddle up. In the event it strengthened considerably, indeed the charts say it was worse than for any Lent race in the last 10 years. Struggling with bladework and gearing, we plodded up the reach at 32, eventually extending the margin to 3 lengths. An impromptu wind for the finish saw us extend this to 5 lengths, or 18 seconds. The clock stopped at 8:57, and we went harder than on Wednesday. Big. (Tom C)

The neutral observer (or indeed Richard Bullock) might have called those early margins closer than Tom and might also notice that, although 18s equates to five lengths, only four of those were clear water. However, as Chris was keen to point out, if Maggie were inside station on the reach it was 'only ever spatially' and not temporally; unfortunately, in bumps, it's spatially that matters.

[Edit: our timing team was a step ahead of me: the 18s was stern to bow so it was five lengths clear water.] (BJ)

Cycling over from the maths dept was miserable - cold and windy, with spits of icy rain. My body was feeling a bit achy from the piece the day before and I was very relieved to see Jesus had a full crew complement again. Fingers crossed they'd bump LMBC back and we would be spared having to attempt to row in the awful headwind.

Certainly Jesus' practice start outside the plough was much crisper than the previous days, and I felt quite happy to have secured myself such a good view of the bumps. The first three strokes of our practice start were a little messy, but we held it together and hit a comfortably high rate before striding down to something sustainable. Then Bryn's footplate broke.

We limped around the corners in sixes, desperate for Iain's loving hands to make it better. Hats off to the spectators on Grassy who not only braved the weather but also dutifully laughed as I quipped 'it was better all eight'. The marshals kindly delayed the four minute gun so we had plenty of time to deal with kit, etc. today.

Started to rain on the minute gun, poor start (airstroke-tastic!), plough reach solid if technically inept, much to my disappointment Jesus didn't gain on LMBC (good rowing from Maggie), wind horrendous on the reach. The boat literally stopped and I was tempted to suggest we pull in and clam up, but LMBC were too close. Maybe tomorrow we'll try and get the blades into the water in a headwind - it's crazy, but it just might work. (Dan)

After a fairly rollercoaster start to the term, as my likelihood of getting in M1 varied from 10% to 80% on a daily basis, this was a great way to finish my first Bumps. I first started to realise this crew really knew how to do what was necessary to get the result they wanted at Pembroke regatta; 2 seats down to Fitz 700m in, I was starting to think "this isn't meant to be happening"; but then we came under the railway bridge, we stepped on it, and 15 strokes later we were a length up and sitting happy. Job done.
That kind of row gave me a lot more confidence that we were going to be fine; otherwise my nerves might have been a bit more of a problem, with several recent crabs and my inability to get the hang of this "racing round corners" thing constantly at the back of my mind. Now onwards to the summer, where I feel Fitz maybe threatening once more... at least I'm prepared for them!

Bow: Height 5'5", Weight 10st 10, Only previous bumps finish: (vaguely illegal) bump on Wolfson in M2 the day before. (Peter)

A fairly average row. There was less wind and we used clams, so it felt better. As per Thursday we never found a good rhythm on the reach, but did enough to keep the headship safe. LMBC did better than yesterday and finished about 3 lengths away from us. Need to improve a lot if we're to make any impression in London.

Stroke: Height - 6'1"; weight - 13st (after BA dinner); finish position last Lents - Head of the River; highest boat before Mich 2007 - Henley VIII (Tom C)

Bit nervous today - if we screwed up this time, there wouldn't be an opportunity to fix it. The paddle down was good, and the practice start very together. Downing were looking strong, and were obviously keen for LMBC. It was quite friendly down at the start, and we had a nice bit of banter with the Maggie boys while waiting for Queen's to fix their rudder strings.

Start and gut were good, with none of the nervous wobbles that might be expected under pressure. The video of us going round grassy really shows how much work Ming has done on our catches, and we quickly pushed away from the crews behind. The 'Plough Reach Burn' was even more successful than usual, and I think we had almost three lengths clear water by Ditton.

The reach was okay, but not up to standard. We failed to continue our push away from LMBC who were rowing well, not giving anything to Downing. The support was deafening and I doubt I could have slacked off even if I'd wanted to: not finding a rhythm in the second half is what is holding us back at this point, not a lack of effort.

