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One of our most successful lent bumps campaigns of recent years! Our W1 crew went a fabulous +3 and were extremely unlucky to miss out on blades! M1 had a really tough draw being sandwich boat and had to race a total of 8 times!!!! They finished with +1 and are looking forward to a very exciting Mays campaign with lots of returners.. 
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Easter term rowing with St Edmund’s College Boat Club M1 - more commonly known as the Beef Barge - was a joy. Our coach Angus departed for the final weeks of training to India, but we gratefully had a previous coach, George, step in. The M1 line up was largely the same as in Lent Bumps - Alannah (cox), Tom (stroke), Martin (7), Alex F (6), Alex M (5), Seppe (3), and Justin (2) all returned. We were also joined by Jack in the 4 seat who had previously been rowing for 99s, and Harry in bow who had returned from trialling with the CUBC Lightweights squad. Day One of May Bumps saw the Beef Barge being chased by Catz M2, fierce competition but we went in with a fighting attitude nonetheless. The crew took off after a speedy race start, but unfortunately was caught by Catz M2 on the reach, holding them off for around 1.7km.  Day Two saw Eddie’s M1 keen for a revenge bump after the previous day. The crew took off at great speed, motivated even further by hearing Angus’s whistles from the bank telling us that we were catching up to the crew in front and - perhaps - able to get the bump. Unfortunately a mishap in the boat meant that we lost Catz II and were caught by Sidney M2.  Day Three was a mission to catch Sidney M2, something that the Beef Barge has wanted since being bumped by them in Mays 2023. The attitude was a positive one on the bank, and the crew took off at great speed. Sadly for us, Sidney managed to catch Catz M2 who were in front of them. Fortunately, we were far speedier than Magdalene M2 and, without any fear of them catching us, the Beef Barge had an impressive row. Whilst disappointing to have not got a bump in, the attitude in the boat was altogether a happy one knowing that we were no longer set for spoons! Much cheering from the bank and crews that we rowed past meant that the row home was a joyous one.  The final day of Bumps brought much support from the bank which was absolutely brilliant to see - including our own bank party being double what is allowed. Armed with blue face paint done by the wonderful Liz, the Beef Barge rowed up to the starting line. We were once again chasing Catz M2 which felt like a full circle moment and we were hungry for the bump. Unfortunately, once again, the crew that we were chasing managed to bump the crew in front. This time, though, we fought to get the over-bump. This meant that it was a race all the way to the finish line. Although we didn’t manage to get it, we finished on one whistle - and insist that we would have caught them by top finish!  I’d like to extend a huge congratulations and well done to all of those who rowed in May Bumps, and especially to Eddie’s M1 who have had a wonderful year. Half of our May Bumps crew noviced in Michaelmas of this year, and to see how far they have come has been absolutely wonderful. The dedication and commitment has been really admirable, despite the horrible weather that we’ve faced for most of the year. We went from super-spoons last year to -2 this year, and whilst it’s not the result that we would have hoped for, things are going up for Eddie’s M1 - watch this space! A massive congratulations to the Women’s and AFAB crew who got blades this year, we absolutely loved rowing past you on the way to the starting line every day and being able to cheer your massive accomplishments. Yeah Eddie’s!
