May Bumps 2015: W1 Day Two

So, today the tables turned for W1 this year. We had an epic row over today and I think to fully appreciate it I need to tell you the story.

Once pushed off we were at a dodgy angle, facing the bank and the first few strokes were a bit touch and go. Luckily we recovered and set off back on track. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best start we’ve ever done and Selwyn really flew off of theirs – they knew they had to get us before Jesus II got them. By the motorway bridge Churchill had pulled away from us and Selwyn had the first whistle on us. We matched them and held them until half way down First Post Reach where they quickly gained a succession of whistles getting very close! Around First Post it looked like all was lost, initially we were going to go for a wide line to put off the bump, but a last minute coxing change lead to a tighter line and although Selwyn’s was better they didn’t utilise their advantage and we managed to gain back some water. Jesus II were nowhere in sight.

The Gut saw Catz make another move although matching lines around Grassy saw a bit of overlap of the Selwyn Bow and our Stern. Luckily no contact was made. We made ground and lost it coming out of the corner with several instances of overlap but some nifty steering and some beautiful lifts from the girls saw us pull away every time. Jesus II at this stage sensed that Selwyn were crumbling and could not execute their bump and went from one length to the bump within what seemed like twenty stokes. By the Plough Selwyn had succumbed to Jesus II and we were free to row over the course a couple of Pips lower than we had been. Murray Edwards were a speck in the distance and Pembroke rowed over ahead meaning we could row proudly passed our boys on the bank.

Really well done today girls, you did yourselves proud. Tomorrow is exciting as we have round two with Peterhouse and a similar situation as Churchill with Jesus II behind. Bring it on!