Winter league 2015

Like the Winter League of 2014, but we're a year older. The results are here, in the traditional difficult-to-access format; I've copied them to Google Drive as a public service. This was post-published late in 2015; the women's text was contemporary and therefore useful; the men's isn't, and isn't.

Women's IM3 VIII

The women's IM3 VIII entered the first leg tentatively.  Our recent outings had shown a loss of efficiency at the higher rates so that was at least something to look to improve on.  The first leg had a strong head wind and we finished with a time of 13.06, third out of five in our category and 8th out of the 26 women's crews which was pretty much where we would hope to be.  The feeling from the crew was that we could have attacked the race a bit more so that was the aim for the second leg.  A month later we had Leg 2 with near perfect calm conditions.  The crew was coming together and we pushed the rating back up to 32, we had a decent race but our time of 12.09 was disappointing dropping to 10th out of 19 women's Eights and slower than our Novice crew.  The third leg was only two weeks later and we set out to make amends for a poor second leg.  With very strong winds forecast the start was moved to allow for more marshalling space.  We kept on pushing through the unrelenting winds on the Reach and with a St Neots double in front not coping with the strong gusts and a St Neots men's IV behind going for the overtake after the Railway bridge this led to some difficult manoeuvring for our cox.     At the end we finished 3rd out of 5 in the IM3 category and 7th out of the 20 women's eights that completed all three legs.  In conclusion it was a rocky winter league but we finished pretty much where we'd expect to and with some knowledge of where we are with respect to our opposition.

Women's IM2 IV

As if one race wasn't enough we decided to race a second time as a IV.  With only one other women's IV entered (St Neots) are main competition was our own club men's IVs!  We started the first leg directly behind one of our Men's IVs and we so  wanted to be faster!  We ended the first leg with a time of 13.45 with a strong head wind 14 seconds faster than our men's IV (we revelled in that a little as it doesn't happen often).  This meant that in the second leg we started in front of our Women's Novice VIII.   With near perfect conditions and being chased all the way by them (they overtook us just before the line) we recorded a time of 12.26 which is the fastest we'd ever raced the course. It was disappointing to be overtaken and our men's crew with a few more outings under their belt and line up changes were now faster too but we were more than pleased with our time.  The third leg took place in very strong winds with near boat stopping gusts as we came under the railway bridge but we were pleased with our row.

Women's novice VIII

Having not competed as a crew before, the Novice VIII's race plan for the first leg of the Winter League was to keep a steady pace and focus on maintaining good technique. With less than ideal race conditions, our cox, Dave R, did a great job at motivating us all to keep pushing into the wind and was valiantly unfazed when our cox box died halfway down the reach! We crossed the finish just a second faster than 99s W3, so we knew we needed a good second leg to stay ahead.

Conditions on race day were much better than the previous leg and we found ourselves starting between our own Women’s IV and Men’s IV. We were determined to hold our first place position and with some more training outings and ergs under our belts we upped the rating for the second leg. The extra effort paid off as we edged closer to our Women’s IV throughout the race, eventually overtaking them just before the finish. When the results came out it appeared our competition had changed, with City’s W4 only three seconds behind.

The third leg had a shaky start which saw us rowing up to the railway bridge with seven rowers to pick up our eighth on the tow path – a last minute sub for a lost crew member! Still in first place, but with some close competition, we knew we needed another good row to secure our pots. The wind had picked up again and we were all prepared for a tough race. Powering into the wind the whole crew gave 100%. The race felt strong and together, but we rowed back to the boathouse wondering if it was enough. Results came out and we’d come in 2 seconds ahead of City’s W4, maintaining our position in first place!

The crew worked hard to prepare for all three legs and the pots were very well deserved. A sterling effort from our Novice ladies – roll on the Spring/Summer regattas!

Amanda Clarkson, Meg Richards, Angela Barkes, Jo Raskin, Katie Bolt, Amelia Chilcott, Dawn Hawkins, Hannah Parish plus I think also Alex Reich (not in pic).

