The Winter Head to Head was the first race of the term for our crew, so we had no idea what to expect. The crew had made individual improvements on our training camp in France, but had only 3 outings together beforehand, and a sub for seven seat during the race.
Our main focus for the race was to have a good technical row. On the advice of our boatman we chose to approach each leg individually, and not attempt to save any energy for the second leg. We were all focused and determined to have a good first race, staying focused despite several mishaps on the way to the start.
The rolling start was strong and the boat stable which gave a good foundation for the reach. We soon settled on a sustainable (and consistent, impressive for a first-time stroke) rate 32/33. Our confidence was aided by the sight of Queens’ M2 falling behind us. Focus was strong on the last stretch, and maintaining the technique we pushed to the line.
In the pause after the first leg, we were excited to find out that we had only been 13 seconds slower than Christ’s M1. Meanwhile our boatman showed remarkable friendliness towards other crews by helping (with his tools) to fix a broken Robinson cox box.
Due to a slight injury in the first half, our two seat began the second leg rowing square blades. The power was more hesitant in this leg but we were still strong throughout, although failing to pull away from Queens’. Coming round Ditton corner into a slight headwind we found an extra gear, helped by our bank party announcing that we were beating M1’s time. We ended with a very determined row to the finish. Past the finish line, we were delighted to find out that we had beaten the time posted earlier by Christ’s M1.
All in all, an enjoyable race, and an encouraging start for Lent term. Having performed well in comparison to other M2 boats we are now focusing on working our way up to Lent bumps.
