It’s an absolutely gorgeous and sunny Saturday afternoon – a perfect day for W1’s first race of the term, Winter Head. The 2.5km course covers the river from the motorway bridge clear through to the P&E, a stretch that has seen our crew have some pretty good (the day we managed to get enough clear river to manage a decent head piece) and pretty bad (the incredibly foggy morning we couldn’t sit the boat for love nor money) outings so far this term. All in all, though, we feel we’re in good shape to have a solid showing today.
Though due to race in the 11:40 division, things are running exasperatingly predictably late, and we have to marshall by the Chesterton bridge for a good half hour, keeping our spirits up with banter and Haribo. We give a cheer for our novice crew Athena as they pass us, having just finished their first race in the previous division. Finally, we’re able to move up to the starting station where another round of waiting commences, though this one not nearly as long. We spin and paddle to the starting line, focusing ourselves and setting our platform. As we near the bridge, our cox Chloe calls to begin our rolling start.
Three strong draws and five quick winds get the boat moving smoothly, and we settle into the race. Mark, our coach, can be barely discerned from the bank, shouting for the quick, sharp catches we’ve been working on all term. Despite a few incidents of ropey balance, our rowing feels strong and decently controlled. We manage to maintain our pace throughout, keeping up the power even through the last corners before the reach, a place we often lose our wind. Supporters cheering from the bank (thanks, Amy’s mom!), however, and Chloe’s calls for a power ten (she knows us too well) mean that we push through without any real tapering off. The reach is the only stretch of straight(ish) river on the Cam, so we try to make the most of it, lifting and sending the boat toward the railway bridge. Once out from under it, we know the finish isn’t far, so Chloe calls to empty the tanks, and we gun for the line. The banner passes over our heads, and it’s done. We paddle back to the boathouse, and Mark tells us that, while there are things to improve on (which he always says, no matter how well we do, which is probably why we keep getting better), we had a good race and a good foundation for the upcoming Fairbairns, the big end-of-term race at the beginning of December.
Later that evening at the traditional post-race pub gathering, we keep checking to see if the official race results have been posted. When they finally are, we’re thrilled to find that, with a time of 9:50, we’ve come 10th out of ALL women’s boats, (which includes the Cambridge blues squads, out-of-town university crews, like King’s College London and Imperial, and town crews) and, more importantly and excitingly, 1st in our division and 1st out of all the Cambridge college women’s boats! MECBC owns the river!
Mark’s reaction? “Fastest girls on the river then? It’s about time . . .”
Bring on Fairbairns.
Reana Maier
MECBC W1
Lower Boats Captain 2011-2012