St Catharine's College Boat Club

We started today’s race with confidence after the strong row-over on day 1. From the start we were again very quick and about thirty seconds into the race we heard Carmen blow her whistle for the first time, meaning we were within one boat length of Christ’s II. In stroke-seat, I had been wondering why Maya, our cox, did not give us a rhythm call. She saw that we were catching up to Christ’s so quickly, that she did not want to lower our rate, as it would likely be a short race. At this point we suffered an unfortunate turn of events: Eli’s seat popped off his slider, and he was constrained to using only his upper body and arms. Although he never stopped rowing, the loss of power was too severe. Robinson II steadily advanced on us, until finally getting the bump. Despite an unlucky second day, we remain optimistic, knowing how close we came to bumping Christ’s. 

- Max Luedecke

It was a really big day, first day of Lents 2020. We have been training hard all term for this, all the early mornings and evening erg sessions were finally going show themselves as pure power on the river. The previous year had been a strong one, and we would have to fight hard to hold our position. Christ’s were behind us with an unearned cocky attitude, but with First and Third in front of us it looked like we were in for a potentially long and painful chase. As nervousness set in with the one minute cannon, we got a well-practised push off from the bank and set ourselves up in front stops. With the final cannon blast we went into the starting sequence, putting all our power through the blades. With adrenaline rushing through my head, I couldn’t tell if I was rowing well, what our rate was, or even if I was pushing hard. Minutes passed in a single moment, in a state between pain and euphoria. We got cheered on by FaT from the side of the river, giving us fuel to keep Christ’s away from us, FaT had evidently bumped Jesus, thus confirming our targets for the next day. We were determined not to let Christ’s bump us, and seeing them get bumped behind us was extremely satisfying, especially as it looked like they blocked the river behind us as they were going in to the side, although it was hard to tell for sure because we were speeding away from them at high velocity and soon were invisible to the unaided eye. With no more crews fit to challenge us on the river, we confidently rowed through to the end posts. I felt like I was flying.

- Gustavs Mežciems

After inauspicious, and slightly soggy (ok, very soggy) beginnings on the morning of Day 1 of Lents, ahem, Catz M2 proved their metal with a determined display in challenging conditions. Sandwiched between Magdalene II and Tit Hall II, we got off to a good start, with Max in stroke setting us a rapid pace, but one that was nonetheless held well by the crew, moving through the strokes in tight unison. Approaching the first corner, we were holding our ground; unable to gain on Magdalene, but managing to keep Tit Hall at bay. Having bumped Christ’s at the corner, Magdalene failed to clear, blocking our path. As the race was held up and other crews having bumped or deemed to have technically rowed-over, the heavens proceeded to open. With Catz, Tit Hall, and Robinson being the sole crews to re-row, our chances to bump had gone. But the work was far from over, with us still needing to row-over and see off Tit Hall. As the cannon sounded and we gritted our teeth and pushed off from the bank, the clouds begin to clear. Starting strong again, we quickly put distance between ourselves and Tit Hall. As our advantage grew, Robinson closed on Tit Hall and got their bump. With our job done and the sun shining, we enjoyed a gentle paddle back to the boat house. All in all a promising start to the campaign.

- Lowell Lloyd

Yet again Lent Bumps is upon us, starting on Tuesday 25th February. 4 Catz crews are competing: M1 and W1 in their 1st divisions, with M2 and W2 in their 3rd divisions. The table will be filled in as results (and hopefully reports) come in.

Hover over a result to see if a race report is available. Click on the crew name to see its members.

For information on where to watch the bumps from see here. Division times are here.
Follow the action on the radio at http://bumps.camfm.co.uk/ and see official results here. 
For a map, see here. Join the tow-path at the pink marker, and follow it to the North-East.
Grassy corner (the second big corner, the large right-hand bend) is a particularly popular spectator spot.

May Bumps starts on 10th June and we have 6 Catz crews participating.

Hover over a result to see if a race report is available. Click on the crew name to see its members.

* Divisions start 2 hours earlier than stated on Day 4 (Saturday)

For information on where to watch the bumps from see here. Division times are here.
Follow the action on the radio at http://bumps.camfm.co.uk/ and see official results here. 
For a map, see here. Join the tow-path at the pink marker, and follow it to the North-East.
Grassy corner (the second big corner, the large right-hand bend) is a particularly popular spectator spot.