Leaving a lengthy gap for Caius in front, trying not to be too overconfident after our term’s success, we set off to give it everything we had over the 3.4km course. Having found our rhythm and strode to a comfortable 32/33, we rowed past the boat houses. However, just as we came under the Elizabeth way road bridge, the clam on Sammy’s blade started to come loose. From the bow seat, I agonizingly watched as she wrestled to keep the blade under control. Eventually, the clam fell entirely off, and though not ideal, made the rowing easier with it gone. We could settle back into our rhythm again, and hope that we had not lost too many seconds. With Caius in our sights from the P and E, we went for the overtake. At the finish line outside the Plough we rowed past Caius, completing our term with style, coming away as the fastest women’s 4 on the river, winning by 11 seconds.
