M1 – Bumped by First and Third M1
M1 were being chased by FaT and chasing Robinson. We had a strong row down to the start, with our sharpest pieces of the week along the Reach. M1 were hit by strong winds as they came under the Motorway Bridge, but they recovered quickly and found their race pace. FaT began to gain quickly as they approached First Post Corner. M1’s cox, Holly, took a great line around the corner, managing to delay the bump until both crews were in the Gut. The crew were disappointed with the result but were pleased with their row, the cleanest of the week so far. M1 will be chased by Catz tomorrow and chasing FaT.

W1 – Rowed Over
W1 were chasing Pembroke W1 and were being chased by Medwards W1, and had a very rewarding row over. We set off with a slightly sloppier start than expected but regained our composure and carried on hard. This was a race where we never backed off. We drove hard away from Medwards until they were bumped and out of the game. However, we did not drop our guard and kept pushing to avoid any potential overbump. As we rounded Ditton corner, our rowing became cleaner, and we displayed an impressive lift. Caius W1 from several stations behind became a potential threat on the Reach, at which point our aggression rose by a notch. We kept them away until they realized they had no chance of catching us and wound it down at the P&E. We pushed on to the top finish and finished the race exhausted, having completely emptied the tank, and were very satisfied with our row.

W2 – Bumped by Downing W2
W2 were being chased by Downing W2 today, so they knew they had to go hard at the start to try to catch St Edmund’s W1 before Downing could catch up with them. Glad of the much better conditions, W2 lined up and had a great start, pushing hard early. They were holding Downing off as they hit their stride call, bringing the rate down. However at that point Downing began to close in, rattling them slightly and the power was lost in favour of a higher rate. They were bumped by Downing at the same place as yesterday, First Post Corner. Knowing that Downing W2 is a much faster crew, Christ’s W2 are satisfied with the result today, having given it their all. Tomorrow they will be chased by Pembroke W2, who have also been bumped down 3 days so are hoping to hold them off.

M2 – Rowed Over
M2 were looking to hold off Catz M2 today after being bumped by a strong Emma M2 on Wednesday. The conditions were much better than on previous days and consequently we felt confident. We made a strong start, even gaining slightly on the Emma crew that had bumped us on Wednesday and we held a strong rhythm through First Post and Grassy corners, with Catz M2 about 2 lengths behind. We made a big push on the Plough Reach and moved away another half length before getting onto the Long Reach, where we steadily put more and more distance between us and Catz. By the finish, there are about 3 or 4 boat lengths between us, demonstrating M2’s strong performance today. Emma managed to bump Queens so we’ll have another shot at bumping Queens tomorrow!