Lent Bumps 2009:
1st Men:
| Wednesday - Bumped Churchill I | |
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Finally, after weeks of training and commitment, the time was upon us! Being chased by Queens (oh the tension in the boathouse!) and chasing Churchill, we had no idea what to expect from either of them, their having wimped out of racing all term. Fueled by pasta, POWERTHIRST and jelly babies we made our way nervously to the start. Clambering back into the boat at 4min, the nerves were palpable. Come the one minute, focus was complete, and with a good push off, we moved smoothly off the start - however with the adrenalin pumping we never really settled off the stride until the motorway bridge, by which time we were on station with crews either side. We found a solid, albeit slightly scrappy rhythm down first post reach, and moved up gradually a 1/4 length on Churchill. Coming into the gut, Fitz had cleared to the side but not pulled in their blades, causing bowside slight disruption, but we regained the rhythm and coming out of Grassy we got our first whistle - as had Queens behind on us. However by this point all the term's training was starting to pay off; we still felt strong with plenty of MENERGY in the tank, and by the time we passed the Plough we had 3 whistle and Queens had dropped away. Credit to the Churchill cox for their tight lines, but the result was inevitable; the kill was called as we exited Ditton and within 10 ABNORMALLY FAST strokes it was over - a textbook bump. A good result for the first day, but we know we can get a smoother, more efficient rhythm when chasing Christs tomorrow. Written by Tom Wilson |
Thursday - Bumped Christs I |
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Having bumped Churchill yesterday, eyes were focussed onto Christs and we knew we'd have to raise out game if we were to catch them. The atmosphere was perhaps a little too relaxed, and despite some good paddling, our practice starts were sloppy and UNCOMFORTABLY ENERGETIC. With Andy still doing a botch job with gaffer tape to Bramall's shoes on the 1min gun, the start was surprisingly calm and relaxed. The stride came a lot easier today, but just as we were settling down we passed under the motorway bridge where Stephen did well to recover a mini crab in the choppy waters, akin to AN ELECTRICAL STORM. From there up till Ditton we stayed on station with Christs, but the boat felt heavy and the rhythm much less comfortable then yesterday. Out of Ditton, Churchill were bumped out and Christs went for the kill on Fitz, meaning we resigned ourselves to rowing over in isolation. However, halfway down the reach, Christs were 4 lengths ahead and still had not bumped. Knowing fitness was on our side, we hardened up into the headwind and started to reel them in, cutting the deficit to on station by the railway bridge. Now it was just a case of not if, but when we would catch them. With barely more than 100m to the line we got 3 whistles and moved for the kill, only for Bramall's gaffer tape to finally break. This was no barrier though, as Christs were caught and bumped no more than 5 strokes from the finish. Credit to them for such a tough battle, but such is the luck of Bumps. Tomorrow we chase Fitz - let's hope we find a much smoother rhythm for Friday's racing. Written by Tom Wilson |
| Friday - Rowed Over | |
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The focus in the boat was much better on the way down to the start today, compared to Thursday's relaxed style of jokes and TURBOPUNS. We all knew we had to catch Fitz before they caught Kings if we were to stay in the hunt for blades. Our practice starts were much better, and we felt quietly confident as we pushed off, knowing also that Christs behind us would pose less of a threat as the race progressed after their efforts yesterday. Fitz were fast off the start leaving us 2 lengths behind, but we found a much better rhythm than Thursday meaning we gradually moved back to just under station by the Plough. However by this stage Fitz went for the kill on Kings, but exiting Ditton they were still trying - thoughts of the previous day sprang instantly to mind. Indeed the boat speed really picked up as confidence surged through the boat and we moved to within half a length of a tiring Fitz crew. However this only pushed them back onto Kings, who were eventually bumped just as we got to within 1/4 length of our quarry. With no-one in sight in front or behind, we wound down to conserve our GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF ENERGY for tomorrow and paddled the last 500m in frustrating isolation. A much better row than Thursday, and there wasn't much we could do about the result. All eyes on Kings for the final day, who we know we can hit. Written by Tom Wilson |
| Saturday - Bumped Kings I | |
