The Club's Results
Champion of the Thames Eights Head, May Term 2012
A Head race for eights from the Plough Pub to the Penny Ferry.
Sun 13th May
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1st men's VIII, Men's 1st Div. Mays
The Gentlemen of Trinity, Men's 3rd Div. Mays
Time: 5:25.7
Mediocre at best. Really struggled with the pickup in the headwind.
Edit: it seems we were second fastest crew with m2 and m4 very closely matched @ 0.13 and 0.20. I would hope by bumps, that increased training and better coaching will really show for the second eight.
We're all a bit decrepit to be going fast, with me in the boat simply to deal with inevitable heart attacks, arthritis and questions about medication changes.
Edit: it seems we were second fastest crew with m2 and m4 very closely matched @ 0.13 and 0.20. I would hope by bumps, that increased training and better coaching will really show for the second eight.
We're all a bit decrepit to be going fast, with me in the boat simply to deal with inevitable heart attacks, arthritis and questions about medication changes.
2nd men's VIII, Men's 2nd Div. Mays
Time: 5:37.8
Not much to say except for it was a pretty scrappy row until things suddenly clicked into place around Morley's Holt and my line around Ditton can be considered beautifully tight.
Personally speaking marshalling was great: I befriended the Maggie M2 bowman as we held on to one another to avoid drifting across the Reach, and the King's M1 cox has no sense of camaraderie or cooperation as he turned down my suggestion to do the same whilst he was actually failing even more than I was to stay tucked in. Not at all bitter.
Personally speaking marshalling was great: I befriended the Maggie M2 bowman as we held on to one another to avoid drifting across the Reach, and the King's M1 cox has no sense of camaraderie or cooperation as he turned down my suggestion to do the same whilst he was actually failing even more than I was to stay tucked in. Not at all bitter.
4th men's VIII, Men's 4th div. Mays
fastest M4
Time: 5:44.7
Time: 5:44.7
Not a bad race I would say. Given that Blaise, the 5-man, was missing and I had to sub for him. I have to admit that I was unable to row as well as I should because I haven't exercised properly for a few weeks, and have had only a single outing since last term. But it was nice to row with this crew once more before leaving college.
In any case. From the boathouse, I came out like a boss wearing just socks on my feet before I realized; the days of Black Prince are over, we are back in Richard Church and I better put those shoes back on before somebody notices.
We paddled all the way to the highway bridge carried gently by Thornton's polite bankparty calls (All love and respect to Thornton). We stayed near the railway bridge for a few minutes while Artin, the 3-man, receives his pre race hug and while I wrap my hands with green tape and thank John Shaw, the bow-man, for providing the tape. Then we set off to the starting line.
We did a complete start sequence with squared blades! And it was a good start. Even though Matt, the 4-man, lost one of his foot-straps and had to row the entire distance with only one secured foot.
A few hundred meters after the start it felt like people had given up already, because the boat speed dropped considerably. Until Alex, the coxswain, said that we were approaching the finish line, and suddenly the boat was going much faster again.
During the race, I quite enjoyed the sight of Maggie M4 behind us getting smaller and smaller and ever so smaller until finally disappearing behind the horizon.
We paddled back to the boathouse, and once there, some crew members were keen on washing the boat, something our crew have not done before (Not me at least), it was an interesting experience, and I loved the part where everybody receives a cold shower simultaneously when we turn the boat over above our heads.
In conclusion, I thank Michael for volunteering to bankparty. I wish we had won something but we weren't lucky enough I'm afraid.
In any case. From the boathouse, I came out like a boss wearing just socks on my feet before I realized; the days of Black Prince are over, we are back in Richard Church and I better put those shoes back on before somebody notices.
We paddled all the way to the highway bridge carried gently by Thornton's polite bankparty calls (All love and respect to Thornton). We stayed near the railway bridge for a few minutes while Artin, the 3-man, receives his pre race hug and while I wrap my hands with green tape and thank John Shaw, the bow-man, for providing the tape. Then we set off to the starting line.
We did a complete start sequence with squared blades! And it was a good start. Even though Matt, the 4-man, lost one of his foot-straps and had to row the entire distance with only one secured foot.
