Murray Edwards College Boat Club

It was a beautiful day and the whole crew arrived at the boathouse in good spirits. The sun was out, and this gave us a legitimate reason for wearing our crew sunglasses. There were many jealous glances from the other boats, but, hey, we can’t help being uber cool.

The row down was composed and clean; everyone was focused and looking forward to the race ahead. We were met at the tow-path by Dame Barbara (holla at the grooviest President in Cambridge!) and Mr Bump. Their presence only strengthened our resolve to deliver a good bump!

There were a few nerves at the push-off; we knew we wanted a strong start in order to gain on Catz as quickly as possible. Perhaps we pushed a little too hard too soon, as there was definitely a slight lull in between getting two whistles and three whistles (the longest thirty seconds of our lives!).  Luckily we re-focused and, with the help of some fantastic coxing from Christina, we caught up with Catz in dramatic style coming up to grassy.

Unfortunately Catz had a bit of trouble clearing in a timely fashion, which led to a bit of a pile-up for the crews behind us. However, once we were disentangled, we were able to row home wearing the best bumps combo: sunglasses and foliage crowns. We were so stylish it was unreal.

 

Laura Robinson, Bow

Today we pushed off planning on cold revenge on Queens’ W2 who bumped us on Thursday. We did a good practice start and we were ready to give it all to try and catch a really fast Queens’. However, despite a powerful start, we were soon bumped by Sidney Sussex W2 as a loose gate cause a blade to fall out. Despite the heroic effort to put it back, we couldn’t compete with the other crew and had to concede a bump. But fear not – after a warming crew hug, W2 is ready to bump back tomorrow! Stay tuned!

 

Olimpia Onelli, 7

Today, none of our speakers worked during the race, they worked again after the race. At the start, we got one empty stroke and one crab, but managed to get closer up to Wolfson than yesterday. We were bumped by Queens at Grassy before we turned the corner. My tight cutting of the corner gave no space to Queens, who were poking their bowball to my left.

Our rowers worked hard today. Tomorrow, we should aim for less panic at the start with just the right amount of pressure. We had awesome practice starts today, and we should translate them into more confidence and control over the boat during the actual race. All of us value the chance to race in Bumps after all the hard work we have put in this term!

 

Iila Li, cox

No messing round today.

The boathouse was a much calmer place than yesterday; we know now that we have the strength to stay ahead, and that if we could just stay calm then Newnham could really be in some trouble. However we also knew that Catz were ahead of Newnham, giving them a fairly easy target, and that Pembroke would be gunning for us following the messy row yesterday. We would be ready for them!

Our lovely cox Christina was unfortunately absent, so Chloe was very kindly subbing for us; she kept us controlled and focussed on the row up. This wasn’t quite as tidy as it had been the day before, but we felt strong and together, and the two practice starts went fairly smoothly.

Waiting at our station the atmosphere was noticeably calmer than the day before; our pre-row speech from Mark was all about keeping cool and getting settled. He had hardly finished speaking before the 1 minute canon sounded, and before we knew it we were off!

Pembroke started stronger than yesterday, having watched us fall apart the day before, they were hoping for an early bump. Their bank party gave some overly optimistic whistles, but we were far calmer and in control; the rate had settled to a steady 35, and there was no way we were letting Pembroke touch us. Before long they were fading back into the distance; they clearly pushed too hard too soon, and we weren’t so easily caught.

Newnham bumped out Catz ahead as predicted, and Queens bumped Cauis ahead of them, so there was nothing to aim for. However we had learnt from the mistakes of the day before, and kept pushing Pembroke away right to the end, finishing with around 4 lengths between us. Compared with the scrappy row yesterday, it felt like a victory!

We’re getting the experience and learning from our mistakes. Catz had better watch their backs!

 

Harriet Alford, 6

On a cloudy and chilly Valentine’s Day morning, the mash-up boat of W2 and W3 gave a calm and strong row-down to the start of Pembroke Regatta. Parking at our marshalling station was humorous and we all learnt that boats do not parallel park easily but luckily a helpful marshal managed to save us and land us neatly in our niche to begin our wait to race.

