Chesterton Rowing Club
Not to be confused with WeHORR 2016.
Results are at http://www.horr.co.uk/Results/. IM3 got 195 / 20:26.39 (starting at 193); novices got 309 / 22:03.85 (starting at 320).
To be filled in properly at some point. For now, it's just a collection of pictures.
Women’s Eights Head of the River Race (WeHoRR): 1 Championship rowing course (4 miles, 374 yards); 89 years of history; 200+ volunteers; 320 boats and their coxes; 2,560 women rowers. I had been looking forward to it for a while…
Most of the crew gathered at Cambridge Railway Station to catch the 8.45pm to Kings Cross. For the 24 hours previously I’d been enjoying tweets from crews all over the country starting their journeys towards London and now we were on our way. As the only tideway virgin in our crew I was feeling a tinge of trepidation so when the others loaded up with caffeine at the station café I stuck to calming green tea.
Hot beverages in hand we boarded the train. The weather in Cambridge had been kinder than forecast but there was snow on the ground by the time we passed through Royston and we hoped that conditions weren’t too bad for the trailering contingent on the A1(M).
At Kings Cross we jumped on the Piccadilly line and were in Furnival Gardens not long after 10am. The trailer had already arrived safely and we set to putting the boat together along with a number of other clubs boating from Furnival Sculling Club. Again the weather was kinder than forecast and although it was on the cold side, there was no snow on the ground in London, the rain was holding off and the winds were light.
A couple of us went to look for a convenient bush to accommodate our pre-boating comfort stop, circumventing having to use the over popular Furnival Sculling Club toilet facility and, according to Jo, peed on her Quaker ancestors who are buried in Furnival Gardens. Then it was time to tackle the Furnival Sculling Club’s launch facility. Our training plan had been pretty comprehensive but had not included carrying our boat down a muddy metal ramp. Interesting.
Safely on the water we headed first across the mighty Thames then up towards the start at Chiswick. It was still a bit chilly but otherwise the weather continued to be calm. We reached our marshalling position in good time and watched as other boats passed and gathered. Will’s cool coxing, with quite a bit of tapping activity especially for Meg and Amy in the bow, kept us in place while some around us struggled to deal with the flow of the river and the growing number of other boats in close proximity.
Then it was almost time to race so Lorraine, Amanda & myself dekitted down to our onesies. We tried to convince Alex to do the same so that stern four looked uniformly badass but she was way too sensible. It is probably at the point that I should have paid more attention to the fact, Anne, who has been rowing tideway for over 30 years, kept both her beanie and her poggies on.
Just after we spun and headed towards the start there was an omen of what was to come when a large wave came up from stroke side and hit the number 6 position full on, eliciting a squeal from Amanda and leaving her drenched in river water.
Then we were off. A good start and we got quickly into our rhythm. We reached our first landmark at Barnes Bridge and suddenly we hit a squall – the temperature plummeted, the wind and waves got up and the sleet began. It felt like someone had hurled a bit of gravel at my shoulder: Having never known the sensation of hail stones on my bare skin before it look me a moment to realise what was going on. While it was bad enough that the hail and sleet was hitting our backs, seated as he was in the other direction, it was hitting our cox’s face but Will did a masterful job of carrying on and didn’t mention that he had to close his eyes a couple of times until after the race. Five minutes later the tempest went as quickly as it came and we were back to the standard level of challenge though the precipitation had done something to the speaker system and Will sounded like he had been replaced by an alien.
Passing under Hammersmith Bridge we could see the Chesterton Flag and hear mega cheers from Simon and Alex RG. It was great and spurred us on to the finish. Going on through Fulham Railway Bridge, we spun and headed back to Furnival. Having never rowed WeHoRR before I couldn’t appreciate the pleasure of being 95 rather than 295 as much as my crewmates but it was fun to be able to see crews still racing and it took my mind off the fact that we now had to row against the stream. Our time was 23:35.5 – not as fast as we had hoped but under the circumstances not so bad and, according to one informed observer, “very tidy”.