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The paddle down to the start was some of the best we've had all term. We were optimistic of bumping Kings, seeing their previous performances and the confidence told as we kept well focused past the crowds on the way down. However we knew there was never an easy bump, and we'd have to go look for it. Off the start we moved well and found a decent rhythm. However it soon became clear that Queens behind us knew that Kings were slow and went on the offensive. Halfway down first post reach, despite our having one whistle, Queens had three. However we kept calm and executed our anti-kill perfectly, which in turn pushed us on to a tiring Kings. Coming in to first post there was 1/4 length clear water at both our bow and our stern, but with some fearsome ENERGY LEGS, we finished off our Lents campaign with an emphatic bump on the apex of First post. As Brucey says, good crews go up 3, lucky crews go up 4. Despite missing out on the bump yesterday by just 1/4 length, going up 3 is no mean achievement and the crew should be proud of what they've done. 11th on the river must be the highest position in years. Many thanks to our coach, Andy, who has inspired us and driven us onwards and upwards this term. Also many thanks to Paul for giving up his mornings. We also say our final farewell to Nick, after his tremoundous efforts round Ditton. Finally, I'd like to thank a certain RAWBERRY flavoured drink for the theme of these reports: POWERTHIRST Written by Tom Wilson |
1st Women:
| Tuesday - Bumped Robinson I | |
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I think we all showed up to the boathouse very nervous for the first day of bumps. Half the boat had never rowed in W1 for bumps before and some of the crew had never experienced bumps at all before so we didn't know what to expect. Furthermore we didn't know what to expect from the crews around us - would Robinson bump out in front of us? What were Murray Edwards like behind us? Whilst we marshalled a bird pooped on Ciara and we had a debate as to whether this meant good luck of not. Apparently it did since before we knew it the guns had fired and we were racing and then we had bumped! Awesomeness. And now Ciara can't wash her lycra all week... Written by Deborah Smith |
| Thursday - Bumped Emmanuel II | |
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We started out the day by wishing Gabi a Happy Birthday and hoping that we would get some birthday bumpage. It was certainly not a sure thing though since we thought we were faster than Emma II, but also thought that they were faster than LMBC II, so it was all a matter of who bumped out first. We tried not to let this phase us though and to just think about our race as we came forward to front stops, giving us a tidy though quite slow start. By first post we were lacking on whistles and so concluded that it was going to be a longer and more difficult bump than the day before. As we carried on we could hear shouting and whistles infront of us and so knew that Emma were gaining on Maggie, and quicker than we were gaining on Emma. Doubt started to enter our minds, especially when we had to be given the two whistle call twice and our rowing started to fall apart a bit. Coming around Ditton though we had the three whistles, and then the continous and then it was ours! Credit to Emma who were apparently about a quarter of a length off Maggie for most of the way and thanks for the good run! Awesome birthday bumpage! Written by Deborah Smith |
| Friday - Bumped LMBC II | |
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Today's race was certainly exciting, we do like to liven things up a bit. It had started with us yet again being fearful that LMBC, who we were chasing, would bump Fitz before we could get to them. Race plan was to push a teeny bit faster out of the start since we weren't sure we had been giving it our all on previous days. Whatever the outcome of the race, we wanted to be able to say that we had tried our best. Initially the race plan was working, we got a whistle on Maggie, then two, then three, and then just as we were coming around Grassy, we got the kill call. We went for it, knowing that the race would be over in mere strokes and we could plunge all our last energy into these last few seconds. Which promptly ploughed us straight into the corner of grassy. The majority of the crew heard the "hold it up" and assumed we had bumped, but no. There was confusion, there was shock, we were being pushed out into the river again. Had we not bumped? Where was LMBC? What was going on? Considering that noone knew what was happening, we had a very impressive restart from backstops winding it right back up and settling once more on our hunting rhythm. Each of us was pushing hard, but silently wondering what the chances of us now catching Maggie were, since we knew they had had whistles on Fitz, and both boats were now a good few lengths ahead of us. But Robyn wouldn't let us quit, she could see the boats ahead and kept us together as we tired to regain the lost ground. Surprisingly, Emma