We saw crews start and disappear into the distance with great splashes and shouting, eagerly and nervous anticipating our own race.

We were up against the ladies of Pembroke W2, and as we lined up next to each other we knew we were in for a tough one. As the race started we pushed off hard but the Pembroke gals pushed ahead harder and within minutes had a commanding lead. The Murray Edward’s W2.5 gave it their all and put up a fight before the beasts *ahem* beauts of Pembroke pushed away into the distance. Moral decreased as they pushed away but we rowed it through like pros and cheered the Pembroke champions on their well earned success.

I think we learnt that not all battles have to be won and we were all glad to have been able to make a crew to compete. No-one regretted signing up for the race and it was a wonderful experience as a first regatta. Such bonding and teamwork within a crew which had only ever had 2 outings together is highly indicative of MECBC spirit and determination. You win some, you lose some. But you always come back fighting. MECBC #wellhard

 

Heather Dudley, 6

Bumps is quite a paradox. No matter how many times you have rowed a Bumps race, the simple thought of cannons and countdowns gives you the chills. And yet, any rower will tell you that Bumps are the most exciting races they have ever had. Some might even tell you that Bumps is the most fun one experiences at university!

As I walked into the boathouse today, that paradox was palpable. For six of us, today was their first Bumps race ever, and as we were getting ready to get in the boat, you could tell we were still trying to figure out that one question: to hype it or not to hype it? Serious pre-warmup chat from our cox; not hyping it. Rocking the Bumps shades; hyping it. As soon as we pushed off, there was no more question: head in the game, mind in boat, looking fly as we rowed past the boathouses.

The M2 division finished and rowed past us at the P&E,  and quite a few of us were relieved to see our coach Mark arrive, his presence somewhat making things right, and alleviating our nervousness. The row up to the lock is always especially interesting for Bumps, because you row behind the crew that will be chasing you. It was time for some mind games. We had a strong fast practice start around Ditton, and a firm, low-rate paddle to our station, seriously closing in on Pembroke, and having to do some pausing. As we spun the boat into station 11, we were feeling calm, confident. We barely had time to start worrying again, the 4 minute cannon was fired. Time to check gates and footplates – even more so for Bow who had rowed our previous race in Bedford with an open gate! The one minute cannon went off, and silence fell in the boat as we were mentally preparing ourselves. We knew we were in for a long grind down if we were going to get Newnham.

As the cannon fired, and a “DRAAAW” came through the speakers, we started our Lent Bumps Campaign with a powerful, fast start, rating 40 as we later found out. High rate starts? Definitely our thing; Settling? Slightly less so. We were too eager to get away from Pembroke, to eager to start closing in on Newnham, to hear that first whistle that brings you so much hope, and the energy and strength that goes with it. All that eagerness was misdirected, and as the rate stayed sky high, our legs were struggling to follow. We were losing power, stroke after stroke, the blades were not coming through, there was no time to breathe. Eventually the rate started coming down as well, and with no sign of a whistle, we started to lose our focus, our determination. As we got round Ditton corner, onto the reach, it felt like we were slowly giving up, providing Pembroke with an opportunity for a Bump. As we heard their bank party give them a first whistle, we were still trying to figure out how to pull through, how to clean this up. Our cox tried calling for another start, hoping for a mental reset, but the concerted crew effort that required was still missing. Pembroke then got two whistles on us, and that was our wake-up call. We finally found it in ourselves to make a change as a crew, halfway down the reach. As we got our rhythm back, properly lengthening it this time, and pushing hard on those legs, we pulled away from Pembroke again, going for that final stretch to the finish line, and rowing over, safely to the other side of the Railway Bridge.

As we rowed back to the boathouse, our usual loud, cheerful, and chatty crew was rowing in silence, hard on the legs but with rather heavy hearts. Obviously, we would have preferred a bump. But that was not really it. We knew how much better this race could have gone, and this is what the silence was about.