Thanks to everyone who came down to watch, and best of luck to those training for HORR.

Technical pairs, anyone? (Dan)

Please could Peter include his height for posterity? People will probably think it's a joke. (Phil)

Been listening on CUR1350. Great start! (Erica)

I've been trying to listen to the radio but it keeps crashing so had to resort to refreshing the website every few seconds.

WELL DONE GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ra Ra First and Third! (Liz)

Not our best row ever, but job more than done. Tomorrow we will hopefully be a good deal less nervous and row as pretty as we know we can! (Ulrike)

By the Mays, FaT should be running its own intercontinental service on +447797800300. You read it here first! (BJ)

Awesome! And if that's not even your best yet, the other crews must be shaking in their shoes! (I should add a thanks to Erica for her intercontinental text update service). (Jane)

Spectating isn't usually fun when the opposition doesn't even put up a decent fight. But this was very satisfying.

Ra Ra (Dami)

Fantastic start!!! (Pia)

We made Iain and Seb smile... or was it just a facial twitch?! :) Bit nervous on the start, but turned into a good solid row. More of the same tomorrow please. (And on a personal note I went up 52 places today...that's got to do wonders for my Bumps average!) (Charley)

Well done!!! Go make Emma cry tomorrow!!!!!! (Pia)

Well done girls! It was looking neat from the meadow side - good luck for tomorrow! (Mark)

Well done again! All guns firing for tomorrow then... (Jane)

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

Yes!! Listened on CUR. Now go finish the job tomorrow! (Charles)

YES!!!

More of the same tomorrow, please. Will be watching. Cannot wait to see you! (Pia)

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) (Erica)

Rather a lot of photos for this epic race. Basically it's all of them! I thought it would help the crew and spectators relive every moment (if anyone wants to!). Well done guys, really stunning result. I hope that the record on this website stands for at least 40 years for you to show your grand-children!! (Martin P)

Looking at your card next to my computer I think it is time for me to thank you as well. You have made this term definitely worth it for me not only because I could have some great food with you at crew pasta ( oh..Juljiana's cake), I also had great fun and learnt a lot from Natasha, but mostly because you have taught me a very important lesson - determination and dedication allow you to get ANYTHING you want, even if it seems almost impossible at first sight.
Girls, thank you for the inspiration and you should be incredibly proud of yourselves- you are by far the best women's crew on the Cam!! (Sonya)

Woke up this morning and... yep, still head of the river!

When I joined up, nooooobody thought we would do it, least of all the girls! I always knew that we could, but that it would take a lot of work, but now that we did it, I still can't quite believe it. I'm not really sure how that medal got on my desk...

And now, a cheesy interlude:

Charley: You've always got a cheerful attitude and a big smile for everyone, but you can snap into serious rower mode in no time at all, and as stroke you make sure the others do too. You'll try anything for the coach and give it your all, despite whatever hard work came before, and lead the team into ANOTHER 8 min. bumps piece with perfect fortitude.
Tera: You bring some serious raw power to the boat, stroke after stroke, and your total determination shuts out pain and loss of sight and sound. When you slam in the finish, I feel it! Your commitment to the boat is an inspiration; always the first to offer to sneak out of a commitment or jump out of bed at 5.00 am.
Julia: You are our real Cinderella story, from novice to headship in two terms flat! The team is lucky to have snapped up you're natural talent and strength, and the world of rowing is all yours if you want it.
Harriet: You handle all the organizing and management so well you make it look effortless, I can't imagine how you do it, dealing with the dramas with real style, and still show up with a leadership attitude and the will to row strong day after day after day. You've led a scratch crew to headship!
Aline: Wow are we lucky to have you this year; you taught yourself English rowing style (frankly I still think American style is more effective but hey) with no complaints and no excuses, just determination to make sure that all you're power gets into the water with the rest of the girls. When I glance down the rows of oars making sure no one is slipping into their bad habits, I always have confidence in your blade and your stroke.
Ulrike: You alone, I think, were the most determined and the most sure that we could do it, and your faith was contagious. Your strength is unbelievable, through and around all the work you do outside of rowing, and you really set an example for making each stroke stronger and stronger and faster and faster than the last. You are right, rowing is fun, A LOT of fun when we get it right, and I hope you had as much fun in Lent Bumps as celebrating it!
Hanna: You care so much about this boat and the boat cares so much about you. You always took the good and the bad, and set an example for the boat in confronting the bad and fixing it. You knew when we could do better, and you made sure it happened! You're soft-spoken, sweet smiles are really misleading compared to the rowing animal you can become! Keep that smile for a long time now, because every hard outing and every rough stroke was sooo so worth it.
Julijana: Best for last :) You are way to hard on yourself, looking back, I mean look what you did! You are hard as nails, through and through, with the strength, power, and will to train to keep up and surpass rowers twice your size. You always knew that there was more to give and you gave it, every stroke. I think you deserve this more than any one of us.

