On Saturday 15th March, the 75th Women’s Eights Head of the River Race (or WEHoRR) took place on the Tideway of the River Thames from Mortlake to Putney. The course is the same 6.8km or 4 and a quarter mile Championship Course of the Thames that has been made famous by the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race (although they race it the other way around from Putney to Mortlake). Approximately 300 crews from around the country (and even some international crews) took part in WEHoRR including a Team GB composite crew which included olympic medal winners Katherine Grainger, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover.
W1 rowing past Hammersmith Bridge
For many of us in W1, it was our first time on the Tideway, so our first experience of possibly choppy waters and waves, but boating from Sons of the Thames gave us time to adapt to the river conditions while rowing to the start line. This eased our nerves and put us in a positive mind-set prior to the race. We had a powerful start and settled at a controlled rate of 32 and for the first kilometre or so the weather was kind to us and conditions were fairly calm. After holding off Worcester RC they began to overtake us but for the entirety of the race we never let them get too far away. There were no other boats in sight behind us, so we had managed to push away from the crews behind. There were parts of the course where there were very strong winds and the water became a little choppy but the team pushed through it, with motivating calls from cox Gemma, and focused on each stroke pushing us closer to the finish line. Gemma had set out and executed a detailed race plan and steered brilliantly throughout the whole course.
W1 Crew from back left): Catherine Quinn (6), Sally Mole (5), Stella Lempidaki (4), Clare Collins (3), Carina Luxhøj (2), Sarah Roe (stroke), Gemma Schofield (cox), Elinor George (7), Jessica Phillips (bow)
We completed the race in a time of 23 minutes and 16 seconds placing us 147th and in the top half of the 300 crews that entered. We were the 6th fastest Cambridge College at WEHoRR beating Sidney Sussex, Churchill, Caius, King’s, and Catz.
Rowing on the tideway was a great experience for the whole crew. We and our coach, Hannah Spry, were all really happy with our performance and the result. We look forward to seeing what results we can achieve in the races during Easter term.
The first race of the competition for Lucy/Hughes was the women’s third division which is where, in position 11, our W2 boat started their campaign. For all the rowers in W2 (and a couple in W1) it was their first Bumps experience so there was an abundance of nervous excitement for this very unique series of races. At 1:20pm on Wednesday the start cannon was fired and W2 set off chasing Darwin W2 and trying to avoid being caught by Jesus W3.
They got a really good start and maintained the 1 and 1/2 boat lengths between them and the crew infront. Ahead of them, Darwin quickly bumped the crew infront of them and boat boats just managed to get out of the way as W2 came through still being pursued by Jesus. Jesus then crashed into the bank under the motorway bridge so Lucy/Hughes pulled away. They were making steady progress on the crew that started 2 boat ahead but these crews also bumped out. Cox, Marjun, kept putting in bursts of power strokes to make sure Jesus could’t catch up. As they approached Plough reach, crews were visible ahead. The girls powered through the last corners and despite making up ground on the crews they didn’t manage to catch them before the finish. So on the first day the girls managed to row over.
A successful bump for W1!
After being deafened by the cannon in our starting position under the bridge, W1 had a good start and quickly gained on Christ’s W2. They began to pull away again slightly but we reined them back in and managed to successfully bumps them at First post corner, about 500m into the course.
Day Two:
W2 had an impressive day of racing bumping Clare Hall W1 within the first few hundred meters of the race meaning there was again no threat from Jesus W3 behind them. This was the girl’s first bump of week and their first experience of greenery!
W2 celebrating their first bump!
W1 were quick off the start after a few issues with the bung and the water outlet near our station. We gained half a length on Fitzwilliam but remained at that distance away for a while. They were catching up on Homerton fast and nearly caught them when Fitzwilliam caught a crab and we powered around the corner overtaking them, thanks to some good reactive coxing from Gemma and directing from coach Hannah on the bank. We were therefore awarded the bump, although I don’t think any of the rowers realised this until after we’d been told to stop and pull in!
Day Three: W2 was back chasing Darwin W2 on day three. W2 didn’t let Darwin get away easily but Darwin started to pull away and bumped Murray Edwards W3 leaving Lucy/Hughes to chase St Catharine’s who started three positions infront. After a strong row they gained some distance and were gaining on them coming around Grassy corner but couldn’t quite catch them before the end of the course. But it was another impressive row over from the crew.
W1 quickly started to gain on Homerton. However, infront of Homerton, Selwyn rowed straight into the bank allowing Homerton to almost immediately bump them. This meant that W1 were chasing Magdalene for the over bump. We were steadily gaining but they also bumped out. This meant that W1 also rowed over on the third day of racing.
W1 in action
Day Four: Day four marked the final day of this year’s Lent Bumps.
W2 Crew (from back left) : Eddie (Coach), Lara Gibson (3), Tracey Hurrell (6), Polytimi Frangou (5), Terese Knudsen (bow), Abbey Child (7), Marjun Parcasio (cox), Karen Lebe (4), Maria Schacker (2), April Bowman (stroke)
W2 managed to bump Murray Edwards W3 meaning that they moved up two places overall and finished the division in 9th position, so a very successful Lent bumps for W2. Especially since it’s the first time since 2012 that we have had a second boat in the contest.
W1 rowed over on the final day after Selwyn bumped out ahead of us. We were very close to getting the over bump on King’s but it wasn’t to be but it was a strong performance from the crew. W1 finished in 5th position in division 2, well and truly amongst the first boats.
Overall, it was a very successful Lent Bumps for the Lucy/Hughes team with each crew moving up two positions (and neither crew experiencing getting bumped!). Congratulations to the whole team, bring on May Bumps!
Thank you to Lizzy Moore and Ellen Kendall for their reports on how W2’s races went as I couldn’t be there myself and thank you to everyone who helped out by bank partying and marshalling!
