Day 1: Rowed overDay 1: Rowed overWe started Cambridge Town Bumps in 11th place, chasing Cantabs II and chased by Cantabs III. We adopted the unusual tactic of having a few outings together before the race, but normal service was resumed on the first night when the lineup was changed beyond recognition.
On the first day, we had a good row, unable to close on Cantabs II but comfortably clear of Cantabs III by Grassy Corner.
On the second day, we closed in on Cantabs II initially before they bumped Rob Roy IV before First Post Corner. Again we left Cantabs III far behind as they battled to stay ahead of their opposition.
On the third day, we scored a straightforward bump on Rob Roy IV. Although they started well and pulled away initially, we hit them just before First Post Corner.
On the fourth day, we left Rob Roy IV off the start, working hard to close on Cantabs II. We were inside distance by the end of First Post Reach, continued to close through the Gut, and were half a length down and bouncing around in their wash as we exited Grassy Corner. As the cox called for a push, we responded with a boat-stopping crab that took forever to recover. Thankfully we had plenty of distance on Rob Roy behind, and proceeded to row away from them in the Reach. It was a tremendous let down after making such good progress over the first half of the course.
Crew: Tuesday: Adam Paul (bow), David Rothe, David Sampson, Pete Kelly, Nick Armitage, Gareth Lane, Mick Woolhouse, Richard Thompson (stroke), Scherzade Westwood (cox). Wednesday: Adam Paul (bow), David Rothe, David Sampson, Pete Kelly, Mark Hanman, Gareth Lane, Dave Tracey, Andrew Dunkley (stroke), Scherzade Westwood (cox). Friday: Adam Paul (bow), David Rothe, Nathan Bliss, Pete Kelly, David Sampson, Gareth Lane, Mikhail Kibalchenko, Andrew Dunkley (stroke), Scherzade Westwood (cox). Only 13 rowers were used this year, one down on 2004!