Also, a very very very special thank you to Ian who is a psychological master and somehow kept the girls calm on the banks before their big races. I think in a real way they did it for you. Your face after the Pembroke victory was one I will never forget and made it all worth wild even if we hadn't won headship.

Whew! Well girls, they were stronger, bigger, with better erg scores, and they gave us a real fight to the death, but you battled through with blood sweat and tears (literally), and brought heart and soul to the boat, even when the rowing wasn't very pretty, it was still sexy as hell! You are an unbelievably class act!

Cox: 5'2'' and a bit (slightly bigger than bow), 7.5 stn., couldn't cox the Cam without banging into the bank until about a month ago, complete novice to bumps races but being in front helped! (Natasha)

I'm still grinning for you! It was nervewracking chasing you down the towpath, but the result was fantastic. You guys have worked so hard for this, you really deserve it. Make sure you gloat for all its worth! (Jane)

The toughest race I ever had. It felt like dying instantly when we rowed past the kink, and I remember thinking 'sh**, another 3 mins to go'. I have no idea how I managed to keep moving and putting power down until we finally (ages later, it seemed) passed the finish line. And I will never understand how the distance between the Railway Bridge and Peter's Posts can extend so much that it ends up being longer than all the way down from the start to there (somehow it did though).

Back in Michaelmas Term, when I thought of defending the headship all I felt was naked fear, and I was sure this would end up in total embarressment. Nobody believed we could do this, including ourselves. 5 months later, finding ourselves reffered to as 'legends', I still feel like living in a totally irrealistic dream! I keep waking up at nighttime, turning on the light to have a quick glance at my headship medal, just to confirm it is there and things really happened!

We worked hard to achieve this, and we paid with sweat and blood (most oar handles had stains after the race) for this victory. I personally was so knackered that I couldn't even open my water bottle anymore, and Iain had to heave me out of the boat. I hope I never have to go thus far beyond my physical limits again, but at the same time it was totally worth it!

We did it! (Still can't quite believe it.) WE REALLY DID IT!!!

We wrote history and made FaT the first club ever to retain a double headship!

Ra Ra First and Third!!!

3: Height - 5'6''; weight - 9.6 st; age - 33; highest boat before Mich 2007 - W2. (Ulrike)

Wow what a day! I woke up this morning, a day after, and the first thought that came up to my mind was, damn I am late for our morning paddle! But then it dawned that there is no morning paddle today. We did it! We retained the headship!

We started Mich term as a crew who was miles away from staying head. None of us had rowed in W1, none had a 2k sub 8 min. The numerous ergs, circuits, and not to mention crazy long outings nearly every day, were all worth it! Race by race we were climbing up, from being 5 places down the top (Fairbairn's), to being 1s slower (Winter Head-to-Head), to being 5 seconds faster (Head of the Nene), and finally to being winners (Pembroke Regatta), when we finally realized that we can do this. It was certainly not easy. Rowing to the start every day was a huge mental challenge. We had amazing four calm starts (we had trained our bodies with all those practice starts this term), beautiful strides, and good powerful rowing (despite the wind) to push off any crew behind us. We really wanted this, we had bigger hearts and more determination than anyone else. We rowed over head four times as a crew, and trusted each other completely that everyone will give their best. And we did it! We are FaT W1! I am proud to have rowed with you girls and to have fought hard for this headship.

Many thanks to Iain, Seb, Neil, Tom, Peter Summers and everyone else who helped us become this crew and who believed in us.

