The Club's Results

Lent Bumps 2019

1st women's VIII

Coxed by: Alan Sun
Coached by: Steve Harris

6th in division 1
Up 1 - Bumped Murray Edwards and Clare, bumped by LMBC
Wednesday
Bumped Murray Edwards
What a wonderful day for W1 who bumped Medwards before First Post corner! I'm so happy and very proud :) 

Nerves were running high when marshalling, with Bianca doing random squats to calm herself down (?!) and Megan forgetting how to count down from 20. But they need not have worried. A flying start saw W1 gain a whistle almost immediately. A slight lapse in pressure followed and the girls maintained a boat length for thirty seconds or so. But then they really turned up the gas and ploughed into Medwards, gaining two, then three whistles (Bomber doesn't do sustained whistles for some reason). Poor old Medwards didn't stand a chance.

With smiles all round, and blue and yellow stripey headbands decorated with greenery, FaT W1 rowed home, not only the most massive crew on the river, but the most stylish too. They're going to smash Clare tomorrow!
(M.E. Crane)
Bumps before First Post aren’t meant to happen this high in Division 1. This was some fast rowing. (K. Ergene)
Thursday
Bumped Clare
It is telling that even Bomber was impressed with W1's burst and practice start today. They were on FIRE. This was going to be a tougher row than yesterday, especially given the conditions, but the girls were focused and determined. 

Another strong start worked in their favour as we got a whistle on Clare within 20 seconds. This soon increased to two, then three whistles as W1 came round First Post corner. Unfortunately Alan decided to take the more scenic route around this corner; all of us on the bank held our breath (although Bomber instead was cursing under his breath) as W1 just got round with bowside slightly lightening off for a stroke and strokeside giving it some. 

This reduced W1's gain to just one whistle. But we were soon back, getting slight overlap with Clare at the beginning of the plough! At this point Clare did an impressive push to get away and we did not respond, losing overlap and falling back to two whistles. I think I had a slight heart attack, not going to lie. But I should never have doubted the girls. They had a big power 10 and bumped Clare just before Ditton! Awesome, awesome stuff!! (I apologise for my incessant screaming in the background of the video). Tomorrow will be a tough day chasing Downing but I am VERY optimistic. 
(M.E. Crane)
Due to the division starting early I missed most of the race, but arrived at the perfect moment at Ditton to see W1 close out their second bump of the week! Great effort by everyone in the boat. (P. Robinson)
Friday
Rowed over
A good strong start meant W1 held Downing on station until the gut, with Clare dropping to 2 lengths behind. However the rhythm was slightly too high and fast, and coming through grassy this began to tell as Downing pulled away to 2 lengths and Clare closed the gap. W1 stayed determined coming through the plough, but Clare again moved closer, until they had overlap coming out of Ditton corner. It was at this point that everyone in the boat decided they didn't want to be bumped, and promptly found a fantastic rhythm to walk away from a Clare boat which struggled with the headwind on the reach. This rhythm meant the gap to Downing started to slowly close, but sadly it would not be enough to go for a late bump, and so the crew held strong for a solid row over. Another chance at bumping into the top 4 tomorrow, and definitely achievable with their best rowing! (P. Robinson)
Determined to execute their race plan, W1 had a neat and powerful start from position 5. They held Downing W1 at station and moved away from Clare almost immediately. A slightly panicked row from the gut to the plough saw Downing move away and Clare begin to catch up... By Ditton corner, Clare had got overlap on us (I don't think I've screamed so much in my life). But FaT dug deep, drew on months of training and pushed away from Clare, into the headwind. It was very, very impressive to watch (even the marshal agreed!).

After this awesome escape, W1 settled into a more solid rhythm down the Reach in the hope of catching Downing. Unfortunately the bump never came as Downing had got too far ahead. Under Bomber's instruction at the P&E to slightly wind it down and save strength for tomorrow (Clare by this point were miles away - they had given everything up at Ditton), Alan proceeded to call a couple of "up two-s" (cue cursing from Bomber). 

Overall, a very impressive rowthrough. Stay tuned for what I hope will be a report about a bump tomorrow!
(M.E. Crane)
Saturday
Bumped by LMBC