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Message board > General Discussion > Your best ever outing


Your best ever outing by Simon - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 9:13am
As it's quiet on the boards... I've just had a really productive and constructive outing in the 2-, which made me start to wonder what was my best outing (nb not race) ever. Haven't made my mind up yet, but thought I'd set up a thread in case anyone else felt like doing some reminiscing as well.

by gf - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 9:35am
Simon said: As it's quiet on the boards... I've just had a really productive and constructive outing in the 2-, which made me start to wonder what was my best outing (nb not race) ever. Haven't made my mind up yet, but thought I'd set up a thread in case anyone else felt like doing some reminiscing as well. "We'll start the next piece when someone's blade touches the water..."

by RTT - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 9:56am
Similar to your outing in the 2nd VIII, we had Crawford coaching us in the May VIII the year after. When we did that exercise, he made us start the next one anyway after I got cocky and took my water bottle out of the kit locker and had a drink without us hitting the water! Other possibilities include: 8+ doing 6x500m before Fairbairns 1999 (though as we all know it got cancelled). 2- with Ian Craig at Ely where we beat the Bottomley / Bourne crew (who were about to go to final trials) at free rate 500m. 8+ subbing for CULRC with 3x1000m, last one rating 42. 2- with James Silk at Ely (one of only two occasions when Adrian has told me I was rowing well). 2- with Doug Perrin at Ely where we thrashed the other pair and came quite close to the 8 (well under two minutes) in a 5k time trial into a head wind.

by Martin - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 10:50am
gf said: "We'll start the next piece when someone's blade touches the water..." I think that has to win it for me too - Crawford's frustration as at the end of each piece the boat slowed to a stop and was gently nudged into the bank by the breeze... (2nd May VIII '99) Or maybe the first outing we had back in the Janousek that term - Headcase started throwing himself from side to side to try (in vain) to knock the boat over if I remember correctly :-)

by Simon - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 3:39pm
gf said: "We'll start the next piece when someone's blade touches the water..." I was away for this outing (at the Cricket World Cup at Lord's if I recall) so can not claim that one. The best outing for me that term was just before bumps started - sunny day, down on the course, only a couple of other crews around, all the posts and river furniture freshly repainted, the grass cut around grassy corner... a real feeling of anticipation, almost like the calm before the storm of bumps. I think that outing in the cancelled Fairbairn eight probably pips it. Everything just clicked...

by gf - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 4:04pm
Simon starts a thread about best outings ever. Two of the first three people to respond nominate an outing with Simon missing. Ouch ;-)

by Martin - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 8:11pm
One can only presume that we must have been helped out by a sub of the highest calibre :-)

by mjb - Fri 20th Jun 2003, 8:27pm
I reckon my best outing was one time in the Lent VIII. Doing a square blade rate build and going around First Post rating something like 42 with a sat boat was wickid. (Having been in the fourth boat the previous season, this was quite a big step up to make, so the more experienced members of the crew might remember it as just another outing; but for some reason it stands out.) And we'd just lost one of our rowers to injury and had a (admittedly reasonably high-quality) dodgy sub in the boat. Second place would have to go to a 2- outing with JPD when I was learning to row on strokeside and RTT, coaching, nearly managed to get me rowing, as opposed to whatever I normally do when in a boat. I'm sorry to say that Simon was not in either of these boats ...

by ccsi2 - Wed 2nd Jul 2003, 10:49pm
Don't know if it counts as an outing but our row down to the start on Day 2 of the Mays '99 in the 2nd VIII when we did a near faultless practice start was pretty cool. Other possibilities would the one already mentioned by Martin and Graham and also doing cutting the cake with square blades to 3/4 slide without any problems.

by Dubya - Fri 4th Jul 2003, 3:36pm
My best ever outing was in a single one day in Ely with Adrian coaching. He made me scull with my arms bent (for the whole stroke), but after the exercise things were glorious for about 5 minutes until I forgot how to row again, never to repeat. Worst ever outing: the previous one. In a pair with Dave Pearce. Possibly this is why the single seemed so good.

by Crawford - Mon 7th Jul 2003, 3:59pm
Delighted to see that the old 6 x 2 mins grueller has so many fans. I have yet to see a FaT VIII do that outing badly. In fact, one of the very few things I miss about living in the Highlands now is that I don't get to do that outing any more... My best outing? Difficult to pick one, but definitely from the week before the Mays 1992, when Peter Brandt ensured we had some ridiculously late evenings down below Clayhithe.