W1 had an interesting row-up to the marshalling point, with two very kind subs filling in for Reana and myself, as we were busy coxing/bank-partying for W3. We jumped in at the P&E and had a strong practise start under the Railway Bridge, then settled into some good paddling up to the start.
Just as we heard the first cannons we were slightly worried at the amount of wind, but this did not phase us. Our start was solid and controlled, and we quickly gained a whistle on LMBC W1. An unfortunate crab meant that we lost the advance we had, but we managed to refocus and crept back up towards Maggie. Round the corners we sat up and pushed harder, determined to get the whistles back. However, as we passed the Plough it was clear that LMBC had caught up to King’s in front of them and had bumped out.
After having to stop because a crew failed to clear the river ahead of us, we did a quick restart, and were soon flying down the Long Reach. Although by this time we knew it was going to be a row-over for us, we did not give up, and kept powering through to the finish, spurred on by Christina’s calls for aggression.
Spirits were high when we pulled in at the boathouse : although we didn’t catch LMBC, we had a good race and it felt like we couldn’t have pushed harder. I look forward to three more successful races with this great crew.
Laura Désert, Stroke