First and Third Trinity Boat Club
Log In

The Club's Results

May Bumps 2012

1st women's VIII

Coxed by: Yining Nie

Wednesday
Rowed over
SP described our start as 'graceful' which probably shows that more aggression was needed. In any case, it was nice to start a set of Bumps without a panicked, shoddy start.

We closed to a length after about 2 minutes of rowing, and then oscillated at about 2/3 - 1/2 a length off Tit Hall. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but the silent period that followed caused a damning drop in boat speed. We weren't sure where either of us were, and stuck about 2/3 of a length off them for most of the reach.

They moved away from us in the last phase of the reach as the technical side of our rowing deteriorated (though the power was still there, which shows that we have the ability to grit our teeth and keep pushing even when things aren't going our way) and we crossed the line about on station.

Being in the middle of 5 row-overs gives us the luxury of a do-over tomorrow, so we'll see if we can convince fortune to smile on us through the wind and rain. (Julia A.)
Thursday
Bumped Trinity Hall
Well done girls! Can't wait to be there tomorrow! (Liz)
Yeah girls! Ra Ra First and Third! (Katie)
Yes girls!! Red filth to chase tomorrow! (Neil T)
WELL DONE!! Ra Ra :D (Angela)
Excellent!! Upwards and onwards from here, ladies! :-) (Ulrike)
We had our best start to date to heartening cheers from the Plough. Paddling up to station was also very smooth and sharp, setting the tone for our second attempt at a bump.

And bump we did! It was quick and powerful thanks to some massive pushes and a Tit Hall cox who followed every possible bend in the river. Trinity Hall pulled away from us slightly off the start but we came up to a length behind halfway down First Post Reach. The next series of whistles came in quick succession, and we lifted hard and fast out of First Post Corner. There was a bit of confusion at the end where Tit Hall's cox, who had previously adhered so faithfully to every rule of the river, refused to concede. Nonetheless, it was a satisfying overlap bump in the Gut.

On to Maggie now, ladies - it's time to take them down! (Yining)
We went into today's race with something you don't often get in Bumps, knowledge of the speed of other crews around you.

I would know Swords' cheering anywhere, and it helped lift our spirits, and the boat into a fantastic start at the Plough. This wasn't quite repeated on the start gun, but it was again calm, cool and measured.

We had laid clear plans for the race today at our crew pasta (or rather crew rice!) the night before, and it was executed perfectly by Yining. Maybe it was Gonzalo's arrogant confidence on the bank, maybe it was Iain's perfect pushing out, maybe it was that I washed my lycra, or Kingsbury's gold socks or the fact that every crew I umpired bumped today, but something clicked and we stepped up and performed.

The whistles came mercifully quickly as the wash started to rock the boat around. There was a lot of confusion about whether or not we had bumped, but the umpire had his hand up, and Iain swears he wouldn't have told us to hold it up had there not been contact. Bullock told us afterwards that there was almost a re-row, but the umpire was firm, and the CU went with him. Even the spectator at the greenhouse at Grassy was indignant on our behalf.

We're very sorry that we didn't get the chance to cheer Tit Hall. It was two excellent days of racing, and we were concerned when they rowed off, with the umpire trailing behind them. The boathouse was all shut up when we went past, but here are your three cheers: Hip hip, HOORAY, hip hip HOORAY, hip hip HOORAY!

Well done girls, and thank you for all the support from the bank! (Julia A.)
Friday
Bumped LMBC
Fuck yeah!!! So proud of you girls!!!!!!! (Sonya)
The conditions today were brutal, but our handling of it was apparently clinical. Watching the trees being whipped and bent by the wind from the safety of the boathouse was worrying. The gents informed us that the wind was mostly head on First Post Reach, but that it was unpredictable, so I spent most of the row up attempting to map out the gusts.

Our starts were messy in the tail/cross wind, but the support at the Plough was welcome, as were the rousing cheers to my epic umpiring earlier (thanks Swords and Aaron).

Thanks to the anticipation surrounding bumping Maggie and the chat from Tit Hall about how they were going to get us back today, I was more nervous on the start line than any other day this week. The draw strokes into the headwind were agonizingly long, but apparently effective, as soon after our surge we got a whistle. Gonzalo says that by the time he was on his bike and caught up to us we were almost at a length.

We had a bad stroke under the bridge, but keeping our heads allowed us to recover quickly, and Yining's amazing (and now famous) bridge call gave us a surge in power. The second whistle came quickly, and we lifted again for 3 whistles, then continuous and an increasingly exuberant bank party. This gave us the shot of adrenaline we needed to finish off a very aggressive race. We bumped them somewhere between 2nd and 4th station. Thankfully, the Maggie cox conceded, and we held it up quickly. Pulling in was difficult, made worse by my insistence on back-seat coxing (sorry Yining :( ).

Maggie were perfect ladies about it, cheering us quickly as our bank party gathered greenery. After missing the bump on them two years ago, a bump which would have led to blades, I thought 'revenge' would be sweet. However, I found it lacking. Good luck tomorrow Maggie, give Tit Hall a good fight. (Julia A.)
Brutal! (copyright Gonzo) (Nina)
Saturday
Bumped Queens'
Congratulations! Such a great performance these bumps setting yourselves up for more success next year. I wish I could have have been there and cheered you. (Julijana)
We had prepared ourselves for a long race and spoke of potentially having to chase Queens' to Top Finish. However, we were able to gain overlap coming around First Post Corner. Queens' then pulled away by a canvas only to be caught just before Grassy. Again the cox was slow to concede but the sight of Gonzo, Fordy and Fletch cheering and wildly throwing punches in the air was enough for me to call "hold it up!"

Despite the seemingly endless bumps push, we pushed, it ended, and we bumped. Fantastic work, ladies, and thank you for a thrilling Mays as well as an anazing term! (Yining)

1. W1 + coaches


Facebook Instagram Youtube LinkedIn
If you have any comments or suggestions please email the webmaster. Click here to switch between designs. If you log in as a First and Third member, you can set a preference for a color scheme on your profile.