“That was a scrappy row, sure. But we didn’t get bumped, and we learned a lot for tomorrow.” said Christina as we got to the boathouse. Sitting down with cakes and doughnuts in the boathouse, we had a long debrief with the crew, and our awesome Reana who gave us the “from the bank” angle. By the end of it, everyone had been convinced that rowing over in the first division was already an achievement, and was ready to try again, cleaner and more efficient the second time round!

We shall see tomorrow if lessons were put in practice!

 

Laurane Saliou, 5

It was the sunniest day of term, the clouds were but harmless wads of cotton in the sky, the wind had receded. The tension was in the air. With W3 in Bumps as one of only two women’s third boats to get on, and most of the girls never having raced Bumps before, we were anxious to get out and prove that we were worth our place in this campaign, that we were WELL HARD.

The row down was calm, but tense. A slight incident – a stray dog swimming joyfully in the river, pausing our boat – broke some of the nerves and eased us in for the actual race. First boat to station, we had the opportunity to observe our competition from an elevated (superior, *cough cough*) position. Haribos were passed around, last pieces of advice given out.

Gun. 9 minutes until W3 goes off.

Gun. 1 minute until we go off. The new Doctor Reana Maier pushed us out, we gripped onto our blades in wait of the final shot. This is it. We started off hard and gained half a length on St Cat’s W2 within seconds of the start, but then had to push hard to keep at it. Suddenly, two whistles. Then three, then four, and “Concede!” followed so fast we barely had time to realise what had happened. W3 bumped! It had been a great start to the Lent’s campaign. May the rest be just as good.

 

Simona Sulikova, 7

W3 got up bright and early for one last outing before the Getting On Race. Starts had been practiced, candid motivational speeches made. As the only W3 to get on the year before, we had a reputation to keep up. The afternoon consisted of a pleasant row to the start, rather enjoyable for a February day. At the start, we got off at a steady rate, and kept it there for the whole time, grinding on the boat in front of us with every stroke. What the cox called for, we pushed for. For those two kilometres, there was just one crew, one boat, perfectly synchronised and focused. We finished the course before we thought we would have, and rowed back to the boathouse with a strong sense of reward; even if we did not get on, this was an amazing race. Then, later in the evening, came the wonderful news: W3 got on!

Simona Sulikova, 7

The weather was good – not too sunny so that you could see whilst rowing! It also wasn’t raining which was nice, but it was quite cold. The row down was good – the boat felt sat more of the time than usual and it was calming to row ‘normally’ pre race – to get rid of any nerves.

We managed not to crash on grassy, when we nearly had in a practice so that was good. The start was a rolling start, which was nice, as it felt less stressful. The rate was good, as it was sustainable.

We got on!!!

 In the next race I would like to bump.

Georgina Benson, 2

As our first race as a crew it’s fair to say we were slightly apprehensive rowing down for Pembroke Regatta. Since the marshals were on time we had a quick turn around at the end of the reach and it wasn’t long before we were lined up ready to race against Lucy Cavendish/ Hughes Hall W1. The start was called so quietly that the majority of the boat failed to hear it, which led to a few shaky beginning strokes whilst the other boat pulled away strongly. Despite the excessive splashing and unevenness we then managed to pull ahead. For the majority of the race we were able to maintain our position, even pulling slightly further ahead by half a length in the middle of the race. Then, Lucy Cavendish demanded a fight for the finish, gaining on us ever so slightly coming in to the end of the reach. Our ever-enthusiastic cox managed to pull us through to the finish with a win.

The marshals then informed us of an hour-long wait until our second race and so back to the boathouse it was. We were cold and wet and tired but we didn’t let our spirits dampen. This was a great time for crew bonding and plenty of eating, and that we certainly did!

Our second race was against the elusive Downing W1. All lined up, we were ready for the start this time. We both pulled away powerfully but it wasn’t long before Downing were ahead of us. Of course, we gave our all and fought through to the end, but unfortunately still lost.

Overall the day gave us the experience we needed to be confident for the next day of racing at Bedford.

We were ready.

Abbie Vernon, 2