The pre-race toilet experience at Furnival Sculling Club was nothing compared to the post-race changing room experience which was definitely not a place for anyone with privacy or claustrophobia issues. But, having changed into dry cloths, derigged and retrailered the boat, it was off to the Rutland Arms where our fabulous Captain, Lorraine, who has all the right priorities, had booked a table for us all on the first floor with excellent views of the Thames. Here we indulged in beer, food and good company before departing back
Camwards. I arrived home no-longer a tideway virgin, feeling tired but relaxed, happy and accomplished and very grateful of my crewmates and club for making the day possible and successful.
[By Dawn H]
Usual head course, usual rules, usual classes. Book early to avoid disappointment.
See the Head of the Cam page for full details.
After the third and final leg, our overall results are:
* IM3 men: 6th equal overall in 30:20
* Novice men: clear winners of the, errm, novice men category in 34:25
* W IM3: 37:30 (4/4)
* Mx 2x (Steven / Katherine): 38:36
* W Nov: 40:00 (4/8: Robs J / Champs J / 99 (Dotty) / Chesterton / Cantabs (F&J) / Cantabs (Darcy) / St Mary's / Rad)
* M Nov 1x (Keith): 45:24
Since there was discussion on fb, we have some historical results too:
2014 - 9th (09:28, 09:28, 10:05)
2013 - 21st (11:08, 11:00, 10:20)
2012 - 28th (11 somethings, 10:40)
2011 - didn't enter
2010 - didn't enter
2009 - didn't enter
2008 - 3rd (a somewhat anomalous year; due the CRA stubborness, we were technically entered as S3 and S4, and not allowed to count as one crew; but we would have been third. Note only two legs that year).
Revise this a bit later; presently the rest refers to after leg 2
Legs 1, and 2 so far. Results (and leg 2) show our IM3 crew at 5th overall; here's the top ten:
That's quite pleasing. Tabs 2 have significantly upped their game over leg 1; we'll need to strive to hold them off. We just exceeded 1:30 briefly at the start. Most of the top crews took a minute off their leg 1 times in leg 2; the weather switched from a headwind in leg 1 to a tailwind in leg 2, stronger in the later divisions.
The men's novices are doing well too, after 2 legs we're a minute ahead:
The men's novice crew just before the off, looking keen, as well they might: still leading the men's novice category, now by a minute!
Our W IM3 VIII are at (13:12 12:02 25:14) behind IoE, Robs, 9s and Champs, and were ahead of Cantabs * 2, but those have vanished in leg 2. The W Nov VIII have (14:17 12:54 27:11), 5/8 (video from leg 2)
Steven and Katherine are currently at #76 (tied with Sarah Airey!) with 13:43 12:16 25:59.
And lastly Keith Lee is holding the Chesterton Sculling Crown at #129: 16:51 14:13 31:04.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The worst bit was the appallingly bad crew names:
Oarll the trimmings (313): 8.37.8
The Gravy Boat (308): 8.47.8
Eight too much (311): 9.13.3
Prawn Coxtail (309): 9.19.7
Rowst Poartatoes: 9.20.9
It would probably be unfair to say which was which, since Simon did a good job of mixing us up. Suffice to say that I won :-). To start with, the often-unsung heroes and ines who pull the strings.
(all pix are nicked from Rob Roy, BTW, since Paul-the-official-photographer had a little accident after the party, or so I'm told).
So much for the shouty bits at the back. What of the powerhouses?
There was a good crop of costumes this year, too many to pull out individually. The "captain's prize" list was Dave "cabbagehead" Byrne, #2. But I've forgotten who was #1 and #3! Never mind, someone will remind me. I'm fairly sure Chris "carrot rasta" Wood didn't get his just deserts.
As you'll observe, some were unwise enough to wear costumes so voluminous that they got in the way of rowing - notable winners in this department included Steven and more particularly Simon L, who went to absurd lengths. I did not fall into this foolish trap, you'll notice.
While I'm here, I should congratulate Bailee on her fantastic result in the British indoor rowing championship, coming 8th in the 2k and gaining an incredible silver medal in the 500m! (only losing by .4 of a second, in a time of 1.38.8, to someone who had not done the 2k).