Amanda Clarkson, Meg Richards, Angela Barkes, Jo Raskin, Katie Bolt, Amelia Chilcott, Dawn Hawkins, Hannah Parish plus I think also Alex Reich (not in pic).

Men IM3 VIII

2015: 19th; compares to: 2014: 9th (the best we'd done for a while); 2013 we were 21st; in 2012 we were lower; 2011 & 2010 & 2009 we neglected to enter. As usual, there are GPS traces: leg1, leg2, leg3. Featuring people such as William Connolley, Chris Wood, Paul H, Dave R, Simon E, Dave B, Barney, Keith, Dave Ifould, Joe E, and Andy S. (yes that is more than 8; the crew varied by leg); and coxed by the estimable Mr Tidy. Here's leg 2:


Men: novice IVs: Earth, Wind and Fire

An initiative of Simon's. Overall: Earth, 89th (probably: Alberto, Dave B, Mike PJ, Gary Dadd) ; Wind (probably: Dave I, Paul H, Simon E,Keith) and Fire (probably: Simon G, Barney, Mark, Dan) both completed 2 legs so don't get an overall place.

Autumn Head

[By Kate]

It doesn't seem a year ago since the last Autumn Head, my first ever race, when we witnessed a stunning sunrise that  I later used as inspiration for a poster (pictured) for our own club race in April; the Head of the Cam. I felt so honoured to be on the river to bear witness to such a beautiful morning. It was misty and the boats ahead were silhouetted against the warm sun. Now, a year on,  I feel so lucky to have a connection to the river and its wildlife; that I get to see it in its many different lights and seasons.

image

This year the Autumn Head was later in the year and later in the morning but the river magic was still there as ever. We had the first of Autumn's crispness in the air, a gentle light and a cold, choppy wind on our backs.

We only had a few boats on the river for the Autumn Head this year with some of our club off at the Amsterdam Marathon (they smashed it of course and we are super proud of them!).  Even without some of strongest, super-marathon-running-women, our Women's IM3 VIII (me included) won our division by 4 seconds!! Congratulations to Katie, Dawn and Evelyne on winning their first pots! 

We were a pretty hotch-potch crew, consisting  of CRC Women's 1st, 2nd and 3rd boats and had a few unnerving changes to the crew at the last minute. The row up seemed pretty lethargic as we lugged the boat to the start but Alison, our cox, was there with just the right words, reminding us to all pull our weight, to put in that extra effort and trust the rest of the crew to do the same. She made us work hard on the row to the start, pushing our muscles into racing mode.  We stepped up our game and I was reminded of the importance of a great cox who can gauge exactly what her crew need to hear.

There was the usual shuffling about at the start line with boats getting tangled in knots like a ball of wool. We managed to detangle ourselves, spin and pulled up at the bank. By this point our Men's VIII had already begun their race and were heading towards the boat houses, leaning into that strong wind. The Men’s crew had many newcomers, some racing for their first time or second only to the craziness of Bumps week. We saw them at the boathouse before they set off, one an old friend I have known since school. I had a flashback to those first race jitters, wondering if I would not have the energy to row the full course or worse, catch a crab. They finished second in their division. I am pretty sure they must all have caught the rowing bug by now. 

Gradually our Women's VIII approached the start with a steady build and the knowledge that it would soon be over. I found I still had those nerves and slight disbelief that I would make the full 2600m. But our race was a good one. We took tight corners and kept to a strong and steady rhythm, set by our stroke and new Women's Captain, Amelia. It felt calm and capable, building back up when we seemed to be waning. Needless to say, throughout the race our cox, Alison, continued to pull every last bit of strength from us, making all the right calls of encouragement and discipline. She's a great cox.

Our third boat in the Autumn Head was our Women's IM3 VI. Three of the crew had already rowed in our VIII after generously subbing in for missing crew members, so had a tough job to muster the strength for a second solid row. The fourth crew member was the wonderful Naz, who stepped in from a different club altogether. They had a tough row, finishing last in their category, not true to their usual form.

