The Club's Results

Till Ditton we said. It's a five minute race we said. Well we didn't account for a total fuck up of a start and losing 3/4 a length off the gun. Whoops. Still bumped though! Good opportunity to practice panicking. (Selfdestructive golden retriever)

Newnham ought to do a marketing campaign with Heinz... (Dido Coley)

Baby's first row-over. Ouchie. (Zara Bek)

Best split: 1:37 (Stat Dog (woof woof))

Our plan was to bump by the book
Get Emma before Pembroke could look
But though we got near
And gave some good fear
They did bump us on poor Ditton's nook


We raced damn well. 8(?!) splits quicker going around First Post than yesterday having flown out of the blocks at rate 44.5. But despite getting three whistles on Emma, in the end Pembroke were the quicker crew and managed to catch us in the nick of time. Here's to a painful day tomorrow...
(Dido Coley)

I won't lie, I thought Clare might get us given the levels of disease down the boat. Turns out they still don't know how to do a bumps race. See you all next year.  (Plague Victim #1)

I would rate this as M1's best performance in several years (take that as you will). We gained on Pembroke off the start (despite a coxbox cutting in and out) and slowly reeled them in. We got the 1st whistle in the Gut, the second as we came around Ditton and then the third at the White House (however I was not aware we were at three until after we passed bottom finish.) We unfortunately sat at a canvas off Pembroke without the drive to get the bump. Day two is a new day and another chance to catch Pembroke. (Andrew Farquharson)

Simply we were the slower crew and there isn't any shame in that. We rowed some of our best today, we gained on Pembroke off the start getting up to a canvas off them when Catz caught up to us on Plough Reach. When Catz went they went and we couldn't compete on speed. (Andrew Farquharson)

(Andrew Farquharson)

Is there anything better than winning a four boat sandwich around first post corner with 3 different overlaps? (Thomas Gaertner)

Despite harsher weather than yesterday (hail from the 1 min cannon to the bump) this was our best rowing yet. Our aim was simple: same as yesterday but better. We delivered. We reached 1 whistle within the first 5-10 strokes with calls of 3 quarters soon after. Our rhythm was effective and boat speed picked up as we dropped the rate from 40 to 36. From there 2 whistles were shortly followed by 3. We were told to put in one power minute and we did, bumping Downing halfway down first post reach.  (Sam Pearson)

Since we are a majority novice boat, it was very kind of ARU and Catz to offer us a practice row before the real deal. In one day of bumps alone we have become seasoned veterans.  (Hazel Herzog)

A chaotic race for everyone! (Rosie)

(Andrew Farquharson)

We got a whistle on stroke 7
We got 2 whistles on about stroke 10
On about stroke 15 ARU caught a boatstopping crab. They also snapped their own steering. It is unclear whether these two events are connected. (Rosie)

Many things occurred in quick succession. Wish I could tell you what most of them were.  One of them was a whistle almost as soon as the cannon went; the next, a brief period of general confusion (and damage to the ARU boat). The final, crucial thing, though, was a bump, well before the bridge.  (Hazel Herzog)

It was a very wet, choppy, windy and painful row which culminated in us bumping Lucy Cav while Lucy were 6inches from Emma's stern (Rosie)

By the standards of W2 this was a very uneventful race.
Lucy Cav disappeared backwards into the distance, we closed on Emma
We bumped them half way along first post reach. Not a klaxon or a 3 boat sandwich in sight this time! (Rosie)

Peterhouse gave chase, (Oscar Allen)

A good rate, some lovely lines and a committment from the start that has been missing from a few recent outings gives us a nice foundation to build on for the rest of this week. (Max Acton)

The first day of lent bumps was here; (George Moger-Taylor)

Some patented asymptotic lines from Moger-Taylor sealed the deal (Robert Crossen)

This morning we entered the fray, (Toby Collins)

Jesus ahead, Peterhouse behind, (Nick Nelson)

We pushed to within 1/2 length of Queens' along Plough reach. We slowed into the corner. They pushed off Ditton; we gave up. They wanted it more than some of us. Rowed over with crews in front and behind at station. (Toby Collins)

Again chasing Queens'—attempt two. (Toby Collins)

A bump at long last (Max Acton)

Today was our very last row, (Toby Collins)

One length during the winds, half length quickly afterwards. We went full power, there was probably half a minute where we were hearing triple-whistles from the bank, then we were told to hold it up. (Brian Chen)

The rowing today was probably not the best we've done at high rates, but we were fast enough to get to one length after the starts. Stayed at two whistles for quite a while but eventually three whistles came and we gave it our all. Lucy steered into them for the bump quickly after overlapping, overall a very nice race as always. (Brian Chen)

Another strong performance today saw us chase down King's M2. A strong start led to us coming to one length off quickly after the end of our start sequence. We maintained an (ambitious) stroke rate of 36, but this paid off as we were able to quickly come to a canvas off King's. The final push at the third whistle, even if it seems like an eternity, allowed Lucy to skillfully bump their crew. Overall, we were done less than 150 seconds after the cannon fired. The blades campaign continues tomorrow with us hunting down Hughes Hall M2 (Piers Marchant)

The river lay still, the air full of dread,
Our paddling wobbled, our technique misled.
A practice start, oh, what a sight!
Two strokes of air, not done quite right.
Yet hope still burned, though nerves ran high,
As oars met water, the race drew nigh.

Off the start, we held our ground,
But Hughes ahead still surged and bound.
Through First-Post, a length behind,
Yet power waned, our pace went down.
Between the bend, I lost my sight,
Only László’s shoulder, flashing in my mind.

From Grassy’s turn, a sight so sweet
King’s II behind met their defeat.
A row-over seemed our destined fate,
But then two whistles! No time to wait!
Three whistles soon! A final cry!
With one last push, we soared on by!
"Hold it up!" the moment came,
My first bump, a victor’s claim.

The row home? Oh, let’s not dwell,
Our technique fled, it’s just as well.
A crab mid-roar, a tangled oar,
Some laughter shared, no need for more.

To M4, my thanks I send,
May blades be yours, your triumph penned!

(Bálint Tóth)

We knew that Thursday would be a pivotal moment in our blades campaign, as we had to get two subs. This threatened to disrupt the pattern we had gotten into in the previous days, especially as the stroke seat changed, and I had to change sides too. Hughes Hall M2 had rowed on the previous two days so we knew they could hold out if necessary. Thankfully there was no cause for consternation. Despite a rocky start, we managed to settle into a rhythm, and we soon heard the first whistle. We stayed at about a length off, but slowly began to chip away at Hughes Hall. The second whistle came soon enough and we began to pick up the rate. We had been sitting at 32 and came up to 36 in order to secure the bump, which came fairly swiftly after the third whistle. We stopped by the plough and were delighted to learn that M3 in the same division had bumped up for the first time too. We go again on Saturday for the final race of the blades campaign against Peterhouse M3 (Piers Marchant)

(Brian Chen)