A few hundred meters after the start it felt like people had given up already, because the boat speed dropped considerably. Until Alex, the coxswain, said that we were approaching the finish line, and suddenly the boat was going much faster again.
During the race, I quite enjoyed the sight of Maggie M4 behind us getting smaller and smaller and ever so smaller until finally disappearing behind the horizon.
We paddled back to the boathouse, and once there, some crew members were keen on washing the boat, something our crew have not done before (Not me at least), it was an interesting experience, and I loved the part where everybody receives a cold shower simultaneously when we turn the boat over above our heads.
In conclusion, I thank Michael for volunteering to bankparty. I wish we had won something but we weren't lucky enough I'm afraid.
In outings, we had been struggling to ensure that the blades went into and came out of the water fully squared. In the outing immediately before the race, we had done a start with square blades which turned out much better than any we had done feathered, so it was decided that we would go square blades for the start in the race and hope that this would amuse the race officials enough to get a prize.
Our start did in fact turn out quite well (though unfortunately not quite prize-winningly well), and the rhythm throughout the race was much better than in the previous race. Matt at 4 did a very good job of keeping things together when one of his feet came out. When we started feathering, things became messy as had happened in outings. There were also times in the race where the power seemed to drop off, though it did come back when called.
We clearly have more to gain by continuing to work on catching and finishing square when rowing feathered blades - but also I think it is important that as we keep focussing on technical points and rowing with a calmer rhythm we do not lose the underlying racing aggression.
In terms of results, we were 5th in the "College Men's 8 - Mays 4" event and the fastest boat entered under the name "M4" (though Queens' entered 4 men's boats that were faster than us). We were only 6.9 seconds slower than the next FaT boat up by results, though it should be noted that we both had subs.
Our start did in fact turn out quite well (though unfortunately not quite prize-winningly well), and the rhythm throughout the race was much better than in the previous race. Matt at 4 did a very good job of keeping things together when one of his feet came out. When we started feathering, things became messy as had happened in outings. There were also times in the race where the power seemed to drop off, though it did come back when called.
We clearly have more to gain by continuing to work on catching and finishing square when rowing feathered blades - but also I think it is important that as we keep focussing on technical points and rowing with a calmer rhythm we do not lose the underlying racing aggression.
In terms of results, we were 5th in the "College Men's 8 - Mays 4" event and the fastest boat entered under the name "M4" (though Queens' entered 4 men's boats that were faster than us). We were only 6.9 seconds slower than the next FaT boat up by results, though it should be noted that we both had subs.
We love square blades rowing! This was a fun race and it could have gone much worse. True, it could also have gone much better, give or take poppers, footplates, a boat which categorically hates us, and an amusing immediate stroke side corner. Seven seconds off M2 was not for us to sniff at, even if M3 did destroy our time. We rowed (which is at least something) and we learnt that feathering is such a simple, easy action that just about everything in the boat can we shaken up when it's introduced. Luckily this is a problem we sorted out over the following weeks. We also took the convenient opportuntiy to fill our footwells with bricks, in Iain's words. It gave us a taste of our time relative to others in our division, leading to much happiness and celebration. How little we knew.
5th men's VIII, Men's 5th Div Mays
1st women's VIII, Women's 1st Div. Mays
10th in division
Time: 6:21.5
Time: 6:21.5
Finished 10th of 12 crews entered in the Mays 1 division.
Our relative inexperience of Fletch's beloved headwinds this term was obvious here. The conditions hit us hard and the catches suffered.
We have a long way to go, but having just settled into the crew and with the leaps and bounds we've seen in training, I'm confident we'll be able to handle whatever bumps throws at us come Mays!
Our relative inexperience of Fletch's beloved headwinds this term was obvious here. The conditions hit us hard and the catches suffered.
We have a long way to go, but having just settled into the crew and with the leaps and bounds we've seen in training, I'm confident we'll be able to handle whatever bumps throws at us come Mays!
Good to see lots of commitment from the crew, though missed water prevented us from translating this into the boat speed we could have had. Still lots of things to work on, including catches and getting full length in general, but I'm certain that we will see steady improvement over the next few weeks. Let's do this, ladies!
