After a disappointing start to what were the first Bumps for many of us, we were quite optimistic that today would be the day that we finally bumped. Having mentally and physically prepared ourselves, with motivational team talks and a collection of our favourite stretches, we were ready to hand Caius some spoons as we rowed down.
As the canon went, we got off to one of our strongest starts of the week, getting our first whistle on Caius during the start sequence. During cox Katie’s calls for a power 10, we saw that Queens had been bumped, and knew that all we needed to do was to keep chasing down Caius. Despite our cox’s calls to lengthen out and settle, a very determined stroke decided that we were just going to power through, and soon we were getting more and more whistles! After a final push for 10, we gave Caius ‘a firm tap on the rear’, as our classy coach Robert Gardiner would say.
Rowing back to the boathouse just behind W3, both of the crews covered in greenery, was the best way to end Bumps!
Maria Rust