For CRC, this was a positive start to the winter season. Our Men’s Captains, Simon and William have done a fantastic job bringing in more men to the club this season. We have some very promising rowers who are keen and able; a real plus for the club. The Women's crews continue to go from strength to strength with regular land training sessions and frequent outings. Now with November approaching fast, we've had an email from our Captains planning for the winter league and racing season. I'm excited to think of the months ahead of cold, icy mornings, training on the river. Whenever I tell people who don't row that I row, they always ask about early starts and winter outings, thinking these must be the downside of rowing. But it's at these times where the river really comes into its own and you feel part of a secret club who know winter’s true beauty. On these coming frosty mornings, when the streets are quiet and most people are still tucked up in their warm homes there's a lively buzz down at the river. And all around, the sound of blades chopping through the cold water. I love it. Roll on November.

Joy at Boston

Once again I signed up for Boston. As usual, arranging transport was harder than doing the race :-). Joy got to ride on Anton's trailer (thanks!) but I was another matter.

Here I am:

Not enough compression, which together with a variety of other flaws in my sculling style explains why I didn't win my category. But! I did handily beat the old Mas Nov D 1x course record, and I did come in under 5 hours, which I was rather pleased with. Though doubtless the tailwind had something to do with that.

Top tips from this year:

  • Gels not chocolate bars made for far faster food stops: good.
  • Despite extra padding, my arse still hurt. Lots.
  • Transport is a pain. Did I mention that at all?

Town Bumps 2014 - Thursday (Day 3)

The penultimate day of the Bumps proved decisive, with many ups and downs,

In brief: Two up, three Down, and a row-over, overall: net down 1, here's the details:

  • W3 (row-over): The women of W3 faced a long-row over, after 99's W5 managed to catch the unfortunate Champs W7, this should however provide good prospects for W3 tonight, who will be looking to catch them to make it +3 overall.
    • No videos yet...

 

W2 - After bumping City 8

W2 - After bumping City 8

  • M3 (down): Down again on Thursday unfortunately, after being caught by Cambridge Vets at first post corner, however they won't have to worry about being the sandwich boat tonight, should also provide more time at the Beer Tree this evening.


  • W2 (Up): Managed to catch City W8 in short order, even before the A14 motorway bridge, and also taking the 2nd Boat back into Division 2


W1 - After taking down Champs 1, at Ditton Corner.

W1 - After taking down Champs 1, at Ditton Corner.

  • M2: were down one to X-Press M4 approaching grassy corner, after Cantabs M6 caught Champs M3 ahead of them, scuppering their chances of a Bump.


  • W1: managed to get their first long overdue batch of Willow after catching Champs W1 on Ditton Corner. Tonight they'll have a second chance at St Neots, the crew they chased on Tuesday evening, good luck to them!

 

  • M1 (down): No happy ending for M1 on Thursday alas. We had a good start, and not one but two whistles on Tabs into Grassy, and all of that was the plan, but we lacked the oomph to close down the last half length plus the overlap. Which was the bit that wasn’t under our control. We also got a rather wide line round Grassy which shows up clearly in the video; and rowed down Plough Reach in Tab’s puddles which slowed us down (ah, you can even see it in the GPS trace) (um, or do I have to take that back? Perhaps we were just tired? See Jo’s video), unlike Press who picked the other side and gained noticeably: from being merely on station into Grassy they gained to nearly half a length at Ditton. From there its a long way to top finish and we only made it halfway down the Reach. So much for our dreams.

    Tactically, we could have rowed a different race: accepted we weren’t fast enough to get Tabs, and backed off. Rowed a more even pace, saved ourselves their puddles, and left Press with ours, whilst leaving ourselves enough margin to keep pushing them away. In retrospect, that would have been wiser. But less glorious.

Town Bumps 2014 - Wednesday (Day 2)

Another great day of Bumps action, lots of row-overs today, with several crews setting up for a pivotal night tonight (Thursday).

In brief: One up, One Down, and four row-overs, so overall: a big fat net zero, but that doesn't begin to describe the hot action underlying it, so read on:

W3 - Up Again! (Photo: Katie Bolt)

W3 - Up Again! (Photo: Katie Bolt)

  • W3 (up): A second batch of Willow for W3 last-night, after they managed to Bump-up again after catching Cantabs W7. Well done them. I gather that it was harder work than yesterday. Tonight they will be chasing 99's W5, can they catch them before they catch Champs W7?
    • No videos yet...

