On 18th October King's had two pairs in the Cambridge Small Boats Head, which is rowed over the 2600m bumps course from the Motorway Bridge to Chesterton Footbridge. The KCBC crews were:
KCBC/St. Catz
Ben Beaumont & Iarla Kilbane-Dawe (St. Catz)
finished 3rd in SII 2- in a time of 11:57.
KCBC
Matt Garner & Matthias Hammer
finished 2nd in SII 2- in a time of 11:55.
The event was won by McGarel-Groves & Pinsent (Matthew Pinsent's brother) of Eton BC.
On 26th October 1997, King's raced at the Headway Regatta in Cambridge. This regatta was organised in aid of Headway, a medical charity outside Cambridge, and was raced down the Long Reach. King's entered two pairs and a coxed four.
First the four of Matt Garner, Iarla Kilbane-Dawe, Ben Beaumont and Matthias Hammer, coxed by Claire Kwan raced LMBC II beating them easily and putting in a convincing performance.
Then the pair of Ben Beaumont & Matthias Hammer rowed against Homerton and in a nail-biting race in which positions constantly changed lost by a bow ball. Both were, however, satisfied with the very good row they had produced. The only down side was that Matthias steered too close to the bank twice. Although they never hit the bank, this error likely cost them victory.
40 minutes later it was back into the four against Homerton. This time King's did not perform well at all. The oarsmen rowed badly and Claire, new to the steering system of the brand-new BBG four, steered into the bank. Homerton beat King's easily and went on to win the final even more easily.
The last race of the day was the pairs final in which Iarla Kilbane-Dawe and Matt Garner were pitted against Homerton again. The bank seems to have been magnetic on this day, because again King's steered into the bank twice, this time hitting it hard and coming to a complete stop whilst in the lead after about 250 m of the race. Homerton won this event too.
King's went away with two good rows under their belt and important lessons learnt on the need to perform under pressure.
On 11th November 1997, King's raced at the Kingston Small Boats Head in two pairs and a coxed four.
In the first division the four of John Thompson, Iarla Kilbane-Dawe, Ben Beaumont and Matthias Hammer, coxed by Claire Kwan raced the 3 mile course in 18:17.0. They had entered the novice four and this time placed them second, just five seconds behind the winning Kingston home crew.
Then the Senior II pairs of Ben Beaumont/Mikko Vanaanen and Matt Garner/Matthias Hammer raced in the second division. Beaumon/Vanaanen were 2 seconds faster (19:55.2) than Garner/Hammer (19:57.3). This placed both pairs in the mid-field of the Senior II pairs competition.
Stonehart:
A pleasing 1st round against Peterhouse who rowed consistently but never put on a burst
that threatened King's. This meant Stonehart escaped with a minor crab (followed by a
power 10) not actually losing them any ground. Excellent coxing by Moore through the
Railway Bridge ensured victory and upset Peterhouse coaches.
This was reversed for the second race, Clare pulling steadily ahead. However, they flagged
at about 500m and Stonehart gained a length. This did not last, Clare's strong finish and
the better line on the far side of the towpath giving them victory. Stonehart rowed
smoothly, no crabs, but were ultimately beaten by a stronger crew.
Result: beat Peterhouse by two lengths, lost to Clare by two lengths.
Arnhold:
Arnhold's first race and unfortunately this showed. A possible KCBC record of four
serious crabs in the first 800m meant King's was never in contention for victory. Plus
points, however, were that Arnhold would be prepared for the Fairbairns, and that LMBC II
proved the winners of the Fairbairns 2nd boat division.
Result: beaten easily by LMBC II.
Cadbury:
Very pleasing 1st round victory for Cadbury given Pembroke's rowing heritage. Cadbury
were deservedly pleased and began to entertain hopes of replacing Arnhold as the 2nd
novice boat (the Fairbairns proving the final decider!). A noticeably better row than
Pembroke meant King's could not even see them around the Railway Bridge corner.
Emma II were closer with the two opponents neck-on-neck by the White House. Cadbury then
crabbed twice giving Emma two lengths and the crucial advantage under the Railway Bridge.
Although King's finished strongly, it was not enough.
Result: beat Pembroke III easily, lost to Emma II by two lengths.
Women's 1st Novice VIII:
This was the first race for the Women's Novice 1st eight and their first experience of
firm pressure rowing over a considerable distance. To their credit, few crabs were caught
and the boat moved nicely. Trinity Hall pulled slightly ahead at the start and held onto
their lead until the Railway Bridge for the better line. This gained them the crucial
length needed to win, King's having kept in touch until 800m.
Result: lost to Trinity Hall by one length.
The Lowe Double Sculls are a CUCBC event held every year for College oarsmen. The event is a knock-out processional race between two crews from the Little Bridge to the Railway Bride.
Iarla Kilbane-Dawe (St. Catz) and Matthias Hammer (King's) entered this event and won their first round beating 1st & 3rd Trinity by 33 seconds. This put them through to the semi-finals which they scratched due to a clash with the Magdalene Silver Pairs which were deemed more important.
The Magdalene Silver Pairs are a CUCBC event held every year for College oarsmen. The event is a knock-out processional race between two crews from the Little Bridge to the Railway Bride.
Ben Beaumont and Matthias Hammer had been training for some weeks specifically for this event and entered the competition with high hopes. However, their first opponents from Wolfson proved too strong, winning the first round (and semi-final) by 30 seconds. Nevertheless Ben and Matthias were very satisfied with their performance and felt, as Ben put it, that they "had not lost the race, but Wolfson had won it".
Stonehart:
A good race resulting in a slightly lower position than last year. Stonehart rowed
strongly and responded well to calls for a sprint finish, pleasing the bank party more
than during the Winter Head. The boat sat well and no crabs were caught. General strength
and fitness probably the biggest fault.
Result: 11min 16sec placing them 21st.
Arnhold:
A slightly shaky start brought back numerous memories of the Clare Novices, one serious
crab unsettling the crew. They responded well, however, to calls for calm and finished the
race strongly. This was good, though the overall result perhaps a little disappointing.
Result: 12min 26sec placing them 54th.
Cadbury:
The Fairbairns were again a pleasing race for Cadbury who sat the boat well and never
crabbed. Finishing only four places behind Arnhold after a steady row, Cadbury put in a
justifiable claim to the KCBC II equal novice eight. Their aim was to emulate the women's
smoot performance and this was achieved with the whole crew still rowing strongly at the
finish.
Result: 12min 38sec placing them 58th.
Women's 1st Novice VIII:
A very impressive Fairbairns race for the women. King's started smoothly compared to
the frantic spannering of the crews in front and behind. Selwyn and Downing. The boat was
sitting well and King's maintained their steady pace well until the end. This proved
considerably faster than Selwyn or Downing who blew early into the Long Reach and gave
KCBC and excellent 13th place.
Result: 12min 49sec placing them 13th.
At the beginning of December, King's fielded a scratch eight with two novices for the Fairbairn races finishing 40th.