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Dark days for BPBC

For the third time in four years, the novices have beaten BPBC II in the Fairbairn Cup. However, a look through the archives demonstrates that there are plenty of sub-prime BPBC results. But which of these events ranks as BPBC's poorest performance?

Coming last in the HRR Qualifiers (?2002)		5%

Equipment failure: Royal Canadian Henley, summer 2000		59%

Losing to Downing II: Fairbairn Cup 2000		9%

7 riggers & a Bathtub: Head of the River 2003		18%

Fried Dough and last-but-one twice: Head of the Charles 2005		0%

'Umitigated disaster': City Sprints 2007		9%

F & T Novices 3, BPBC II 4: Fairbairn Cup 2001 - 2008		0%

Total: 22 members' votes

by JDT - Sun 7th Dec 2008, 9:53pm

Re: Equipment failure: Royal Canadian Henley, summer 2000

As Tom Rose once said, there are no equipment failures: only rower failures.

Not strictly true, but a good approximation.

by jpd - Mon 8th Dec 2008, 10:09am

JDT said: Re: As Tom Rose once said, there are no equipment failures: only rower failures.

Tom Rose clearly has a short memory.

by RTT - Tue 9th Dec 2008, 12:03pm

jpd said: Tom Rose clearly has a short memory.

I think failing to check / properly do up your gate counts as rower failure, not equipment failure.

The poll is missing a joke option. May I suggest JPD coming in nearly a minute behind Mahe at the Scullers Head 2006?

by Simon - Tue 9th Dec 2008, 3:54pm

RTT said: May I suggest JPD coming in nearly a minute behind Mahe at the Scullers Head 2006?

It doesn't count, as he was representing a minor town club. However, we could include the fact that when he raced as BPBC he fell from 14th to 29th.

by jpd - Tue 9th Dec 2008, 4:58pm

Simon said: It doesn't count, as he was representing a minor town club. However, we could include the fact that when he raced as BPBC he fell from 14th to 29th.

Although in 2006/7 I did race with Black Prince blades* :-) Conversely, I raced with "minor town club" blades this year.

Speed was actually very similar to last year (that is, not very fast) but the field was much stronger this time.

* For those not in the know: black with dark blue tip and gilded cat and buns on the front face. It took 14 hours to do one pair of sculls!

by Mark - Tue 9th Dec 2008, 7:20pm

I'd like to see a photo of these blades, any chance one could be uploaded?

by Involved in most of the above... - Tue 9th Dec 2008, 9:37pm

I'd like to point out that we actually came _second_ last at HRR - I believe we beat some other alumni club (quite possibly their second VIII).

The absolute ignominy of running up and down the hard at the biggest race in the UK asking to borrow a boat wins the day for me though.

by jpd - Wed 10th Dec 2008, 11:14am

Mark said: I'd like to see a photo of these blades, any chance one could be uploaded?

Actually it might not be - I can't find a good photo anywhere :-(

But I might have time to make a new stencil over Christmas and return them to their former glory.

by Simon - Wed 10th Dec 2008, 3:00pm

Involved in most of the above... said: I'd like to point out that we actually came _second_ last at HRR - I believe we beat some other alumni club (quite possibly their second VIII).

Do you know which year it was? 2002? I was slightly surprised that it wasn't on this website. I remember we were really disappointed because it had felt like a really good piece.

by Tom C - Wed 10th Dec 2008, 6:07pm

According to the HRR website, 2001. BPBC came 17th of 18 non-qualifiers, beating the slower of two Bournemouth alumni crews (the faster came 4th).

by Martin P - Wed 10th Dec 2008, 7:52pm

Tom C said: According to the HRR website, 2001. BPBC came 17th of 18 non-qualifiers, beating the slower of two Bournemouth alumni crews (the faster came 4th).

I think with all this new data available on option 1, we should scrap all voting and recast our votes. The HRR performance sounds truly awful!
If there was a consensus this could be arranged...

by Dubya - Thu 11th Dec 2008, 4:01pm

Involved in most of the above... said: ignominy

I like that word.