For reference, boats and crews were:
The Gravy Boat (P O'Kane)
Will M -cox
Alison
Dave R
Steve P
Steven A
Lewis C
Emily C
Dawn
Claire
Prawn Coxtail (Walker)
Simon-cox
Katherine
Andy S
Dan
Russell
Barney
Rachel C
Evelyn
Katie
Eight Too Much (Webb)
Robert Nimmo-cox
Amanda
Amy
Chris
Neil
Conor R
Simon G
Alex RG
Becca
Row-st P-oar-tatoes (Octocox)
James T-cox
Brian
Jo R
Simon L
Peter
Annie
Lorrena
Lindsey
Mike PJ
Oarll The Trimmings (Dawntreader)
Meg-cox
Lorraine
Alex
Dave B
William C
Keith
Jo A
Lewis G
Sarah D
Or the Vets Fours Head, for those of us not pointy enough. First the Ladies, by Lorraine. Then the Men, by William.
The start of the race on Saturday was delayed whilst a decision was made on whether it should go ahead or raced on a shorter course to Hammersmith. In the end it went ahead as planned and as no one sank it was obviously the right decision. Starting at 462 out of 467 at least we would have had plenty of warning. Although prepared for the worst donning bin bags the the wind and rain had mostly past once we got on the water. The first part of the race (to Hammersmith) went well we pushed off two crews behind and Robert held his line whilst we overtook a crew with a fairly aggressive cox behind trying to take the stream. We were cheered on from Hammersmith bridge by Simon with the Chesterton flag. But the conditions then became more choppy, we lost a bit of momentum and a couple of crews overtook us at that stage. The final stretch to Putney was tough as always but we finally crossed the finish line pleased with our race.
The Ladies, and an extra from a nearby audition for a remake of "This is Spinal Tap".
Women's IM2 4+:23.21 22/27 in category 345/372 overall
The pre-race photo in Furnival Gardens looked calm and peaceful but the conditions past Hammersmith were described by some as the worst they'd witnessed in 15 years! By all accounts the race to Hammersmith went well but as the conditions worsened after Hammersmith the crew tried to hold it together and battled on through the waves.
Women's Vet D 4+: 26.20 6/7 in category
A special mention to our lovely coxes Robert and Will and to Jo for braving the conditions both days. As always racing on the Thames is a unique experience so different from the Cam. Challenging, slightly scary at times but fun!
We'd trained hard - two whole outings, a total of five yes I tell you five reaches - and were determined to put the full depth of our training to the test. Although there was some doubt if the riggers were on properly. Never mind. The boating went well, I even got a last minute wee, and we were off. There was none of yesterday's torrential rain, indeed conditions were quite pleasant, though there was a bit of a breeze. Comedy of the row up was when we started zig-zagging uncontrollably, and the marshalls starting patronising James and telling him that he needed to take account of the stream. We pulled in at Quintin - they were frightfully nice about getting out of the way for us - and James checked the rudder - no - then the fin - oh, yes, there's a big block of wood stuck to it. Oops. Things went rather better after that. Sadly we forgot to keep it and mount it as the "tideway coxing prize".
Fettling the boats before the off. Who let that giant into our crew of pygmies?
After that we had to actually row. As IM3 IV+'s we were a block of five between the women's quads. Maidenhead were in front of us at 153, Lea behind us at 155, then Oxford Academicals and local rivals Press. After say a minute it was clear that we'd got off to a tolerable start, and were unlikely to be troubled from behind, which is always nice. Somewhat later James was calling us as three lengths down on 153, and gaining nicely. Then two and a half, then two, then we had quite a long phase of gaining nicely but mysteriously staying at two lengths, I do like that. But then we went past them, hurrah, aided by getting a better line on the stream. In the moderate distance behind us it looks like the Evil Demons of the Press were going past OA and then Lea, and were probably gaining on us; but sice Lea had faded to a long way back that was still quite a way behind us. At some point we overtook our second victim, which may have been 148, Ardingly, WC 4x. After Hammersmith the river turned and the water grew really quite choppy, which slowed us down a good bit, since it exposed our distressing lack of balance; and pulling the blade back through a wave is tricky. Opinions differ as to whether dropping down from 30/31 to 27/28 was a good way to deal with the poor conditions in that section, or whether we should have bruted it through. Suffice to say that no-one got what they actually wanted. But, we finished.
