On Thursday 28th November, the novices completed their first long race, covering 2.7km under really difficult conditions. The wind was horrific and made it very difficult coming up to the start line and on the Reach. But once they got underway they were really flying, which was a joy to see! It had been a bit touch-and-go whether we would get a crew out and slight damage to the boat the day before the race did not fill me with joy. But as usual, Pete came to the rescue and people switched their schedules for us to have a full crew to race. Overall, they came 24th out of 42 boats, beating the likes of Queens and Kings. With the conditions they were under, and the relative inexperience of the crew at long distance racing, I was very pleased with their performance – all good preparation for Bumps after all!