were still far behind us, and with out that threat we started to settle to a pace that would simply carry us over the finish line. But then, as we rowed down the reach, came whilstles! With renewed spirit at the prospect of a bump we upped the pace, and then again at each of the successive whilstles, confident in the knowledge that Maggie would be tired, whereas our dreaded 5k tests were finally paying off. When the kill call came, we did. There would be know repeats this time, it was all or nothing. And so we bumped! An epic bump, truly awemongous. Even more so considering that Maggie had had continuous whistles on Fitz most of the way down the reach. Thanks to Fitz for holding them off for so long! In future we intend to only have to kill once. Written by Deborah Smith |
| Saturday - Bumped Fitzwilliam I | |
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The last day of bumps was the most nerve racking. If we bumped today, then we would win blades. However, just like every other day so far, Peterhouse were bumping down boats ahead of us to give the people we were chasing the opportunity to bump out before we got to them. Despite the nerves, we soon got into the zone and had an inspiring erg and crew chat in the boathouse. We were ready to shine! Marshalling seemed to go on forever, but once we had rowed up to our station, the time flew by. Before we knew it we were being pushed out by Andy for the final time and Tom was counting down the seconds to the gun. After practising it three times a day for the last 3 days and countless times before that, our start was flying and even after the stride the rate came down but the split stayed low. After that it was a text book bump, just coming into grassy for all the crowd to see. I remember after we had held it up, Robyn asked us to come to backstops in order to clear the river, and i was terrified that we had not infact bumped, but had crashed again like the previous day, or else Fitz had bumped out in front of us. Thankfully this is not the case - we had bumped!!! We had BLADES!!! It was the most awemongous thing ever and we could not stop smiling! We rowed home in style, proud bearing the Magdalene flag and drinking champagne from the bottle whilst rowing in sixes. Thanks guys for the fabtabulous rowing and shining this term, and thanks Andy for everything you've done! So glad it paid off! And i still can't believe we got BLADES!!!Written by Deborah Smith |
2nd Men:
| Tuesday - Bumped FaT IV | |
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Following on from a solid second place in Pembroke Regatta M2 entered bumps expecting good things. On the cannons we set off after FaT IV and gained a little on them with a solid start. The technique was a bit shaky going into the strides as we could see the Caius boat behind us. This caused the timing to fall apart a bit and us to lose some speed. We managed to get things together quickly going into the first corner and started to pull comfortably ahead of Caius by still no warnings whistles. We took the rating up a little higher and the shaking of the boat told us we were close. Sure enough we head the single whistle, spurred on my this we pushed harder but almost immediately had to stop the boat and FaT IV had stopped in the river and if we had hit them at that speed we would have done serious damage. Our bump was awarded and we are chasing a bumped Fitz II on the second day. Written by Nicholas Pilkington Quote of the Day - "Well they definitely bumped." - Observer on the bank commenting on our crew wearing an inordinate amount of ivy on the way back. |
| Wednesday - Bumped Fitz II | |
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After a successful first day of Lent Bumps M2 were excited for a repeat performance and a smoother row than the first day. On the starting cannons we pulled off strong and had a relatively smooth transition into the stride. About five hundred meters down the river we were rewarded with a single whistle signaling one boat length separation. Motivated by this we rowed on hard. In the wake of the Fitz boat the water was rough and we washed out a number of strokes but pushed through and got the double whistle. Soon after coming round the second corner we hear the triple and almost immediately held up the boat to avoid our bowman knocking their cox out. It seems that on the third whistle Fitz had a moment of clarity in which they understood that they could not escape the beast that pursued them and lay down to accept their fate. We pulled over to the bank, doused ourselves in ivy and danced merrily under the harvest moon. On Thursday we have the day off and are back in the water of Friday, going for the hat-trick. Written by Nicholas Pilkington Quote of the Day - "All I saw was a flash of purple" - CUR Commentary |
| Friday - Bumped Clare II | |