Bow: Height - 5'2" (smaller than our cox!!!); weight - 8.1 st; finish position last Lents - 5th W3 division; highest boat before Mich 2007 - W2.

*Footnote: Trained for 7 weeks and rowed over head with a rib stress fracture, which I am finally going to give a rest (or at least until I get into a boat or do an erg). (Julijana)

This is the best thing ever! ever ever! you are legends, I'm so very pleased for you! (Danielle)

Apparently word on the bank was that you had been down to London in the morning, done WeHORR and had just returned for Bumps. (S.C. Mertes)

Awe inspiring! It was thrilling to run alongside for the final segment. I'm really really happy for you all! (Mark)

We did it :) Our hardest race of the week, but we do like to make it exciting for our supporters... When it came down to it we were the stronger, fitter, mentally tougher crew - all those ergs, circuits and early mornings were totally worth it. We were completely unrecognisable from the fairly random selection of girls who rocked up to the boat house in Mich term: 5 from W2, 1 from W3, a couple of funny foreigners and someone who'd never been in a boat before! Thankyou to everyone who believed in us and helped us make history by giving us their time and experience (and sanity!), but thankyou mainly to the other 8 girls in W1 who have made such a difficult term so much fun and something to remember forever - now our names go on the black board atbh for people to look at doing circuits in 250 years time :)

Stroke: Height - 5'7"; weight - 10st (before crew pasta); finish position last Lents - Arse of the River; highest boat before Mich 2007 - W3 (Charley)

A bit of a will they / won't they row situation with Caius as they broke stroke's rigger on the way up. They managed to tape it together and row. All that really mattered to us was that it held long enough for Wolfson not to bump out and force us to try and overbump Maggie.

Thanks to Peter for jumping literally at the last minute. (He was on the bank in his boxers putting on tracksuit bottoms with about 90 seconds to the start gun.)

All went well in the end. We bumped, it was quick, Lorry and I have yet to make it completely out of First Post Corner in a Lents Race. Let's keep this coming; on thursday in complete FAT kit as it has finally arrived. (S.C. Mertes)

A bit disappointed by this result. Having been told that the caius rigger was held together with duct tape, I'd hoped that we'd be allowed to row for the overbump. With this in mind, we wound high off the start before settling at a relaxed (but splashy) 45, with a bump planned somewhere around ditton. Unfortunately, the rigger held together long enough for us to have to hit wolfson first, so we did. (John)

Right, probably faster and definitely wetter than usual this bump took us all the way into Grassy. That's the end of bumping before the end of First Post Corner for Lorry and myself.

Apparently we had overlap by first post but because our bows were outside their stern we didn't hit.

Down the gut the waves crashing over Justus' and my blade were huge. As we came up on their stern actually taking strokes in the water was getting to be a bit of a nightmare, especially as I was putting my blade exactly where Caius 7 man had just washed out.

A little worrying was the fact that at some point the continuous whistling from the bank subsided, possibly because Caius were putting in a do or die push, possibly because Davy had to catch his breath. When that ended the whistles came back and we just ploughed into them. I never actaully saw their stern but apparently our bow went into their coxes thigh, closely followed by my rigger. I hope we didn't do any damage to our bow as that must have gotten intimately acquainted with strokes rigger. It might have been an idea for their cox to concede a little earlier as this would have avoided us ramming them into the inside of grassy.

On another topic: Robinson had overlap on Maggie II just before the railway bridge with their bow on the outside of the corner. Consequently it was on the inside as both boats came past Morley's Halt. With about 2.5 feet of overlap the Robinson cox steers for the bump....

....And misses by about 6 inches as Maggie II's stern surges forward as they rock over. Maggie on the inside line with Robinson steering out left Maggie with a very hard row over.

So plan for tomorrow:

1. Hit Robsinson before Grassy, as they were on station with Caius when we hit them today(that'll be 2 dirty pints for Gonzo)

2. Hit Maggie II even harder.

Somebody should really warn them that the FAT M2 laundrette is hurtling towards them and it's going to get ugly... (S.C. Mertes)

Can somebody take photos of us please! (Lorry)

Quick, messy, the usual really.... (S.C. Mertes)

Familiar territory by now, an aggressive start saw us gain pretty quickly and despite a rather spacky (even for us) patch exiting first post corner Robinson capitulated in the gut.

