Lent Bumps 2010:
1st Men:
| Wednesday - Bumped by King's I | |
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With the other three Magdalene crews bumping yesterday, it was now our turn. The crew turned up at the boathouse focused and determined, aware of the task that lay ahead; we needed to bump Fitz today. Fortunately, the weather was better than it was yesterday, so everyone was optimistic. The paddle down to Chesterton, and then down to the start was mostly calm and relaxed, which was a good sign. The two practice starts were fairly solid too, but you could still feel that there were a few first race nerves amongst the crew. The few minutes before the start were mostly quiet, with everyone visualizing the race to themselves. We were chasing a sub-average Fitz crew, and we knew we could get them, but it would have to be quick given the situation behind us: King's were being chased by Queens', probably the fastest crew on the river, and so their race plan no doubt was to row as hard as they could for 500m, in hope that they could catch us to avoid being hit by Queens'. Unfortunately for us, this proved to be successful for them, and we were bumped coming round First Post Corner, although not without a fight. We pushed off them twice before their bow finally hit my (stroke's) blade on the inside of the bend. Although this was not clear to me at the time, we apparently had 3 whistles on Fitz when we got bumped, so it's even more devastating that we were so close to bumping ourselves. As Queens' got the overbump on Fitz, we should have the whole course to row down King's tomorrow, as they won't be able to catch Queens' and Fitz won't trouble us, especially with a quick Peterhouse behind them. We are not a sprinting crew, so we are confident that our superior fitness and mental strength throughout the crew will pay off over 2.5k, given that King's have nowhere to go. Every single person in this crew is devastated by today's outcome, and so we are all now more determined to put things right. This is not the start we wanted or thought we would get, but tomorrow, we will get our revenge. Written by Ben Tucker |
1st Women:
| Tuesday - Bumped Jesus II | |
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We met at the boathouse rather excessively early for our first day of bumps, so had ample time to get ready, do all the necessary faffing and attach Rhi's birthday bell to the number 6 seat. Despite the cold and sleet we set off focused and ready. Arriving at Chesterton with no marshals to be seen, we picked a nice looking spot on the bank, pulled in and wondered why we were yet to see W2 go by. Unfortunately the delay in the divisions meant we had to sit for rather longer than planned. We had only 2 pairs of shoes in the boat (bad planning!) so rotated the pairs through for a jog down the bank to keep warm. Finally rowing down to the start we managed some bursts to get warm, but had no time for any practice starts. The 4 min gun went off before we¿d pulled into the bank so things felt rather more rushed than planned. However, Fitz chasing us were clearly having a worse day as with no life jacket they were not allowed to race. Before we knew what happened the 1 minute gun had been and gone and we were sitting out in the river ready go. When the final cannon sounded we were off chasing down Jesus II. Things were slightly scrappy but determination and good lines meant that coming through the gut we'd already started to hear whistles from the bank. Looking ahead I became a bit concerned at how close Jesus had got to Girton but approaching grassy we had overlap, went for the kill and hit them on the inside just coming into the corner. A good start to the week, on Thursday we chase Girton! Written by Elissa Tennant-Brown |
2nd Men:
| Tuesday - Bumped Trinity Hall II | |
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Despite having to marshall for over fifty minutes in swirling sleet due to carnage in divisions below, M2 had a decent row down, particularly during practice starts. Upon the final gun, we wound it up rapidly, and stayed roughly on station with Trinity Hall II. Behind us we saw Girton swiftly dispatched by a powerful Peterhouse II. As THII closed on LMBC III, their hooters spurred them on, opening up the distance between us a fraction. Unfortunately for them, their stroke caught a crab at one of the early corners, saving M2 from an exhausting overbump attempt. The crew look forward to chasing LMBC III on Wednesday. |
| Wednesday - Bumped LMBC III | |
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A slightly altered M2 had an unsettled row down to Chesterton. However, some nice practice starts showed promise. We had a decent start, not the fastest but balanced enough to provide a base to put down the pressure. Tit Hall II went off like the clappers to try for the bump before being caught by a speedy Peterhouse II, but to no avail. As the whistles rang out for the oldest college in cambridge, we began to get some shrill blasts of our own. Despite closing swiftly to overlap on LMBC III, the bump was delayed by some kill-call-induced spacciness. However we recovered from this and bumped just before Ditton corner. 2 days down, 2 places up: bring on Friday and bring on Jesus III |
| Friday - Bumped Jesus III | |
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Back to the same configuration as Day 1 (reunited with our erstwhile stroke, beloved by the message boards), M2 struggled a little in the blustery conditions. However the kinks worked themselves out, and we were rowing chunkily by the reach. Our start was as ever Goldilockian - not too slow, and not too quick, in fact, just right for the crew. Unlke past days we settled into a strong rhythm after the wind, setting us up well for the race. A combination of a good row from Jesus III and some air shots from 5 & 6 meant we came through first post corner further back than anticipated. This was compounded by the crew failing to hear the length calls being given from the bank. The pace died a bit as the crew mistakenly started to think it was rowover time. Thankfully the whistles started soon after and we picked the pace back up and bumped just after Ditton. Onwards and upwards! |
2nd Women:
| Wednesday - Bumped St Catherine's II | |
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Magdalene W2 started bumps in the 12th position of the division between St
Catherines II (11th) and Downing II (13th). We had practiced bung starts
the prior morning and were very nervous and excited. The weather was
bitterly cold and, as we reached the loch and spun to take our starting
position, a combination of snow, sleet, and rain began to fall. In spite of
the conditions, the crew de-kitted at the four minute gun and were pushed
out into the river at about 45 seconds. When the starting gun sounded, the crew set off strong and together and pulled up towards Cats. By the time we reached the motorway bridge, we were about three meters behind their bow. Just past the bridge, the marshalls started calling for everyone to hold it up. Some kind of crash had occurred further up the river and everyone had to stop and start over. The crew, a little bit heartbroken at how close they had been to getting their first bump when they had been told to stop, re-kitted and rowed back up to the start point to do it all again. The crew was quite confident that they were going to catch Cats. When the gun fired, they went off together and by the motorway bridge were up on the bow of Cats. Several meters later, we were level with their cox and, after they conceded the bump, quickly got over to the bank to make happy screaming noises, put on more clothing, and wear some foliage. Downing looked strong behind us, but we had held them off convincingly. They went on to over-bump Emma (at position 10) who Cats would have bumped if we hadn't caught up with them first. Everyone is excited to chase Downing tomorrow. Written by Kathleen Alexander |
Thursday - Rowed over |
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After bumping Cats the day before, W2 was now in the 11th position, chasing Downing II who had over-bumped the first day. The weather had improved significantly (we could even see the sun sometimes!) and the crew was up for the challenge of the day: bump Downing II before they bump Clare Hall, and go for the over-bump (Newnham II) if Downing bumps Clare Hall too quickly. When the starting gun sounded, the crew set off with their usual strong start and pulled towards Downing. By the time we reached the motorway bridge, we were about pace matched with Downing. Just past the motorway bridge, Clare Hall conceded the bump from Downing, and we new that we were in it for the over-bump. The crew looked very strong and reset their pace for the longer row they would have to do to catch up to Newnham. Though they gained on Newnham over the course and were setting a competitive pace, we found out that the course ended before the reach, so the chance for the over-bump was slight. The crew lightened the pace a little and rowed the last 500 meters of the course somewhat more relaxed to save their energy for bumping Clare Hall on Friday. Written by Kathleen Alexander |