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We knew that today would be our toughest day of bumps and possibly our most disappointing having got this far. Clare were a very quick crew and were chasing Girton who has already been bumped twice so we were expecting to have to attempt an ambitious over bump of LMBC. Our start was smooth and we settled into the stride better than we had done on the previous two days. We rowed consistently but with every passing stroke expected to pass Clare pulled over to the bank after having bumped Girton. Going into the second corned we heard a whistle a head of us and knew that Clare were closing on Girton. But only seconds later we heard our own whistle sound and we knew what had to be done. This was a race of one boat length now and we needed to catch Clare before they caught Girton or conserve our energy and wait for the over bump. We went for Clare, be pushed hard with every stroke knowing that if we didn't get them we would be two tired to catch LMBC and that would be the end of bumps for us. Soon we got the second whistle and then the third and what followed in the next ten seconds was probably the best burst of rowing I have experience with M2 this season. We bumped. We achieved what not many people expected we could and it was great. The hat-trick and still on for blades. Written by Nicholas Pilkington Quote of the Day - "Too close for missles, I'm switching to guns" - Goose |
| Saturday - Bumped Girton II | |
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The final day of bumps arrived and we were pretty nervous because we all new what was on offer today. We had worked to get here and we didn't want to mess up and lose this opportunity. We knew we were behind a slower crew and could catch them with consistency and not mistakes. Nothing fancy. Just a textbook bump. Our start was good and we settled into the stride after five winds and five lengthens as against Clare. The rowing was consistent and powerful and soon we got our first whistle, then our second. We knew we were on for the kill and blades with it. We kept it together well and bumped. Blades. Tick. Written by Nicholas Pilkington Quote of the Day - "Well done Magdalene!" [applause] - Many, many spectators |
2nd Women:
| Tuesday - Bumped St Catz II | |
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You could almost feel the excitement, or possibly nerves, on the way down to the start and whilst marshalling but after several packets of sweets the four minute gun went and we were ready, or as near as possible! We had a comfortable start and settled in to a steady rhythm. The crew bumped out behind us so we had no competition from behind and Ross assured us we were slowly clawing St Catz’s in. About a third of the way down the course we heard the whistle for a boat length and you could feel the boat pick up as we knew we could actually do this. Within no time we had bumped and were gaining large branches of greenery in our boat! As 6 out 9 have never rowed bumps before I think a very successful day – let’s do the same again tomorrow (fingers crossed)! Written by Kate Husband |
| Wednesday - Rowed Over | |
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We had Naomi subbing today, whilst Sam enjoyed an all day practical – I know where I would rather be! After the customary few bags of jelly babies, the gun went and we were off again. We had a steady start and started to push on the legs. St Catz, who was chasing us, had an optimistic length whistle only to give it their all, die and fall off our tails; whilst Downing bumped a slow Tit Hall in front of us as expected. That left us on for the over bump on Emma; the slowest qualifies from the Getting-on-Race. The encouragement from the bank told us we were gaining on them so we kept pushing till the end, but unfortunately needed just a little bit more course ending a length behind them. If our course was as long as the top two divisions we could have had them as we were gaining on them all the time and only needed another 500m, but that is the luck of bumps. A really good race, but with the amazing results of the other Magdalene crews so far this makes us the worst crew on number of bumps! A few more bumps to come - I hope! Written by Kate Husband |
| Friday - Bumped Trinity Hall II | |
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Today we had Tit Hall in front, who had been falling through our division, and St Catz’s behind, who we bumped on the first day; so we were quietly confident. We had a better start and almost immediately got our first whistle. A few more strokes brought the kill call, and I felt the bump under the motorway bridge. Although it was slightly scrappy after the kill call, it was still amazing to bump so quickly! Our plans for tomorrow were spoilt though by St Catz overbumping Downing, as they apparently crashed, and Pembroke III coming down ready for Catz’s taking tomorrow, leaving us on for the overbump on Emma again. Let’s hope for second time lucky! Written by Kate Husband |
| Saturday - Rowed Over | |
