Rain. That was the weather forecast for Sunday morning. Our cox warned us about it and we came prepared. But no preparation is enough for a cold and rainy race. Geared up with our reindeer antlers, we headed to the start line and waited our turn.
Our first sprint start was not quick enough and we were immediately left behind, unable to see Newnham NW2’s boat and losing motivation. However, with the unceasing encouragement of our cox, who could see them just a few meters ahead, we were able to keep a constant distance. Despite losing that first race, we did not despair and tried to stay as warm as possible during the break.
With our second opponent-to-be disqualified, the marshals had a few minutes of confusion before deciding we would race against Emma NW3. All our efforts went into that second sprint. We had a great start and reached a very good pace, moving fast and leaving our opponents behind. Everything was looking too good when 7 caught a crab with the same power she was putting into her strokes, which made steering very difficult and sent us into the bank. Even though our recovery was surprisingly fast, Emma was by then 3 boat lengths ahead of us. We gave our best and managed to reduce that distant to 1 boat by the time those 800 meters were over, leaving a few sets of antlers behind.
We will now prepare for the challenging Fairbairns race. It will be the first time Absolut races such a long distance but we are confident that the latest outings and erg sessions will prepare us for it.
Joaquina Delas Vives