Now if there were only more bridges on the Cam to push off of...
Now if there were only more bridges on the Cam to push off of...
2nd women's VIII, Women's 3rd Div. Mays
Time: 7:00
Not a bad first race given the crew hadn't rowed together before and the mixture of experience in the boat.
We got off to a great start, calmly surging the rate up and sticking at around 33/34 coming into Ditton. We relaxed into a good low 30s stride for the rest of the race.
Katie's coxing was absolutely formidable, especially through the tough headwind, and her call for a reset at the kink gave us the focus we needed to keep it together down the reach. She kept the fire burning through the final stages with some great power calls.
Not a great time on the stopwatch, of which the wind is partially to blame, but a good effort for a first race together. Some serious improvements to the finishes and catches will need to be made ahead of Mays if we are to get the results we are capable of.
We got off to a great start, calmly surging the rate up and sticking at around 33/34 coming into Ditton. We relaxed into a good low 30s stride for the rest of the race.
Katie's coxing was absolutely formidable, especially through the tough headwind, and her call for a reset at the kink gave us the focus we needed to keep it together down the reach. She kept the fire burning through the final stages with some great power calls.
Not a great time on the stopwatch, of which the wind is partially to blame, but a good effort for a first race together. Some serious improvements to the finishes and catches will need to be made ahead of Mays if we are to get the results we are capable of.
Selected Results
Men's college VIIIs
Pos Pos in cat Club Crew Time 1 / 55 1 / 15 Caius M1 04:35.6 2 / 55 2 / 15 Downing M1 04:51.6 3 / 55 3 / 15 Downing M1 04:52.3 4 / 55 1 / 9 Girton College Boat Club M1 04:53.9 5 / 55 4 / 15 Lady Margaret M1 04:55.3 6 / 55 5 / 15 Emmanuel Boat Club M1 04:58.2 7 / 55 6 / 15 Christ's College M1 05:01.4 8 / 55 7 / 15 Queens' M1 05:02.4 9 / 55 8 / 15 Jesus M1 05:04.0 10 / 55 9 / 15 Pembroke College M1 05:05.8 11 / 55 2 / 9 Lady Margaret M2 05:05.8 12 / 55 10 / 15 Magdalene M1 05:07.3 13 / 55 11 / 15 Robinson College M1 05:08.9 14 / 55 12 / 15 Churchill College M1 05:09.3 15 / 55 3 / 9 Christ's College M2 05:10.9 16 / 55 13 / 15 First And Third Trinity Boat Club M1 05:12.2 17 / 55 4 / 9 Caius M2 05:12.2 18 / 55 5 / 9 Downing M2 05:14.4 19 / 55 6 / 9 Selwyn College M1 05:14.4 20 / 55 14 / 15 King's College Boat Club M1 05:16.3 21 / 55 1 / 10 Queens' M2 05:17.5 22 / 55 7 / 9 Pembroke College M2 05:18.0 23 / 55 8 / 9 Corpus Christi M1 05:21.5 24 / 55 1 / 7 Hughes Hall M2 05:24.5 25 / 55 2 / 10 St Catharine's College M2 05:24.7 26 / 55 3 / 10 First And Third Trinity Boat Club M3 05:25.7 27 / 55 1 / 12 Queens' M3 05:29.2 28 / 55 2 / 12 Queens' M3 05:30.6 29 / 55 4 / 10 Selwyn College M2 05:34.6 30 / 55 3 / 12 Downing M3 05:35.4 31 / 55 15 / 15 