 

  • M3 (down): It was another unfortunate night for M3, who were down again alas, by the law of balance. That leaves them with the fun of being sandwich boat at the head of the M4 division today.

 

W2 - Showing some good rotation (Photo: Kate Freeland)

W2 - Showing some good rotation (Photo: Kate Freeland)

  • W2: Rowed-over successfully as head of the third division ahead of Rad W2, but then everything ahead of them bumped out in the second division. They have an excellent prospect of getting Tabs 5 today, and hence back into the second division, if they can hold off the Rad again. Good luck!
    • No videos yet...

 

M2 approaching Grassy Corner (photo: Michael Prior-Jones)

M2 approaching Grassy Corner (photo: Michael Prior-Jones)

  • M2 (row-over): A seat-falling-off incident after 20 strokes slowed them down, and it took them a while to get back to speed. They recovered to be very very close at the line, and should have a good chance of going up tonight. Stay calm boys: row faster not harder.

 

 

 

  • W1 (row-over): St Neots W1 bumped Champs W1 ahead of them, which looks like it makes for good prospects for W1 tonight (it would be nice and symmetrical if our W1 could catch Champs W1 just like in the men's division!).
    • No videos yet...

 

  • M1 (row-over): Press demolished Champs behind us in short order as expected, which left us a free shot at Tabs 2, but it didn't happen. We got a whistle before First Post and were maybe 3/4 of a length down at the entrance to grassy, but lets draw a discrete veil over what happened next. A video from Grassy is available here for those who wish to savor the event, or my "RiggerCam". Since we're now in the Big League we get Top Finish, and St Neots looked surprisingly good steaming up the Reach for the over-bump, but didn't get close enough to be worrying. For Thursday we have Tabs ahead again, and Press behind us, which should prove exciting.

 

Town Bumps 2014 - Tuesday (Day 1)

A glorious day of bumping action, with ups and downs and a fine start in glorious weather to the pinnacle of the rowing calendar.

In brief: we're up one overall over the day, In more detail:

W3 - outside Combined Boathouse, after bumping 99's W6.

W3 - outside Combined Boathouse, after bumping 99's W6.

 

  • M3 (down): Unfortunate winners of the closely-fought "least number of strokes in the bumps" prize, going down the the City Presidents VIII. There have been some slightly odd-shall-we-say decisions about the order of the crews.
  • W2 (down): a long row from the lock with all the crews ahead of them bumped out, holding off the crew behind until after First Post; they then got a bit tired and the crew behind closed them down at Grassy. They get to be sandwich boat today, if they can row over as head of W3 ahead of Rad 2.
  • M2 (up): Managed to catch Cantabs M7, after only 35 strokes, I'm told, which sounds like the sort of bump you want. And good prospects for tonight as the crew now ahead of them rowed over.
    • No known pix or videos so far...
  • W1 (row over): Chased St-Neots all the way to the finish, apparently closing the gap down to maybe a length on the Reach, and nearly a canvas before the finish. 
M1 - Up one to 8th

M1 - Up one to 8th

  • M1 (up): We had Press behind us, who beat us by 3 feet in Nines regatta, and by 5 seconds in the timed race. And ahead of us, Champs 1, who no-one had seen. That turned out to be because they hadn't been out much; they looked a bit rough rowing up, and proved quite catchable: we had overlap not far past First Post, rowed in massively choppy water apparently hitting them several times, before they finally conceded just before Grassy. Which lead to some chaos trying to clear; there was some suggestion Press might have conceeded to the crew behind, but no. Ahead of us City 2 (hello Tom) caught Tabs 2 (hello Petr) so we're chasing Tabs 2 tonight.

- William Connolley

Peterborough Spring Regatta

We went to Peterborough Spring Regatta. You may talk of your "Met" or your "Henley" but for us, Peterborough is the Big Time. Adding spice to the mix this year, our ladies were an VIII on the first day and a IV on the second, whilst we men had an VIII in the second day and two renegades rowing with City on the Saturday.

