M1 - 2nd college crew in 14:22 C: B. Jones S: P. Mildon 7: R. Poolman 6: G. Steele 5: H. Dietert 4: M. Perucchini 3: J. McMillan 2: A. Chappell B: J. Brubert

We set off in town, hitting 37 off the start with the slight tail wind conditions. The water was rather bumpy, so we did not let the rate build any higher than this. After the first minute we settled onto rate 34 as planned. It felt rather low and the boat was really running, but due to the length of the race I decided to stick to plan and keep the rate where it felt comfortable for the first half. This pace proved to be the right decision, as the boat speed was then maintained into the second half. Pushes onto the reach reignited our challenge and we began to catch up LMBC in front who had flown though town at the start. While a few individual technical faults started to creep in, the boat continued to gain speed towards the end of the race, with everyone putting in their all. We finally crossed the line with a time of 14min 22.

This result showed us that our last two weeks of training had been very effective, moving clear of Downing, ahead of LMBC (who had beaten us by 1s at Winter Head) and we had held ground on a strengthened Caius 8. The squad are not determined to close the gap to Caius for next term.

Boar’s Head BC First VIII

With a strong crew to field, we opted for a short 7.15-8.15am Friday morning outing before the river closed for the day’s racing. The scratch crew quickly settled in, as Andy and Max worked well together at stroke pair to send the rhythm down to Nick at bow. Rowing stable square blades to Chesterton, in eights, gave the whole crew a lot of confidence that everyone was switched on and ready to race.

We rowed a pyramid of alternating light and pressure strokes, to remind everyone of the slide control required at different boat speeds, and at the bottom of the reach spun for our first rate piece. Going off with M2 ahead, we practiced our rolling race start (a simple 3 draw, 5 wind) from steady state, and the rate quickly hit 32. We settled into a minute’s paddling at 30, though the boat felt quite heavy. A few technical pointers from Rob Jeffrey, who was on the bank, and a repeat of the same brought the rate up smoothly, with a faster boat feeling much lighter for the next minute. Spinning at Chesterton, we repeated a technical row down to the end of the reach, spun, and did a 2 minute piece back up. The crew was working well together, and we were happy to row back. With a relatively busy river, we opted to row full slide at low rate, working down in 2’s from rate 18 to rate 10.

For the race, we went off 2nd in the Invitational Division, chasing CULRC Alumni. Our start was solid, and we soon settled into a stable platform. The power was there, though the rhythm took a little longer to settle in. George Disney negotiated the town section superbly, leaving little room to spare on every corner we went through. Coming into Chesterton, we began to build up the power, focussing more the drive. Sharp calls from George had brought the timing together, and we really began to see the boat move as 8 oars caught and drove at the same time. This was maintainable throughout the reach, and with a smooth line into Ditton, we held the boat speed into grassy. Another good line through the gut allowed us to drain the tanks to the finish.

The result was good, 3rd in the Alumni crews (beaten by CULRC Alumni and Black Prince) but we look forward to beating it next year. QCBC M1 came 2nd in the College Division, and we were 57 seconds behind them. C: G. Disney S: A. Dyson 7: M. Richly 6: E. John 5: A. Morgan 4: M. Clark 3: C. Collingwood 2: G. Savell B: N. Gates

Boar’s Head BC Second VIII C: B. Jones S: G. Harpur 7: M. Beverton 6: D. Jalalpour 5: D. Pattinson 4: L. Bargery 3: E. Hewage 2: P. Knights B: T. Mitchell-Williams