This was W2’s first race of term and, for two of the crew, their first race with MECBC. W2’s term had got off to a somewhat uncertain start, going from a rolling crew of five, down to four, and back up to a rolling five, before eventually settling as a four – better late than never!
Unfortunately our cox, Alice, and our coach, Watson, weren’t able to be with us for the race, but Christina stepped in to save the day and her boyfriend Tristan gave support from the bank. By the time our division was marshalling, it was clear that they were running behind, resulting in four very chilly rowers, with Tamzin, being Australian, feeling it the most.
The cold was quickly forgotten when we began the race with our five powerful strokes to get us up to race pace. We got off to a good start and quickly pulled away from the Four that was following us. The majority of the race was quiet, making it hard to keep the power on, but Christina’s calls kept us motivated and strong. The most exciting part of the race, and our biggest motivation, was an Octuple scull trying to overtake us towards the end. Despite them having twice as many people and four times as many oars, we gave them a good fight, pushing harder to make it difficult for them. We got to experience Christina going ‘nuclear’, and this was the best we’d rowed during the race (partly out of fear)!
As always, we ended our race with a trip to the pub and a well-deserved pint. We were all really proud of each other for how far we’ve come, with the help of Watson, from where we started. Now we’re even more excited to keep working hard in the run up to Fairbairns!
Danielle, 3