The Women

Novice 4+ Winners

Novice 4+ Winners

They put a spirited performance on the Saturday, winning their heat (beating Nines, City and U Coll London) but coming second to Warwick U in the final.

More excitingly, on the Sunday they won their heat easily, and put in clearly the fastest time; the final was no different and they won by 8 seconds over their nearest rivals, Nines. Since it was a large field, they even got two points apiece for this feat and the long dearth of points in the ladies club is now over. The only rather minor irritation was that, had they entered the Saturday VIII, they'd have likely won that too.

Its a hard life at regattas: 5% wild excitement mixed with 95% relaxation. Fortunately the weather was kind.

The Men 

Well, we were heroic, obviously. On Saturday Paul Holland and I (responding to an anguished mid-week email from Tom) joined the Nahorski City boyz for an IM3 VIII. We got there bright and early - 8 - towing our trailer and ready for a paddle on the Nene to settle us into the crew. Which was just as well; they're big and powerful but perhaps a fraction rougher, or perhaps just different, to our style; and anyway its ages since I've not stroked a boat; so we settled.

For the race, we came second in our heat our heat in 3:13.4, a fairly comfortable 3 seconds ahead of number 3, one of the Putney eights. The semi, alas, did not go so well: we dropped down to 3:16 and came third to Broxbourne (3:05, the winners) and Warwick U (3:12). And we'd have come fifth in the final, had we got into it.

Sunday

Started well: we beat De Monfort, Champs and a Putney crew to win our heat in 3:15, thus avoiding the Rep, and giving us nothing to do except lounge around in the sunshine all day, which was not burdensome, and watching the ladies, which was fun.

But I'll spare you the Great White Whale. Alas, the final was not to be ours: indeed, we came last in 3:17. Such is life. We consoled ourselves with the thought that we'd get better and come back for the Summer Regatta.

Oh, and who were we? Me / Ian / Andy S / Chris W / Paul H / Dave R / Will W / Dave I; ably coxed by Mr Tidy.

Head of the Cam 2014 - Results & Wash-Up

The HoC 2014 page is still up, though it got a somewhat retouched as the event progressed. So, this is the wash-up.

Results

Firstly, the results. These are available form http://tinyurl.com/headofthecam2014
Congratulations to Caius men (8:49), who have now won for five years in a row; and to Downing women (10:59).

And congratulations to all other winners; if you weren't around for the prizegiving (shame!) please contact me to arrange collection.

We apologise for not having the HoC shield available on the day; this was due to a foul-up. In compensation, we / the CRA will be arranging to get the recent winners added to the engraving.

Other Thanks

I should also extend my thanks to various other folk, apart from the competitors, without whom the regatta could not have been held:

  • Our Umpires, Bill Keys, Eric Smith and Jess Upton,
  • All the fine Marshals, start and finish timers from our club,
  • and the backroom staff.

The regatta was inspected by Andrew Tayler from the Eastern Region Umpiring Committee (ERUC) to check that all was running well. This was pleasingly unbureaucratic, and Andrew was very happy with the running of the regatta.

Controversies

This year, we did not neglect the fine tradition of having at least one mismatch between the crews that started, and the ones that finished. This year, it was Darwin M2 / Robinson M2: according to our sheets, Robinson had finished but not started, whereas Darwin had started but not finished (you wouldn't believe how long it took to link those two). Then we realised that they have similarish blades, if you squint, and finally we realised that Robinson M2 hadn't rowed; so that all fitted.

A new "dispute" arose, but quietly, of the issue of whether some college M/W2 crews were really M/W1, or at least had some rowers from their higher crews; especially when the higher crew wasn't rowing, or had scratched late. As a townie - and more especially as a townie running the race from Queens' boathouse where I don't see any of the crews - I really can't tell. We rely on an honour system for people entering the right category. I did - afterwards - wonder if I should enforce a "bumping up" rule: if your first crew doesn't enter, then your second crew gets to be your first crew. it would happen in bumps. But I don't really think this would be fair either. The issue gets discussed on the Cambridge rowing messageboards.

