With four crews in the mix, the first day of Summer VIIIs brought us a lot of action! All daily racing updates are posted on our Instagram @hecbc so give us a follow to stay in the loop!

W1: -1
M1: +0
W2: -1
M2: +1

W1: The W1 were racing from bungline 12 in division 1, chasing Jesus and being chased by St. Anne’s. We started slightly closer to St. Anne’s before the gun went off because of a bungline error (sad mistake but what can you do). After the gun, we got off well chasing Jesus, but they pushed away after a few strokes to eventually bump the boat ahead of them. We were chased by St. Anne’s and were getting away well – 5 seat had a slight mishap with her seat but recovered and we were unfortunately bumped slightly before Donnington Bridge. Onwards to tomorrow as the sandwich boat of Division 2!

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M1: M1 headed up to the bungline hungry to bump Merton, a personal grudge for many in the boat after just missing out on bumping them last year. We quickly heard Graham’s first whistle, and got them down to three quarters of a length by the time we approached the Gut. Sadly, Queen’s ahead of them hadn’t put up much of a fight and conceded to Merton just before we could get them. In front of us now were New, an ambitious four lengths ahead, and we rowed over, holding off Lincoln behind us easily. The double blades dream may now be lost, but it was a strong race we were proud of and a good start to the week.

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W2: W2 started off strong this afternoon with matching nails, hair and racing stripes making us the most coordinated (and some would say intimidating) crew on the river. We had a strong clean start and were beginning to gain on Hugh’s in front but could see Worcester closing in behind us. After managing to hold off Worcester until Donny Bridge, we gave it one final power 10 before they caught us. Not the result we were hoping for today but a controlled and smooth race to start off the week- looking forward to the next few days!

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M2: Going into the first day, we all felt we had a lot to prove after our less than stellar rowing on result, yet spirits were high as we prepared to head to the bungline. We had a decent wind into race pace off the start and settled into a nice, strong rhythm. From the stroke seat I could see the crew behind us dropping away and eventually getting bumped. We maintained our steady pace through the gut, and eventually the bump call came, as we rowed clean past Exeter M2, who were firmly wedged into a tree at the side of the river. Overall a strong start to our bumps campaign, with our faith in ourselves restored.