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We knew today that we could get St Catz’s in front of us, it was just a question of whether we could do it before they got Pembroke in front of them. If not we were ready to get the overbump on Emma. We had a steady start and I think we got a whistle on St Catzs, but it wasn’t long before they caught Pembroke, so we were on for the overbump. There were a few scrappy strokes from people trying too hard but overall it was a really nice rhythm and we were closing in on them. Going past the Plough we had a large cheer and we gave it our all for the last 500m only to finish 1/4 of a boat length off of them. An amazing effort by everyone and probably our best race – we just needed another couple of hundred metres to finish them off. Written by Kate Husband |
3rd Men:
| Tuesday - Bumped Corpus II | |
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It was clear from the row up that the excitement for M3 of getting on had been replaced by anxiety, unsurprising since 7 of the 9 had only noviced last term. After the usual wait it was suddenly time to push off. With a slightly smaller bank party than last time counting down, it was time to chase Corpus II. After a rushed start a rhythm began to form, leaving the chasing boats behind only for a sudden cry of "hold it up" from the marshals under the motorway bridge. Somewhere near the front of the division a boat was stuck across the river. Fortunately someone decided that it would be best to rerun the race. The excitement and adrenaline increased as our fan club on the towpath explained that Corpus had panicked in their first start. Again the cannon went, again M3 powered off in an improved start, this time we heard whistles under the motorway bridge and before we knew it we were again holding it up. This time to celebrate our first bump. Written by Matt Schabas |
| Wednesday - Bumped Churchill III | |
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After a promising start to our Bumps week yesterday we were quietly confident that a bump today was firmly on the cards. On the row down the crew seemed much more relaxed, clearly focusing on just one thing - to give everything to get that bump! The start was calm and collected and we quickly settled into a strong race rhythm and sure enough within a few hundred metres the whistles started blaring as we rapidly closed down on Churchill III ahead of us. When the kill call came at the Motorway bridge the adrenaline kicked in, accompanied by a slight surge in boat speed and as a result, within a few strokes, we got the bump. A perfect end to what for many of the crew was their second ever day of bumps. Written by Ollie D'Arcy |
| Thursday - Rowed Over | |
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Well, it was always going to be a tough one... The mighty men of M3 arrived at the boat house on Thursday fully aware of the daunting task that lay ahead: in front of them were a Christ's boat they were confident of catching over the distance of the course. The only problem: Emma III, fast continuing their slide towards spoons, lay two in front. The challenge: to catch Christ's before Christ's caught Emma. The race started well, with the crew starting to heed their coach's advice and settling down into the stride. Before they had reached the motorway bridge, however, they could hear the whistles of the Christ's bank party in front of them, and before they knew it, they passed a disappointed Emma and a very satisfied Christ's on the bank. The overbump was chased, briefly, before M3 passed Maggie IV, who too had bumped. This left them to row the rest of the course at a relaxed rating, hugely disappointed that they had been robbed their chance of blades by the luck of the draw, but having learned a valuable lesson about the nature of the Bumps. All eyes now turn to Saturday, and to hammering Emma III into a spoon-filled oblivion. Written by Luke Howard |
| Saturday - Technical Row Over | |
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Saturday was a lesson in superstition for M3. With a few newly shaved faces, the smell of laundered lycra, and the victory baking already done, it still seemed nothing would prevent Emma III receiving their spoons. The wait for the race was marked with confidence rather then the usual anxiety and stroke's attempts at innuendo. However, once the Magical Magdalene M3 Mandarin was dropped into the Cam, and the fact W1 used the entire boat club's luck the day before meant it was no surprise that it was not to be M3's day. A major pile up of somewhere between 3 and 6 boats in the middle of the division meant the race was ended with Emma III - who went off like a rocket - just a few metres ahead with M3 still in the starting zone. Despite Stephen's best efforts to persuade the umpires his opinion was wholly impartial a technical row-over was awarded. M3 would like to thank Ben and Ciara for all the help and coaching they have given us this term. Written by Alex Geere |