Murray Edwards College Boat Club

Hannah Grealish, W2, 3

The row down was tense but confident as we were all excited if not slightly anxious about our first day of bumps and what on earth was going to happen to us! Weather was mild but grey although this didn’t dampen our spirits one bit.

When the cannon let off we jumped into a strong start and it wasn’t long before we could hear the whistles going from the bank as we gained on Hughes Hall II and we were all pushing our hardest (as can be seen from some beautiful photos)! Unfortunately, despite being so close to bumping we lost momentum after catching a crab and fell behind slightly. However, despite rowing flat out and tiring slightly we managed to pick it up just before the Plough and gave a final push to catch up with Hughes Hall again but unfortunately not quite bumping them.

Needless to say, we were all thoroughly shattered after an epic row over and ready for Reana’s scrumptious ginger snaps. Highlight of the day was definitely Watson’s attempt at coxing us back to the P&E, which proved surprisingly inspirational and highly entertaining.

Tomorrow Hughes Hall are going down… BOOM…and we shall adorn ourselves in lots of greenery. 😀 😀 D

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It’s barely a week into the term, and MECBC is already back racing on the Cam.  Yesterday was City of Cambridge Rowing Club’s annual Winter Head 2 Head event, a 2x2km timed race from the railway bridge to the motorway bridge and back.  While we’re always excited for a race, there was a little extra anticipation this time – it was our first race in our brand new, and as yet unnamed, boat.  Set to race in the first division of the day, we arrived at the boathouse bright and early to find a very windswept river awaiting us. 

Georgie called for our rolling start just before the railway bridge, and as soon as we were onto the reach, it became obvious that we were in for a real fight.  Though the wind was in our favour in the first leg, it made the water on the reach, where there’s no protection from the wind, extremely choppy.  Our blades hit the crests of the waves as we squared, making the boat difficult to balance and giving us all the kind of epic backsplash normally only seen from Marina, our Captain of Boats.  We were soaked within a minute.  Once off the reach, however, and into a bit more shelter, we managed to level things out a little and get some decent lift going, though still not up to the level of finesse and power that we had accomplished by the end of last term.

After completing the first leg, we spun and marshalled again, glad of the rest, but not wanting to wait too long before heading off on the second leg – the wind was chilly, and our damp kit wasn’t helping.  Mark warned that, with the wind against us, we’d really have to push hard and push together on the way back, especially once we got back onto the reach.  The mood in the boat was focused and determined as we rowed up to the starting line.

The rolling start to begin the second leg was more stable, and it quickly became clear that we were moving the boat along with more power and control than we’d had in the first leg.  Counterintuitive though it may be, we almost always row better in a headwind.  In between her usual calls, Georgie gave us the added incentive of closing the gap on the King’s boat in front of us.  As we rounded Ditton corner, we all sat up in preparation for rowing the reach, knowing the wind would be strongest there.  The combination of the headwind and the narrowing gap between us and King’s brought out a palpable fighting spirit in the boat, and we pushed hard toward the railway bridge.  As we drew near the finish line, from behind me, I heard Ola shout, “I can hear them!”, meaning that she could hear the King’s boat’s catches.  We were really close now.  A last set of ten power strokes brought us under the bridge and across the finish line, less than two lengths behind King’s.  Our first race of term and our first race in the new boat was finished.

The results posted later that afternoon showed that we had completed the first leg of the race with a time of 7:48 and the second leg with a time of 8:49, for a combined time of 16:37, placing us 1^st in Mays Division 2 (a full 40 seconds faster than any other Division 2 women’s boat) and 6^th of the college W1’s.  We also managed to beat half a dozen Mays Division 1 boats.  A respectable result, though, as always, we have much to improve upon before our next fight on the Cam.  The prize for topping our division turned out to be glass tankards which we happily used to hold our celebratory drinks later that night.

Reana Maier

MECBC W1

Lower Boats Captain 2011-2012

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