Author: jo322

Winter Head felt like an inappropriate name for a race where at least two of the crew were racing in short all-in ones. It’s unseasonably warm and sunny, and we’re feeling strong on the row up to the start… I say row up, a 1 hour delay in marshalling makes it feel more like an excersise in backing it down and trying not to provoke house-boat owners. After an isolated altercation with a man suffering from pride-of-paintwork, we continue the stop/start traipse up to the lock.

The race gets off to a flying start as we power under the motorway bridge after Newnham. Settling into a good rhythm, we start to try and catch up. We make good ground on them around the corners, thanks to some killer lines from Ola in the cox’s seat. The power is there at times, and as we start to flag coming out of ditton, the reach gives us a new lease of life to make for the finish line at the P&E.

We’re still gaining on Newnham, and the boat behind us is no-where to be seen, when suddenly disaster strikes, and we catch a crab. Though it takes us a while to recover (motivated by the cheering from mystery ‘New Hall’ supporters!), we see Clare gaining on us and give it our all, fighting them off with all our might. The determination to push as hard as we can and make up lost time is frankly inspiring, and we sweep under the finish line, completely drained.

Time: 11:42
Position: Joint 213th (overall)
Division Position: 16th (out of 18)

So, all in all, a success for grit and determination, if not for time. Onwards and upwards, we prepare for Fairbairns with everything to prove.

It’s an absolutely gorgeous and sunny Saturday afternoon – a perfect day for W1’s first race of the term, Winter Head. The 2.5km course covers the river from the motorway bridge clear through to the P&E, a stretch that has seen our crew have some pretty good (the day we managed to get enough clear river to manage a decent head piece) and pretty bad (the incredibly foggy morning we couldn’t sit the boat for love nor money) outings so far this term. All in all, though, we feel we’re in good shape to have a solid showing today.

Though due to race in the 11:40 division, things are running exasperatingly predictably late, and we have to marshall by the Chesterton bridge for a good half hour, keeping our spirits up with banter and Haribo. We give a cheer for our novice crew Athena as they pass us, having just finished their first race in the previous division. Finally, we’re able to move up to the starting station where another round of waiting commences, though this one not nearly as long. We spin and paddle to the starting line, focusing ourselves and setting our platform. As we near the bridge, our cox Chloe calls to begin our rolling start.

Three strong draws and five quick winds get the boat moving smoothly, and we settle into the race. Mark, our coach, can be barely discerned from the bank, shouting for the quick, sharp catches we’ve been working on all term. Despite a few incidents of ropey balance, our rowing feels strong and decently controlled. We manage to maintain our pace throughout, keeping up the power even through the last corners before the reach, a place we often lose our wind. Supporters cheering from the bank (thanks, Amy’s mom!), however, and Chloe’s calls for a power ten (she knows us too well) mean that we push through without any real tapering off. The reach is the only stretch of straight(ish) river on the Cam, so we try to make the most of it, lifting and sending the boat toward the railway bridge. Once out from under it, we know the finish isn’t far, so Chloe calls to empty the tanks, and we gun for the line. The banner passes over our heads, and it’s done. We paddle back to the boathouse, and Mark tells us that, while there are things to improve on (which he always says, no matter how well we do, which is probably why we keep getting better), we had a good race and a good foundation for the upcoming Fairbairns, the big end-of-term race at the beginning of December.

Later that evening at the traditional post-race pub gathering, we keep checking to see if the official race results have been posted. When they finally are, we’re thrilled to find that, with a time of 9:50, we’ve come 10th out of ALL women’s boats, (which includes the Cambridge blues squads, out-of-town university crews, like King’s College London and Imperial, and town crews) and, more importantly and excitingly, 1st in our division and 1st out of all the Cambridge college women’s boats! MECBC owns the river!

Mark’s reaction? “Fastest girls on the river then? It’s about time . . .”

Bring on Fairbairns.

Reana Maier
MECBC W1
Lower Boats Captain 2011-2012

On Saturday, 19 November, MECBC competed in Winter Head, a competition run by Cantabrigian Rowing Club, which consists of timed 2.5km head races on the Cam River. Entrants included Cambridge University Boat Club crews, Cambridge college boat club crews, crews from universities outside of Cambridge and crews from Cambridge town rowing clubs. This was our first racing event of the term, and we entered four boats: our 1st VIII, 2nd VIII and two novice crews, Calypso and Athena.

Results

Calypso
Time – 12:15
3rd of 7 college women’s boats in beginner’s category

Athena
Time – 12:45
6th of 7 college women’s boats in beginner’s category

W2
Time – 11:42
81st out of ALL women’s boats (111 in total, includes CUW boats, other university senior boats, such as King’s College London and Imperial, and town club boats)

W1
Time – 9:50
10th out of ALL women’s boats (111 in total, includes CUW boats, other university senior boats, such as King’s College London and Imperial, and town club boats)
1st out of all Cambridge college women’s boats

Congratulations to all who raced with us on Saturday! We clearly have a very solid foundation on which to build for future events.

Our next race is Fairbairns, which takes place on the 1st and 2nd of December.