GPS trace, including heart rate, so you can tell that I was working.
Having started at 154 we finished at 98, in 22:47; 2/5 in the IM3 category. Or 22:52, if you include the as-yet-unexplained 5 second penalty they gave us. Was it because they knew we had Tidy in the boat? I've mailed them; if they reply, I'll update this. Press beat us by 27 seconds, boo.
"row like dogs, get up with fleas" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoqCyGIguLc
There's the video. I challenge you to watch it all, its pretty dull :-). BTW, we were entered as IM3 because we didn't know exactly who would be in the crew when the entry went in, so didn't know if we should have been Vet C or D.
The Huntingdon head was something of a mixed experience for us. The ladies did well, winning pots as VIII and IV+, in 16:51 (fastest women's crew) and 18:51. The men however suffered from an incomprehensibly stupid draw (who puts a 2- in front of an VIII?) and had to settle for 4th place in 15:15. But as Simon E said, one of the men won two pots. Division 1 was still, grey, but dry. Division 2 was a little wet, I understand.
Simon E (cox); Anne, Annie, Jo, Meg.
The men's row wasn't our finest - we rated 32 for most of the course, and would probably have been faster at a longer 30 - but it was quite decent. Unfortunately the aforesaid 2- was ahead of us, and we left it a large gap (alas either not large enough, or too long: with a small gap we'd have got past in the first 2 k where you can overtake) which lead to us overtaking it - on the fourth attempt - towards the end of the course (one, two, three, at last). And then there were the comedy ducks (just as we'd got past the pair, James called us "OK, settle down now, concentrate, our race...").
How much time did the draw / pair lose us? We'll never know for sure. My estimates range from 1:30 (looking at the GPS track) to a rather conservative 0:45 based on a rough guess at splits. Just 1:00 would have won us the event, which is frustrating.
Crew: Me, Dan McGreal, Simon Lloyd, Steven Andrews, Simon Green, Mike Prior-Jones, Brian Stevens, Keith Lee. Cox: Mr Tidy.
Trailering by Mr Emmings; our thanks again.
Notes on the course: its a nice place to row, and fairly close to Cambridge, so it was good to go and see it. If you're going to overtake, do it in the first 2k or so, after that its a nightmare. The course is 3800 m not 4k. Slightly regrettably the boating stage, which will take one VIII, is just on the course side of the finish line, so everyone stacks up around the town bridge waiting for the division to finish before they can de-boat. If I were them, I'd buoy off a thin channel so that people can sneak back off while the race is still on.
As Chris put it: the same as the others, but in the Autumn.
For the men, our first race of the new post-summer-holidays season, and looking towards winter. We came third of eight IM3 VIII's in 10:02.5 and 12th overall; there's the usual GPS trace if you're interested. What to compare it to? Well, not to the race winners, Lea IM3 VIII in 9:18, who were in a class of their own 15 seconds ahead of Lysander and then Downing. However, we were only 10 seconds behind Clare and Christs. We were significantly better than the 2015 Winter League (11:30, 10:34, 11:11) but not as good as two of the legs of 2014 (09:28, 09:28, 10:05) but better than 2013 (11:08, 11:21, 10:20). But 2014 was a good year; today was nearly windless and the river calm. In terms of technique, we weren't quite as solid as we could have been - a few wobbles, not rock-solid - but decent; and there's still the rush waiting in the background ready to pounce at any opportunity. In conclusion: just over 10 is a decent time we can be happy with and build on.
The women had two crews: and VIII in division 1 and a IV in division 2. There's some nice video of the IV which I'll include here.
Autumn Head 2015 W4 from Dawn Hawkins on Vimeo.
The women's VIII came in at 12:17.7 - 6/6 at IM3 and the IV at 12:23.1 - 3/3 at IM3. Of the latter, L says "A really excellent time (our best yet!) and a good overtake too; a competitive category". Of the former, "It's fairer to look at the results in context of the Novice category. We would have been 6 out of 11 which is a really decent result given we had three rowers with very little race experience".