This moved us up to sandwich boat and gave the majority of the crew their first taste of Div 1 action. We should probably thank the P&E for their hospitality as we marshalled in rather wet kit, in what would otherwise have been rather brutal conditions. (Will L)

We wanted this one. It would mean we got our second eight headship and got our place in the first division. More Importantly it also meant we wouldn't have to row over head of the division below, which would not have been fun with robinson chasing.

From in the boat Maggie appeared to slow and settle before we did, while the whistle they were getting on selwyn drove us faster. Suddenly we were up to 3 whistles. From there the bump took what seemed like forever, while the boat was all over the place in the wake.

The bump drew a roar of triumph from us, while maggie were clearly gutted that they hadn't held out for the bump. (Thomas)

This race goes under the heading:

FAT M2 laundrette washes out LMBC.

I should probably explain the whole laundrette thing at this point. The Clare coach described us as a "renegade washing machine hurtling down the reach" in our race against them at Pembroke Regatta. Since our boat has gotten faster and messier since then it's been upgraded to a laundrette.

The race plan was originally one to take us to Ditton unless LMBC were closing on Selwyn. A good start from both crews meant we couldn't just Blitzkrieg them as we had done with other crews up until now.

Coming out of the bend before the motorway bridge a "stride" to 38 cleaned up our rowing a little. It took us about 1 minute to get our first whistle. This was followed shortly by the second whistle. At around this time Gonzalo started yelling frantically from the bank as LMBC were at 1 length and gaining on Selwyn.

We managed to get overlap pretty quickly from there. The umpire on the bank was quietly saying to himself "that's a bump, that's a bump". Just as he was about to shout it out loud, a combination of a massive push from LMBC and some very dirty rowing in some very dirty water from us gave them almost a canvas of clear water again. Emma steered the bows onto the other side of their stern (now on the inside line for first post corner) for bump attempt no 2.

A (very) loud whack from 7s blade on the underside of our bows meant the race was over and we were finally in the first division. A lot of celebrating in the middle of the river ensued which would have gotten us fined anywhere else in the division for failure to clear.

1 more bump left to go. (S.C. Mertes)

To gain a place in Div 1 and steal the 2nd VIII headship was very satisfying, particularly at the expense of Maggie. It was perhaps unfortunate that we achieved this with our most shambolic rowing yet, but it got the job done. We look forward to a chance at blades tomorrow chasing Selwyn (Will L)

One of my best bumps ever... I'd almost convinced myself that Maggie were about as fast as us, and we'd need more than a short sprint to get them, turns out we're better/they're worse than I thought, so a very pleasing bump :) (Lorry)

Well done guys!
Go out now and finish this week in style!!! (Ulrike)

Selwyn knew we were fast of the start and on for blades so went off hard. They pushed us further than anyone else but our plan was do-or-die for as long as we could sustain.

At this point I have to say thanks for the offer of beer from selwyn. I was also very up for sparring on the way home, though I suspect we would have lost the rematch.

By the way the mounted frame combination in eaden lilley is awesome! The roar of triumph from the boat as we bump selwyn and us on the bank celebrating blades. Thanks to whoever took the photos. (Thomas)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zE08zSY8kkY

(if you would like the high quality version, email me) (Kristina)

Will put up a proper race report in the morning but at the moment it suffices to say:

on the men's side: up 15 out of 18 rows (that's including our head crew)

in comparison a randomly selected other college; Caius: down 11 out of 12 (and the only reason it isn't 12 is because we hit Wolfson).

ok race report: The division was delayed because Queens had snapped their rudder strings. A fair amount of pissing around on the bank made one or two of us worry about lack of focus, but things quietend down once the 4 minute gun went and we got in the boat.

A messy start as usual but it did take about 1/2 a length of Selwyn. We sat at 1 length for quite some time (well relatively seen anyway) with Davy refusing to whistle but yelling "that's one length" from the bank. At about station 4 we pulled it together and started moving up again. Maggie were about 2, possibly more, lengths behind by now and strangely enough got their first whistle??? Didn't really bother us though, they ended up about 3.5 lengths down when we bumped.

