Both NW1 and NW2 took to the water yesterday for their first race on the River Cam. After only being in the set crews for 2 weeks, the girls had worked hard to master race starts, timing and balance – now was the time to put it altogether at high rate.

Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely horrific – with icy cold winds and torrential rain, the crews had their work cut out during the racing and the waiting in between. One of the most important things though for the race is deciding on the costumes. NW2 had gone for characters from Winnie the Pooh, complete with the cox as a jar of honey. NW1 had opted for Noah’s Ark, with frog, elephant and zebra all making an appearance. There were, however, the compulsory additions of waterproofs, which were sopping after only an hour in the rain.

 

NW2 were up first starting of against Emmanuel NW2. Despite clashing blades early on, the crew managed to disentangle themselves from the mess and were powering down the course. It was a nail biting race but our bow ball just made it across the line first, meaning the girls were up to row again in the quarter-finals. Next up was Kings NW2 and after a strong start, Hughes/Lucy were gaining a comfortable lead to cross the finish line with 4 lengths to spare. Then it was on to the semi-finals, and after being out in the rain and the cold for nearly 3 hours,, the conditions were taking their toll – teeth were chattering, arms were shaking and hands were reddening. With only two more races left, the crew took up position for the 3rd time that day against Jesus NW1. Although NW2 gave it everything they had, Jesus powered away. For third place, it was us against Murray Edwards NW1. Again it was a tight race, but a combination of the terrible weather, and losing a footplate, meant that Murray Edwards won by a length. They came fourth out of 16 other boats in the division which was a great result!

NW1 division were next to race. They had a tough first opponent – Darwin NW1 had won the Women’s final at Queens’ Ergs last week. After a strong start the two crews were neck and neck, and it was only till Darwin caught a crab (where the blade goes behind the rower and is left dragging in the water) that Lucy/Hughes were able to finally pull ahead. Darwin tried to catch up with Power 10 after Power 10 but our boat just made it across the finish line and were awarded the win. After a little bit of a wait for the next round, NW1 were up against Emmanuel NW1. Unfortunately the River Gods had a sense of humour and there was another crab, this time in our boat, as well as another foot-plate issue. But the crew still kept close by Emma and only lost by a few metres.

Both crews won at least one race and were only knocked out by a crew that went onto the final – Jesus NW1 won the W2 division, whilst Emmanuel went onto the final of the W1 division. The girls rowed really well and with Clare Novices and Fairbairns left, there’s plenty of time for more racing glory!

 

So Tuesday 11th saw our novices taking to the ergs for their first competition. Hughes Sprints, our own miniature version of Queens Ergs, had helped us in the selected 2 crews of 8 women to compete.

NW1 were up first with their division at 18:00. After a delay of 15mins, and a spot of drizzling rain, we were going into the Hall to the Drum and Bass of the speaker system and making our way to erg 9. With our first rower ready at front-stops we waited for the ‘Attention…GO!’ The girls did really well, coming 5th in their division with an average time of 1.55. 4 which was only a second behind the crews in 3rd and 4th place. We had to wait for the last NW1 division to be won before we knew if they had made it through to the final…and they did!

Whilst NW1 recovered with chocolate and pasta, it was time for the NW2 to show their mettle. They too put in a good performance coming 8th out of 14 boats in their division with an average time of 2.05. One of our rowers got a time of 1.56.4 which was only 3 seconds off the fastest girl in the division.

After a long wait it was time for NW1 to line up once again; this time for the final. Even though they’d raced nearly 4 hours before, the adrenalin was still pumping, and they finished in 10th position with a time of 1.55.8 Between all of the bottom 6 crews, there was only 0.9 of a second in it, so it really was very tight! There were 30 women’s crews that competed in the NW1 division, so to beat 20 of those crews is a job well done indeed!

Bring on Emma Sprints!

After the success of Lent Bumps, the pressure was now on – with a few changes in line-ups for both W1 and W2, particularly the return of Stella Lempidaki, who had trailed for the Women’s Blue Boat, along with Izzy Vvyvyan who competed at the Boat Race, training was back to full steam, and the 5.30am alarms were set for the beautiful morning outings. We were also lucky enough to have Jonas Schwenck, a rower at St Edmunds College, agree to coach our W2 boat, and he really put them through their paces! Both crews entered the Champs Eights (1.4km) race and both won their division by quite some margin –prize tankards all around! W2 easily completed the Getting-On Race, securing themselves a place in the fourth division. With both crews ready to go out and grab some greenery, Bumps was shaping up to be an exciting week! W2 just missed Blades as they were given a technical rowover on the second day. Despite rowing over on the first day, W1 continued their winning streak with four bumps, making us eligible for College Blades, as well as securing a strong place in Division Two. It was fantastic to have such great support from the College and Alumni on the final day as we rode past with the Lucy and Hughes flags flying high once again. We were also winners of the Pegasus Cup for the most successful Club in May Bumps.

It has really been a fantastic term and year for the whole Club. Congratulations to everyone who competed, and a big thank to all those who came to cheer us on. We are sorry to have to lose so many wonderful rowers, particularly Kate Stevens, previous President, and Erin Townsend, previous Captain. We wish all those leaving the best in whatever walks of life they know decide to go into, and we hope to see you at the next Boat Club Dinner.