W2 arrived at the boathouse on a gorgeous snowy afternoon on Tuesday, wrapped up super warm and ready to race. We were all feeling pretty nervous – it would be the first time every member of the boat had rowed in Bumps, and we’d all heard the stories of how fun, but also how intense it is.
Following a gentle paddle up to marshalling and some chocolate, we had a good practice start up on Plough Reach, which boosted our confidence. We arrived at the Motorway Bridge, where we spun and waited for the cannon to go off to signal the four-minute mark. We had been told the cannon was loud, but I don’t think any of us had realised quite how loud it actually was, especially as were right next to it! As the one-minute cannon went off, Mark started pushing us out and getting us into position. The countdown continued. We came forward at 10 seconds, squared our blades at 7, and waited for the cannon to go off.
Our start was good, and we managed to get to within a boat length of Jesus in the space of a few strokes. Unfortunately, the Catz crew that was chasing us also started gaining on us. This threw everyone off, meaning the strong, steady rhythm we had started with became a bit frantic, and we were soon bumped by Catz.
While this was a disappointing start to our first ever Bumps campaign, our spirits weren’t too dampened, and we rowed home keeping spectators entertained with rousing show tunes such as ‘Let it Go’, Hakuna Matata’ and ‘I Dreamed A Dream’. This was duly noted in the Umpires’ Notes and Fines… let the history books remember!
“Murray Edwards W2 – Singing in boat – prepare an opera for Saturday’s race”
Tamzin Byrne, 3 and Giulia Bollen Gandolfo, 2