From that first whistle we went to overlap pretty swiftly. Looking right, then left I finally saw their stern. Over reaching massively on the next stroke put my blade within about 3 inches of their stern. A slight course correction from Emma and another massive overreaching from me slammed my blade onto their stern, YEAH!!! That's the first time I have had the priviledge of carrying out the bump.

Awesome....

Hats off to Selwyn, word had gotten out that we were fast off the start and they put up one hell of a fight. According to our bank party they were inside a length on Magdalene. (S.C. Mertes)

Just to stress this point: "We've done it , guys!" (Justus)

Possibly the longest race yet, Selwyn had clearly grasped we were a sprinting crew and gone off unsustainably. It took a while to get the 1st whistle, but after that we steadily gained.

It was an amazing ride guys, you were awesomely fast, if rather agricultural. It takes a fair amount of speed and a little bit of luck to blade and even more with a half-fit cripple in your midst!

Somehow thats 14 out of 14 races for me in Lents, although Id hope to be here next year, I can at least leave with my head held high. Thanks to everyone in the crew, as well as Ming, Gonzalo and David Jones for your work on the bank. (Will L)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh-NAzghBU4&feature=user

courtesy of selwyn bc :) (Lorry)

Everyone knew whaat was awaiting. Inspired by the great allies of the UK in the Iraq, shock-and-awe was to put Selwyn down (or Blietzkrieg, as our german crew members like to think of it) and a comfortable bump before the motorway bridge, soaking wet if necessary.

However, by this time our tactic was as much a secret in Cambridge as the fact that Prince Harry has been in Afghanistan is now for the general public in Britain by now. Consequently the "do-and-die"-pushes for Selwyn were to be 1-40.

Panic struck me as I counted in my 40th stroke without hearing the comforting sound of David's whistle. Are we going to break? Was is all just a dream? Will we lose blade on inferior techique and fitness?

Of course not. Selwyn did their pushes, AND died. After the first whistle, we gained, and gained, and gained. The continuous whistle blew away all doubts from our troubled minds and soon we held it up. Lorry remarked that he was dehydrated and we popped the Champagne cork.

Wonderful experience, euphoric members of the crew hugging each other, a a crowd of Trinitarians forming around us. With a strong rythm sequence of "one-and-two-and-.....-thirtyfive- and-change" (yes, I am a mathmo) we rowed back in sixes, two of us being responsible for drinking champagne and saying cheers to people on the bank.

Celebrations just continue. We drink beer. We meet first crews. We do race starts. We throw Emma in the water. As you see, there were all too many good things happening for me to make justice of them all. I stop here and am happy to delegate to anyone else to elaborate on the points they deem worthy of a longer exposition. (Malmberg)

They thought it was a fight. They didn't know it was a show. (Magnus)

having watched this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1eSydrpr4Y
I think selwyn are justified to feel that their lines cost them this race
obviously this only shows one viewpoint of what was happening, so it's hard to tell what the margins were coming around first post.

Clearly our line is awesome though - thanks Magnus (Sam Lings)

I've been in crews where the row down has been nervous and spacky, but we'd always pull it together for the race. Today was the opposite, never before has a crew showed such promise on the way up, to then descend into such absolute farce at the start-line. I'm just glad it ended (well). (Will L)

Please ignore my reckless and outlandishly exaggerated boasts in my previous (now deleted) race report. Obviously if we hadn't had ten outings I wouldn't go shouting it from the website.

Just to clear things up, we have had eleven proper outings with the crew. We only had one last-minute sub in the race today, due to illness. We're a competent bunch and are both safe and responsible when rowing and racing.

The remainder of my race report still stands and can be found below for reference:

"Spack-o-meter: 10/10

"The key to success in the third men's division is to row badly, but not so badly that you have to go past the Plough. Job done."

I apologise for misleading my loyal readership and would respectfully remind them that my comments are lighthearted in nature. (Albert)

These guys didn't give up. They'll do well in the 2nd half of the week.

According to Selwyn BC's site, the boat "contains 6 ex FAT I oarsmen, at least one of whom rocked up today in blues stash". I'm all for cultivating a fearsome reputation, but having more (rowing) blues than M1 would be going a little far... (Will L)

I have never seen a bump take so long! Quite gentlemanly. (Dami)

After yesterday Queens must have known we were quicker. Big respect to them for putting up such a strong fight today. (Albert)

Our start was lacklustre, but even so we closed quickly and consistently. Our faster base speed, strong pushes and tighter corners meant the outcome was never in doubt. Coming down the Plough Reach, we were getting overlap, and with us on the towpath side there was nowhere for Queens' to go around Ditton. Still, they stayed psyched up and held it together until we steered into them.

