The Club's Results
Summer 2014
1st men's VIII
Molesey Amateur Regatta (IM3 8+)
Semi finals
Won by 1/4 of a length
Time: 2:57
Won by 1/4 of a length
Time: 2:57
Our first lazy race of the day. Wound high, got hit by cruiser wash badly enough that waves ran over the saxboard, found we were more or less level 250m in and were in danger of blade clashing (fairly mutually on the steering). Separated, got into the calm water next to the island and had what was described as "150m of passable rowing", which earned us a 3/4 of a length lead. Pushed it on a little more to get almost to clear water, then sat and spannered around allowing them to row us down, with the finish line coming just in time.
Final
Won by 1/4? of a length
Won by 1/4? of a length
Even more lazy. We had been told that Thames weren't going to be particularly fast and hope that this race would be easier than the semi-final. When 250m in we had managed a better start than the previous race but were a seat or two down, I was starting to doubt this advice.
Then Thames' stroke caught a crab. In the ~12 strokes they were rowing bow six and we had "called a push", we took less than a length out of them. I still have no idea how. We then played the game from the previous race of sitting and watching them row back through us, but with 500m to survive this time. Somehow we slogged our way across the line first.
Thanks to all who made today somehow work out (I've still no idea how it all hung together in the end...). 15 hours spent either outside in the sunshine and high-twenties temperatures, or on even warmer trains, might be considered unpleasant but I think everyone survived, and the promised thunderstorms never turned up. Somehow a plan involving multiple trips up and down the Thames by bike and by borrowed VIII got us to the right places at the right times, and we somehow scraped our way to novice "pots" (nobody told me we would only get medals! admittedly nobody told me anything, because this started with "hey Matt, we should go and watch the girls race at Molesey. We might as well take a boat to race in") for six of you.
The above writing seems verging on incomprehensible. I blame 15 hours of dehydration and far too many miles of badly surfaced roads/towpaths on a road bike...
Links
Full 1st men's VIII results archive
