Town Bumps Day 1 – Cantabs Up 11, W1 Go Head

Day 1 of Town Bumps was a successful one for Cantabs, and saw the club’s crews go up a net of 11 places overall for the day.

Men’s Division 4

M11 (Activ8), M12 (InVeterEight), M13 (Hunter Crew), M14 (Motley Crew), M15 (After Eights)

This division was a good example of how difficult it can be to rank some of the lower boats, as M13 bumped M12!

M13 closing on M12

M11 had a good race to bump X-Press M7, though this has set up an interesting grudge match as X-Press 7 is a corporate crew from ARM, whilst three of Hunter Crew work for ARM meaning that Wednesday will see some fireworks!

M11 bumping X-Press M7

M14 were bumped by City M12 and M15 were bumped by Nines M8. Nonetheless it was a fun first ever Town Bumps experience for After Eights, many of whom only learned to row this autumn.

Women’s Division 3

W7 (J15s), W8 (Hills W1), W9 (Progression Squad W1), W10 (Hills W2), W11 (J16s), W12 (Progression Squad W2)

W12 enjoyed their 2nd ever race after learning to row this season, rowing over 2nd to last in the division. W9 and W10 rowed over, with W9 pulling away from W10 along the reach.

W7 had to stop twice for 4 crews impeding them after bumping out and ended up on station for a double overbump after this but unfortunately Nines W5 had made up too much ground during W7’s stops-and-restarts, so gradually reeled them in for a bump.

WJ16s & coach Jon with their willow

There were some strong bumps, however, with W8 bumping X-Press W3 and W11 bumping Nines W6.

W8 after bumping X-Press W3

Men’s Division 3

M7 (Hills M2), M8 (Poachers), M9 (Past Masters), M10 (J15s)

M9 had a strong row to bump Champs M6, with M10 rowing over behind them clear of Nines M7. M8 also rowed over, though M7 fell victim to Chesterton M2 crew after an unfortunate incident with First Post.

A casualty of the unfortunate incident…

Women’s Division 2

W4 (Senior Women), W5 (Intermediate Women), W6 (J18s)

W4 on course for their overbump

W4 enjoyed a fantastic overbump on City W5 at the top of the division, taking them to sandwich boat for the next division. Slightly lower down W5 got a bump on Nines W4, whilst W6 rowed over behind them.

Men’s Division 2

M5 (Hills Returners/Senior Men), M6 (Aquaphobes)

M5 put in a good row to bump City M6, and M6 had a good bump on St Radegund M1. Lucio Cicolecchia reports:

It was a solid start from the Aquaphobes: from the moment the cannon thundered the crew was determined to put in an early bump and our cox, Emma, spurred us on saying that we were gaining immediately. After going past the outflow after the motorway bridge, the crew kept their cool and the final push saw St Radegund conceding before 1st station. Well done to all the crews and 3 cheers for Radegund!

Their bump on Radegund can be seen from this video taken by the Radegund bank party:

Women’s Division 1

W1, W2, W3, W4 (all Senior Women)

W1 bumping City W1

This division saw bumps from all 4 Senior Women’s crews, though the highlight was of course W1 bumping City W1 off head, catching them as they went round Ditton Corner.

W2 bumping Nines W1

W2 had a rapid bump on Nines W1, catching them in 37 strokes. Chesterton W1 conceded to W3 in the gut. W4 stayed on the water after their overbump in Women’s Division 2 to start as sandwich boat, and quickly bumped Radegund W1, to take them up 4 places for the day!

Gill Cooper, stroke of W4, reports:

Most of W4 have raced together before, so despite only getting into the 8+ just over a week before Bumps, the crew quickly gelled. Starting 4th in div 2, we knew that with 3 crews ahead of us, whatever happened in front there should be someone left to chase down. The cross-tailwind at the start saw some tricky steering along First Post Reach, though the crew were quick to move away from Champs W3 behind us, and we were gaining on Robs W2 ahead.

However, Robs W2 were fast gaining on Champs W2 ahead of them, bumping them with Cantabs W4 about 1L behind. We had to stop and hold it up to avoid a collision, but fortunately Robs and Champs cleared quickly leaving us the opportunity for an overbump on a crew who started 6.5L ahead! Along Plough Reach, the gap was down to 2L, with the 1st whistle, 2nd whistle and overlap coming soon afterwards, and City W5 conceding just after Ditton Corner.

Decorated with willow, we enjoyed the congratulations of spectators on the Reach and drinkers around the Beer Tree. Having not planned for an overbump, several members of the crew had signed up to marshal and bank party for the W1 division, but fortunately club president Mike Hunter was on hand and he and Phil Gunning organised replacement marshals and set us up with a bank party for the div 1 race we had expected to come on Thursday.

Rowing at the foot of the division is an interesting experience as it feels as though the stern of the boat is almost in the lock! 10 strokes into the start, the whistles began and with only 20 strokes rowed, Radegund W1 conceded, our 2nd bump of the day completed without time to get out of breath. Radegund were extremely sporting, and after the customary exchange of 3 cheers, they actually gave us a round of applause which was extremely generous of them.

Rowing back up the course, bedecked in a 2nd set of willow, we were clamouring for news of how our other crews had done. We quickly heard W2 had bumped up, then that W3 had also bumped. “But what about W1, have they done it?” was a recurring question. Eventually, as we rounded Ditton Corner, we heard a cheer from our bank party and were thrilled to see W1 pulled into the bank, having deposed City from their long-held headship. W1 pulled out behind us, and we yet again enjoyed some cheers for us, and even louder cheers for W1 as we rowed back to Cantabs. A very memorable night of rowing!

W1, W2, W3 & W4 with their willow

Men’s Division 1

M1 (Senior Men), M2 (Hills Returners), M3 (Senior Men), M4 (Hills M1)

M1 row over at the head of the river after St Neots M1 bumped Robs M1 behind them. Cantabs M2 also rowed over, though there was controversy lower down in the division as M4 bumped M3 so M3 will be looking to make amends today to bump M4 to avoid us being fined at the end of the week!

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