We rowed considerably better today than yesterday, but so did Queens'. Tomorrow's Queens'-Selwyn showdown at the top of M3 should be a race worth watching. (Magnus)

A lot more chilled out start, as a result of everybody being ready for the gun, and taking draw strokes in the appropriate manner. Perhaps a little too chilled out, as we didn't get the rate particularly high.

We gained fairly quickly on Queens, getting a canvas called before the exit of grassy, but it took us a while to finally get them, they conceded about 20/30 strokes out of Ditton.

good to see that we can actually sustain that level of work for that length of time, (Sam Lings)

Like Selwyn, Queens' made us fight for it. Gutsy row all around. (B.M. Richardson)

Did Flo race in his tennis blazer again? What a show off.... (Phil)

Dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty water.

Like a washing machine, but faster. And dirtier.

Luckily we were quicker than CCAT so only had to put up with the wash for a couple of minutes.

Tomorrow we face the unappetising prospect of attempting to bump Homerton within 30 strokes. The alternative being an extremely long row-over from Lock to Finish... (Albert)

We Turned up to marshall to discover that the second women's division hadn't rowed down, and that in fact, the third mens division hadn't started

so we pulled over at the P&E and sat inside to stay warm, saw CCAT finish a gutsy row over to stay head of the third division (and to row as sandwich boat)

when they pulled in, we discovered that they are all giants - even the Cox was bigger than anyone in our boat.

We knew that Homerton in front would bump out, that Pembroke 2 in front of them would bump out, and that Downing 2 in front of them were likely to bump out as well, so our race plan was to go for the triple overbump (perhaps a little ambitious - but at least it gave us something to aim at)

The Draw strokes weren't great, but we got it together on the wind and we rowed pretty well to Ditton, pushing out of corners. After Ditton, we knew that all the crews in front of us had bumped out, so we had nothing to aim for. CCAT were ~5 lengths behind, so nothing to worry about, so the reach wasn't as committed as it could have been, but we rowed over quite a few lengths clear.

CCAT for the division overbump on Maggie 2 tomorrow! (Sam Lings)

Well, every pair of crews in front us bumped out...

Nonetheless, thanks to Ming for coming along. (Sebastian Pancratz)

Our 99.5% impossible race plan to triple overbump Corpus I turned out to be 100% impossible when the entire division bumped out ahead of us. We kept it together with only short bouts of spackage all the way to Ditton, with an especially strong ~60s commitment on Plough Reach.

Once we rounded Ditton, the ominous silence from our bank party told us all we needed to know, and the rate and power dipped, but CCAT were never remotely a threat.

Thanks Ming for the coaching and the last minute clams. (Albert)

I totally crippled my back throwing Magnus in the river. Owwww :-( (Albert)

A good start, a little wobbly for a couple of strokes after that, but the rhythm was re-established very quickly and the bump was swift after the push for Bumps call.
Clare are going to be tough; we need to get them before they get Corpus, otherwise it'll be Newnham all the way! (Mark)

yaaaaay :D definitely felt like we earnt this one!! some awesome lines from Mark and gutsy pushes out of the corners meant we bumped coming out of Ditton. very proud to be part of this crew...let's go for corpus on friday!! xoxox

ps. thanks to rachel frigot for subbing. (Kristina)

Awesome! We worked for that Bump and it felt good! (Liz)

We knew Clare would work very hard to bump Corpus before we got near to them, and credit to them for working hard to keep us off for as long as possible.