Ah! Its that time of the year again, when I am forcefully re-reminded of my father's saying.
TL;DR: 3:52:04; fifth overall. Mx IM3 VIII course record by 10 minutes, and pots in that category.
After the traditional last minute breakages (Sarah, dearly departed, slain by the Great Ouse; Big Simon, diverted into a bike ride; Chris Wood, suffering from too much humping) we ended up with the following motley crew, which was like the Ouse but with Dave R in for Simon L, and Anne for Sarah. Simon E nobly fell on his sword and offered to trailer; and Simon L, reprieved from his bike ride, joined the transport crew, completed by Meg. Thanks to the efforts of our support crew the day, excluding the rowing itself, was remarkably painless and pleasant. Decent weather helped, too.
Bailee (S), Amanda (B), Keith (3), Dave R (4), the Mayor, Dan (5), William (6), Lorraine (7), Anne (2); Will (Cox).
We didn't take the mayor along, apparently he'd done it 57 years ago. Not to ruin the suspense but as the photo suggests, we won pots.
Before I go on, between the Great Ouse and Boston a lesser-known event occured in Germany. It was only 12.7 km, which is probably how they managed to sustain 1:30 for the distance :-).
I wrote some wise advice up in advance; you may care to read that if you're interested in generalities.
As for the race: if you look at our GPS trace, you'll see its quite consistent. There's a little period at the start while we wind ourselves up to 24, after which we're fairly constant to 10 km. After about 10 km the route goes from being due E to nearly SE; our split drops about 10 pips, because we come into a slight head wind. The three breaks in 6's for food and drink are clearly visible. We hadn't practised those, and could probably optimise about 30 seconds out of each. Going over the lock was quite efficient; short of actually running with the boat we couldn't have done much better. You can see a slight fade over the course, mitigated over the last 6 km by the approaching end, and another turn of the course back to the E. At the end we wind it up, finishing with a grand 32.
The usual Boston problem is Hands. Keith and Bailee win the bravery award. Anne I think wins the sanity award. I found gloves helpful.
Our time, 3:52:04, was good; fifth overall, fastest VIII, beaten by two quads and two doubles. Nick Thorn and his Nines IV+ were 6th. In 2013 we were 6th in 3:56 if I recall correctly. This year's crew wasn't really faster; 2013 had a respectable headwind. It was a pleasant row: a well sat boat, a good feeling to the rowing, good coxing, and good weather. Will's best call was to remind us of our finishes, and no matter how often he called, it always had a salutary effect, which I think means our finishes persistently slip off. I mean theirs do; mine don't, obviously. We kept to 23-24 without much need to push it up; our average split over the GPS record is 2:21. Our before-the-race estimate of what we needed to do to beat the former record of 4:02 was 2:22 to the lock, and 2:25 thereafter. That would have us pushing off from the lock at 1:02; as it was, we left at 1:00 so were two minutes up already; and despite the slight headwind we kept beating 2:25 splits and so salting down margin every k. At about 30 km we overtook the other Mx VIII, thus guaranteeing us the pots; to be fair they were 7 women and one man and so only technically mixed.
Here are the sweep-oared mixed records - we have no truck with sculling-type folk, of course. Elite, Sen and IM2 are up for grabs next year. As are IM2/3 IV+ records; or indeed, the 2- if anyone would like to accompany me..?
And... that's it. "Traditionally" Boston is the last act of the outgoing committee, and Simon E is now men's captain. Over to you...
The current committee, with contact details, is at chestertonrowingclub.org/contact.
At the AGM in September 2015 the following were elected:
Club Captain, Simon Emmings
Women's Captain, Lorraine Turville
Men's Captain, Simon E
Secretary, Annie West
Treasurer, Dawn Hawkins
Kit officer, Kate Winter
Equipment officers, Hannah and Andy Southgate
Vice Admiral (social sec'), Barney Brown
Race Sec,' Meg Richards
Safety officer, Dave Richards
Webmeister William Connolley
