The Club's Results

A great beginning to a budding rowing career...It is an amazing experience getting up to race speed we were asked to get it up to at least 27 -28 strokes I think and we responded in kind and for the first half it seemed to be going along quite well.   I think we were all in time but I don't really know, I remember telling myself just focus on number four (Mike) -   what is he doing? Am I out of time or is he? A couple of us shouted out to spur the crew on, I was trying to focus on something, "what did Neil say: separation?,   Barney told me once is it arms - back - legs?" Most of that was lost in a blur..."The cox, what is he saying?" I looked forward and saw Martin go through a strange and frantic movement, 'is this a crab?' he looks like he is on his seat, no he isn't but he's still attempting to keep time with the crew.   He holla's out but manages to recover his seat but you can feel the boat slow and it responds differently.   We get it back up to speed again and then we have another frantic effort from Martin.   I'm a novice and I'm just trying to focus on the basics of timing and getting the blade out as best as I can, I want to square the blade early but the boat leans to bow which seems impossible to do because I hit the surface of the water early with my blade.   Then I feel my timing go out because the boat does something else and my seat slides, I lurch back and I end up just trying to do something that resembles effort.     "Bring it back, focus on Mike what is he doing?"   I think someone caught a mini crab in bow?   The last 500 meters and we are doing what we can to bring it home and then it is over.     I'm exhausted but in a strange way, incredibly euphoric over the whole experience. I've got   some kind of buzz and wondering when the next time is. Addiction? Certainly not! I'm looking   down the length of the boat at my crew and I've got an incredible sense of pride towards them "NM3" - #$@! yeah!!   My first race, lots of adrenaline and certainly a lot to take in but all worth it and a chance to look forward to the next event.
(V.S. Backhaus)

A thoroughly encouraging win over good opposition. We moved well off the start with some of the best rowing that I have seen from this crew all term - they have come on leaps and bounds since Winter Head! Maggie held us firm off the start and, despite their best attempts to crash into us (Izzie was only hit twice by an oar for her troubles), once we settled onto race pace we rowed long and hard and pushed them away. A fantastic result! (A. Strange)

(Chris)

With a good, clear win under out belts, we were confident going into the Second Round - confidence tempered by the fact that we knew our opponents were higher-ranked. Rowing to the Reach, we got in a good trial start and a few bursts. After a nervous wait, the race began. Christ's had a good start, and pulled away by at least half a boat length. Out of the corner of my eye I could see they were ahead, and showed no signs of flagging. We all knew they had the lead, but tried to Keep Calm and Row On (I can already see the t-shirts and coffee mugs). Kit Jenkins and Neil Talbott were shouting advice and encouragement from the bank: 'legs down', 'eyes forward', 'c'mon boys' (or maybe that last one was Michael Bryden from the boat?). We all tried to look more composed than we felt, and it worked. Before long, we were head to head. We had found our rhythm, and began to pull away. We took the lead. We held it. We increased it. For reasons that remain unclear, Christ's rowed into the bank, at full tilt. Bryden almost caught a crab in disbelief (though his language was somewhat more colourful). (Later, one of the marshals reported 'multiple collisions with the bank'so a bad day at the office for their cox and/or rudder lines.) From that point on, we eased off a bit, and crossed the finish line without the other boat in sight. To their credit, Christ's recovered their composure, and rowed to the finish at race pace. It was a shame that they were unlucky with their steering. We would still have won clearly, but it would have made for a more exciting finish. Overall, it felt like the best race so far, and one of the better outings we've had as a boat. The team really gelled; everything just clicked. Happily, that was reflected in the result. In the changing rooms afterwards, we all agreed that the highest compliment that could be paid to subs Chris Howarth and Ben Varghese was that we didn't even notice they were there! Great effort all round. (Chris)