But some excellent drive in the water around corners kept the speed up, and the commitment along Plough made me so proud to cox such a crew - Clare really did push at this point and I thought we'd lose them but you all gritted your teeth and coming round Ditton we cut into them and claimed our Bump. (Mark)

Bad luck. Remember, good crews go up three. Make it a decisive bump tomorrow to end a week to be proud of. (Harriet)

This was the outcome we feared the most today, since we were quite confident Clare II would not get us. Instead a suprisingly bad Newnham II, who had managed to fend off Corpus all the way on Wednesday to row over, were bumped half way down the Gut, with us no more than 1/2 a length off Corpus.
That took us by surprise but we went on to row over quite solidly with a comfortable gap behind us. Unfortunately there was no chance of an overbump since we were started third, so it is really disappointing that we are no longer on for Blades.
Despite the result, that was a fantastic piece of rowing, and it was really pleasing to have such power and commitment in the boat - let's finish on a high tomorrow! (Mark)

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! (Erica)

An excellent row to end our racing for Bumps.

My stomach twisted when I thought that Corpus decided to 'do a Newnham' today, i.e. row much more poorly compared to what they were capable of doing the day before, with a Newnham double whistle coming around First Post corner before we had even had one whistle.

We got stuck in though, knowing the bump had to come soon or never, and loads of credit to the girls for digging in, with a double and triple whistle coming virtually together. Convincing bump in the Gut! (Mark)

We started strongly and gained on them steadily, with overlap after first post corner. However, deciding to give the spectators something to watch, we crabbed (twice) and crashed into the bank to give them a 3 length lead.

As we came on to the reach we were back on station, and we got the bump just before the railway bridge. (Alasdair)

A pretty solid start, managed to gain on them pretty quickly. I could see their stern before the first corner. And then...

...

...

Well, 'stuff happened', and we were three lengths down and Magdelene were gaining on us... dear me... We recovered into the reach and gave a hard push. We took them at the railway bridge. A good solid row, and it took guts to come back after all the drama. Good job guys, more of the same tomorrow!!! (Jeffrey)

Bloody hell that was a bit dramatic. A solid start allowed the crew to move up steadily. By the gun shed they were about 3/4 of a length off, Peterhouse wound it down to get through some carnage. As a result the guys suddenly found themselves with overlap, but then a crab and subsequent collision with the bank left them about 3 lengths down. To be fair, I'm not sure whether the bump would actually have been awarded as Peterhouse had had to wind it down.

The guys got it back together, rowed OK to Ditton and then really pulled together on the Reach. On station at the Railings and then suddenly taking about a foot a stroke to make the bump at the Railway Bridge. Gutsy stuff all round, but let's aim for a little less excitement tomorrow. (Phil)

Most committed bump I saw today. After the confusion on First Post Reach you didn't give up and came from about 2.5 lengths down at one point to close it up along the Reach with some excellent pushes to finally make the bump. Just about everything that could go wrong did, so like Phil said a little less excitement tomorrow but same result please! Best of luck for the rest of the week. (Charley)

Clare II bumped Caius III before the motorway bridge, and St Edmunds ahead and Magdalene II behind quickly followed suit, leaving us an empty river.

Apparently we were almost on station with Clare II when they bumped Caius III, so we're hopeful for Friday.

Unfortunately this means we've broken the perfect record the club had going, sorry guys. (Alasdair)

A fairly messy row, bumping a little after the motorway bridge as expected. Hopefully we'll be more controlled against the considerably faster Clare II tomorrow.

There's really not much to say about this race other than thank god the boat-stopping crab happened after we'd bumped. (Alasdair)

It shows something about a club when the worst performing crew is slightly disappointed with up 2...

This race was possibly a bit too comfortable off the start, with everyone knowing that you were probably settling in for a longer race. Clare meanwhile went hell for leather getting inside station on maggie. Maggie eventually clawed in fitz leaving clare up on you by about 3 lengths. From this position they were rowing neatly and comfortably to hold you. (Thomas)

Painful, painful row-over; ended a few lengths down after pushing as hard as we could through the whole course. With the amount of training we did over the past three weeks we couldn't have expected much better, but still a disappointing result. (Alasdair)

Yeah Alasdair, shame on you guys for only going up 2. Worst performing FAT crew on the river, just shameful.... ;-)).

Seriously guys, you had some awesome races this week, you bumped a 2nd and a 3rd crew even if the Peterhouse race was "interesting" to say the least, you contributed to a Caius crew spooning, you are a whole division above the next 4th VIII and still went up, there are only 3 3rd crews above you (including our own M3).

You did really well, however I reckon you will still get bumpered at the dinner. (S.C. Mertes)