Trinity Hall BC M1 05:36.3 32 / 55 5 / 10 Emmanuel Boat Club M2 05:37.1 33 / 55 9 / 9 First And Third Trinity Boat Club M2 05:37.8 34 / 55 4 / 12 Caius M3 05:39.6 35 / 55 6 / 10 Clare M2 05:42.1 36 / 55 1 / 2 Christ's College R1 05:43.6 37 / 55 5 / 12 First And Third Trinity Boat Club M4 05:44.7 38 / 55 2 / 7 Christ's College M3 05:47.0 39 / 55 7 / 10 Trinity Hall BC M2 05:48.9 40 / 55 6 / 12 Clare M3 05:50.0 41 / 55 2 / 2 Emmanuel Boat Club M4 05:51.1 42 / 55 8 / 10 King's College Boat Club M2 05:52.0 43 / 55 7 / 12 Pembroke College M3 05:53.5 44 / 55 8 / 12 Corpus Christi M2 05:54.6 45 / 55 9 / 12 Christ's College Fellows 05:54.9 46 / 55 3 / 7 Sidney Sussex M2 05:55.5 47 / 55 4 / 7 Queens' M4 05:56.0 48 / 55 9 / 10 Robinson College M2 05:56.4 49 / 55 10 / 10 Emmanuel Boat Club M3 05:56.4 50 / 55 5 / 7 Sidney Sussex M3 06:05.8 51 / 55 10 / 12 Jesus M3 06:11.1 52 / 55 11 / 12 Selwyn College M3 06:15.9 53 / 55 6 / 7 First And Third Trinity Boat Club M5 06:20.7 54 / 55 7 / 7 Lady Margaret M4 06:22.1 55 / 55 12 / 12 Wolfson College M2 06:28.2
Women's college VIIIs
Pos Pos in cat Club Crew Time 1 / 40 1 / 12 Downing W1 05:52.6 2 / 40 2 / 12 Queens' W1 05:54.3 3 / 40 3 / 12 Christ's College W1 06:00.9 4 / 40 1 / 10 King's College Boat Club W1 06:01.5 5 / 40 4 / 12 Emmanuel Boat Club W1 06:02.4 6 / 40 5 / 12 Newnham College Boat Club - TO W1 06:02.7 7 / 40 2 / 10 Murray Edwards College Boat Club W1 06:03.5 8 / 40 6 / 12 Clare W1 06:04.3 9 / 40 3 / 10 Sidney Sussex W1 06:06.9 10 / 40 7 / 12 Pembroke College W1 06:09.0 11 / 40 8 / 12 Jesus W1 06:12.1 12 / 40 9 / 12 Caius W1 06:12.7 13 / 40 1 / 8 Trinity Hall BC W3 06:17.4 14 / 40 1 / 10 Murray Edwards College Boat Club W2 06:20.8 15 / 40 10 / 12 First And Third Trinity Boat Club W1 06:21.5 16 / 40 4 / 10 Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish W1 06:24.1 17 / 40 2 / 10 Wolfson College W1 06:24.6 18 / 40 11 / 12 Churchill College W1 06:26.4 19 / 40 3 / 10 Christ's College W2 06:29.0 20 / 40 5 / 10 Downing W2 06:30.5 21 / 40 12 / 12 Selwyn College W1 06:31.6 22 / 40 4 / 10 Queens' W2 06:32.3 23 / 40 6 / 10 Robinson College W1 06:36.7 24 / 40 2 / 8 Murray Edwards College Boat Club W3 06:36.7 25 / 40 5 / 10 Caius W2 06:38.5 26 / 40 6 / 10 Selwyn College W2 06:39.5 27 / 40 7 / 10 Newnham College Boat Club W2 06:41.2 28 / 40 7 / 10 Pembroke College W3 06:46.8 29 / 40 3 / 8 King's College Boat Club W2 06:47.6 30 / 40 4 / 8 Sidney Sussex W2 06:55.6 31 / 40 5 / 8 Lady Margaret W3 06:57.1 32 / 40 8 / 10 Emmanuel Boat Club W2 06:58.5 33 / 40 8 / 10 First And Third Trinity Boat Club W2 07:00.8 34 / 40 6 / 8 Queens' W3 07:01.8 35 / 40 9 / 10 Jesus W2 07:06.6 36 / 40 9 / 10 Clare Hall Boat Club W1 07:12.9 37 / 40 10 / 10 Girton College Boat Club W2 07:14.0 38 / 40 7 / 8 Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish W2 07:19.2 39 / 40 8 / 8 Trinity Hall BC W4 07:25.6 40 / 40 10 / 10 Clare W2 NRO
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