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Message board > Members' Opinion Polls > Members' poll: What happened to Granta in the Fours head? 
  

What happened to Granta in the Fours head?
The Granta coxless four finished last in the Fours Head in a time of 47 minutes (their event was won in just over 20 minutes). What happened?
Gate opened, blade lost  0%
Hit bridge  0%
Steering wires broke  0%
Hit debris  0%
Training plan called for technical pairs work  14%
Aliens  14%
Very localised counter-current tidal wave  4%
Thames whale  4%
Ran aground on Fulham flats  0%
They didn't 'use the stream! Stream one! Stream two!'  7%
Nothing - it was a good time for them  57%
Total: 28 members' votes
by injured - Sun 4th Nov 2007, 7:05pm
How about "were forced to substitute their steerer on the morning of the race"?
by Simon - Sun 4th Nov 2007, 9:49pm
injured said: How about "were forced to substitute their steerer on the morning of the race"?
OK, being in the stream, and not having a last minute sub, does give you an advantage but NOT TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES! Unless the sub steerer was the person from JCBC who times Fairbairns but had set the wormhole in reverse?
by RTT - Sun 4th Nov 2007, 10:21pm
The steerer must be pretty amazing if he is worth 20 minutes over the course. Stick him in Leander and they'd break the light barrier.
by Will L - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 7:56am
Simon said: OK, being in the stream, and not having a last minute sub, does give you an advantage but NOT TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES!
It turns out the main advantage of being in the stream, as Granta discovered, is that there are less buoys to hit...
by C.S.Dunleavy - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 9:12am
Would you not get over the course in less time if you just drifted with the stream?
by BJ - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 9:21am
C.S.Dunleavy said: Would you not get over the course in less time if you just drifted with the stream?
As I understand it, you would also get over the course in less time if you didn't pull in at Cygnet and borrow an unbroken blade from them.
by RTT - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 10:43am
Will L said: there are less buoys to hit...
fewer
by mjb - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 11:16am
Will L said: It turns out the main advantage of being in the stream, as Granta discovered, is that there are less buoys to hit...
Having run into a couple of tideway buoys myself (although not during races), it would seem to be quite an achievement to damage a blade on one, and also to damage it sufficiently to need to grab a spare.
by mjb - Mon 5th Nov 2007, 11:22am
C.S.Dunleavy said: Would you not get over the course in less time if you just drifted with the stream?
The stream was seriously weak on Saturday, so being in or out of it shouldn't have made all that much difference (as long as you're cutting the corners rather than going the long way round).

I heard that Granta turned round to row back to Cygnet (against the flow) - presumably this would have added a number of seconds to their time, not to mention a few more metres to the total distance rowed by the crew.
by Dubya - Tue 6th Nov 2007, 9:58pm
What's all this blather about what apparently happened in "reality"? The poll is nearly unanimous, so there is surely no question...
by dw229 - Tue 6th Nov 2007, 10:21pm
Dubya said: What's all this blather about what apparently happened in "reality"? The poll is nearly unanimous, so there is surely no question...
I like it. What shall we call it? "Pollular Reality"?
by My spies are everywhere... - Tue 6th Nov 2007, 11:43pm
Dubya said: What's all this blather about what apparently happened in "reality"? The poll is nearly unanimous, so there is surely no question...
There appears to be more overlap between the poll and reality than the blather would suggest. A spy tells me that on leaving Cygnet, the crew failed to show any significant speed, or discover the stream. Apparently they spent the entire Hammersmith bend on Middlesex (so both out of the stream and taking the long way around, then onto the flats) and didn't make much progress through the field of womens' S2 quads.
by lol-ed - Fri 9th Nov 2007, 9:17pm
"Training plan called for technical pairs work."

This is inspired! Who wrote this one; I owe them a beer.