St Catharine's College Boat Club

Bumped Churchill M2

After a good term of solid training and some decent performances in races under our belts, we felt well prepared for the first day of bumps. The row down was good, with a couple of strong practice starts to get the blood flowing.

Upon reaching our station the nerves started to kick in; unsurprising given that this was the first bumps for eight of us. The start wasn't our best, but despite this we by no means lost ground on our opponents. The rowing was tense to start with, but quickly we gained nearly half a length on Churchill M2, whilst leaving FAT M3 a long way behind. Great cornering from Maria led us around Grassy into Plough Reach.

Just as we began to tire and question ourselves, the first whistle came, and with it a huge morale boost. Rapidly the rowing became much more relaxed and we began to feel like the M2 that managed to reach the Semi-Finals of Pembroke Regatta. At this point the hard work we've put into our ergs all term began to pay off, as it became clear that we had the edge on Churchill in terms of fitness. Thanks to a strong power ten the two whistles came, soon to be followed by three more.

An (un)fortunately timed crab from Churchill meant that we landed on them whilst they were more or less stationary, roughly halfway up the reach. This led to a bit of an entanglement with their cox, but fortunately noone was seriously hurt.

The bump today was well fought and well deserved, showing that the hard training we've put in this term has paid off. Bring on tomorrow, and Magdalene M2!

Booking is now open for this event on March 16th.

More information, and online booking, is available here.

Our Novice Women had a hard act to follow this term after last year’s novice women’s successes, but they took on the challenge with open arms and worked with dedication throughout the term towards the ultimate race of Michaelmas: Fairbairn’s. Leading the Novice Women’s division, the girls began as they intended, with a relaxed yet powerful start which certainly impressed the large group of Catz supporters who had come down to cheer them on (unconfirmed reports suggest we had the largest bank party on record..!). Making 2.7km look as easy as Queen’s Ergs, the girls maintained an excellent rhythm and focus right up to the finish line, with our cox Harriet taking some excellent lines, and the crew responding  to calls of ‘power 10’ with great effect. An exceptional race overall, putting the girls in 10^th place out of a total of 57 novice women’s crews. This result really does highlight the progress made and dedication the crew has shown over the course of the term, and I am sure we’ll see this group of amazing no-longer-novice women return in Lent with even more determination and success!

Entering three Men's Novice Boats into the Fairbairn Cup for the first time in many years, we felt that the term had already been a successful one - any strong race results would be the icing on the cake.

Leopards (NM1) were the first to race, and got off to a strong, if relaxed, start.  So relaxed, in fact, that certain members of the crew weren't even aware that the race had started! The crew held a good rate throughout the course. Leopards' control and composure meant that they could easily have been mistaken for a senior crew to anyone watching from the bank, and finishing 9th overall they achieved a time that many seniors would be pleased with too.

Jaguars (NM2) were next. Thanks to some chaotic marshalling, they found themselves behind Selwyn NM5: not an ideal situation for the Clare Novices' Plate holders. Despite being given an enormous (90s) time gap, Jaguars still managed to catch them by Chesterton Footbridge, and Maria had to call a rate drop to avoid a crash. Fortunately this lasted for only a short time before Jaguars swept past on the inside line. Jaguars completed the race as strongly as they started it, finishing fifth overall and in doing so claiming the title of 'fastest second boat'. 

Perhaps a special mention should go to Kieran Hall, who rowed for Jaguars having already subbed in for Leopards earlier in the day, and gave his all to both performances. 

Panthers (NM3) followed strongly behind Jaguars, and should be very proud of their performance. Maintaining a solid rate throughout the course they avoided any major incident to finish ahead of a good deal of other third boats and even Trinity Hall NM1. 

The real victory at this Fairbairn Cup is one that belongs to the whole novice squad - the strong results from all crews reflect a real strength in depth, that was only possible thanks to the enthusiasm and and commitment of all this year's novices, whether they rowed in fairbairns or not. With so many keen novices becoming seniors, next term should be an interesting one!