Bill Keys inspected some of the crews for safety: items such as heel restraints. most were fine; some were not. Please make sure your heel restraints are in order! If you won't do it for the life-saving effects in the unlikely event of a capsize, do it to save yourself trouble during regattas.

Entries

I haven't actually looked carefully, but entries were down on last year. Total rowing seats was 709, compared to 830 last year. I think we had more from the Town, but many fewer from Gown - I suspect the timing interacted even more badly with the Easter holidays than it usually does. Anyone with any brilliant ideas on how to fix this (other than moving the event, which is not in my gift) do please let me know. My feeling is that mailing out to the colleges at the end of Lents is mostly a waste of time - no-one is organised enough at that point to think of their entries for next term, understandably.

Start order

Just for once, no-one really complained about the start order. But I have to admit that the system of asking for predicted times is not workable. Some people manage to submit beliveable times, but far too many don't. What I ended up doing was to award M1's 1 point; M2's 4 points; M3 and belows 7 points. And then good-quality town clubs got 2 points, and I could also adjust colleges for good/bad. And then I added the women at a suitable delta from the men. This worked pretty well, and I think would be more workable as a guess-your-class type system.

Chesterton Women’s Winter 2014 Round-Up

We had two goals for Winter training; The Winter League (three head races held on the Cam in January, February and March) and WEHoRR.
Our land training had consisted of weekly strength sessions at Core Cambridge, a usually gruesome Erg plus a water session often coached by Andrea Bosnyak. We’d been blessed with a mild winter so few outings had been cancelled and unlike the rest of the country not too much in the way of flooding.

Winter League

After the first leg of the Winter League we were in joint first place in our Novice Women’s Eight category so we were game on! After the second leg we pulled away from the nearest opposition by 10 seconds so just had to keep it together for the third leg. Luckily we were placed just behind the Champs Vet Men who we were able to hunt down in the second and third races and they really helped give us something to aim for which helped our times. The second and third legs were slower on paper due to strong stream and head winds but overall we progressed up the field going from 101st up to 63rd and finishing as the ninth fastest women’s eight and Winner’s of the Novice Women’s Eight category.

WEHoRR

With heavy persistent rain over most of the south part of the country all Winter there was a question mark over whether the race would go ahead or not. The Port of London issued a river flag system and this was Red (meaning no rowing on the Thames) due to the strong flow in the weeks leading up to WEHoRR. A week or so before this the flag changed to yellow but there was still uncertainty as to whether Novice crews would be able to enter. A final decision was made two days before the race, Novice crews could enter but had to prove there suitability and that their cox had Tideway experience. Our lovely cox Alison although incredibly experienced had only coxed Tideway once and not being able to assess the conditions herself took advise and made the decision that she didn’t feel she had the experience to cox the race in the unprecedented strong stream. This was a massive blow but fortunately James T the Men’s cox who has coxed Tideway many times before stepped into save the day.
2014 turned out to be an epic race, the fast flow and quick NW wind helped the course records to tumble. We were racing alongside Olympians (Katherine Grainer, Helen Glover, Heather Stanning and Anna Watkins). We boated from beautiful Furnival gardens under the cherry-blossom trees and were blessed with blue skies and calm conditions. We started hard and kept the rate (32/33) and splits (sub 2:00) seemingly consistently throughout the race. Lea overtook us in the first third of the race and there a bit of clashing of blades as we jostled for the steam. As we came under Hammersmith bridge the massive cheer from our bank party spurred us on to overtake the crew in front. The long ergs paid dividends as we slowly took each seat until James was on their bow and we had clear water. The finish didn’t come a moment too soon we’d given it our all.


We came 154th out of 239 (a reduced entry due to the conditions) and 4th out of the 13 in the Novice Club category in a time of 21:17.7. Our best result by some margin. Last year we’d finished 247th in a time of 22:20. Even more satisfying was that we were faster than three of our Cambridge rivals all of whom were IM3 crews.
A fantastic result to the end of a good seasons training.