Day 1 - The first day of Bumps saw the return of the Beef Barge, debuting as the sandwich boat between Divisions 2 and 3. Our first race was from Station 1 of Division 2, being chased by Queens’ M2. The boys put in a good fight against Queens’ who eventually got bumped by Magdalene M2 leaving us to settle into a rate 19 paddle to the finish, warranting some high praise from CamFM. Our second race was at the bottom of Division 2, chasing Clare M2. After an incredible start and huge determination from the boys, we caught Clare within 750m, Eddie’s Men’s first Lent term bump in recent memory! Day 2 - Rest day. Day 3 - After a day of rest, the Beef Barge returned ready to bump FaT M2, chased by sandwich boat Magdalene M2. With another excellent race start, we pulled away from Magdalene and closed on FaT by half a length before carnage ensued ahead. Alannah having to slam rudder, carnage also ensued inside the boat and eventually we were caught by Magdalene M2 and returned as the sandwich boat. Day 4 - M1 were back and determined for another rower and bump scenario. First race of the day and Eddie’s had an incredible row over. It looked like Clare M2 were going to return the favour and bump us, but determination from the boat meant that we prevailed and Clare M2 got bumped by Fitz M2. From then on, Queens’ M2 went for the over bump but the Beef Barge didn’t give up and raced it all the way to the finish - definitely one of the more exciting races we’ve done. Back to the bottom of Div 2 chasing Magdalene M2 for the next race. Unfortunately more carnage up ahead and we had to hold it up, resulting in both crews getting a technical row over and ruining our chances of playing the long game and bumping them on the reach. Day 5 - Last minute cox change due to me being struck by illness. The incredible Shannon took over at the P&E after bumping with W1. Again, we were going for a row over, knowing it would be a tough job against Fitz M2 who were going for blades. The boys put in a good fight but eventually got bumped - Fitz, you’re welcome for the blades.  Eddie’s M1 took to the Cam on Saturday morning for Newnham Head, battling hangovers, flu, and a dodgy shoulder. The crew took off at a scrappy rate 30 which was maintained throughout the race, and made a huge effort to keep the power on throughout and empty the tank at the end. We finished a respectable middle (ish) in our category, and celebrated at Eddie’s brunch after. A huge thank you to our 4 seat sub from LCCBC, Timo! Written by Alannah Atherton  Race report written by Alannah The final race of Michaelmas for the Eddie’s men and it was a great one. I put together an amazing scratch crew, which included the infamous 2 seat of the 22/23 season making his long awaited return to Eddie’s rowing. What we lacked in costume we made up for with rowing. Despite being a scratch crew, set was better than last year’s M1 and vibes were definitely high. When the race began, we flew off at a very respectable rate 28, slowed only by Alberto’s incessant crabbing which eventually sent us into a bush in front of a very entertained audience. Huge recovery from the boys and dynamic coxing from me, we got straight back on track even faster than we had before. Overall, we gained on the (very slow) crew in front, finishing only a few seconds after them, and left the peas behind us in the dust. Overall was a huge W for the boys, topping our category (sorry Lucy Cav) and celebrating at the pub after. Expect big things from Eddie’s men this year x Race report by Alannah Atherton The Eddie’s senior men have spent the term training with the lovely Hughes Hall rowers, creating a hybrid M1 lovingly deemed ‘HEddies’. Senior Fairbairns was the first race of term for the Eddie’s boys, coxed by me with my notoriously dodgy chat down the mic. The gents did their best row of the term over the 4.3km course, keeping clean catches and huuuuuge legs, with a of 17:11 placing them second last, beating out Sidney Sussex with a DNS. Possibly the most enjoyable part of the day was post-race marshaling, where Alex had a nice lie down and Tom and I engaged in riveting discussion and pineapple biscuit sharing with the Corpus crew we were parked on top of. Note for next year: bring post-race tinnies. After gaining vital race experience at Clare Novice Regatta, the novice men were keen to display their true rowing talents at The Fairbairn Cup. Sadly, race conditions meant their usual cox (and captain) Alannah was unable to cox them for the race. So, the week before I was given the task! I put on my coxing hat and adopted one of my favourite phrases “fake it, ‘till ya make it!!!”. After a couple of good sessions battling the traffic of the cam I was feeling confident going into the race. With my trusty race plan strapped to my legs and a sneaky plan to keep the boys calm, off we went! Aim for a long & strong rate 24 I said….and the perfect rate 26 off the start we got! Being far too preoccupied with getting the correct lines and giving encouraging calls at the right times I forgot to press start and had no idea how far the boys had gone. I gave them my best guess “pretty sure you’re halfway but haven’t actually got a clue”. Showing me some of their best rowing – beautifully in time and balanced I elected not to inform them that they were now rating at 30 and just left them to it! As we turned onto the reach the crew firmly “pushed that bridge away” and powered on to my unrelenting pressure calls until that beautiful horn to signal the end of the race. Coach Jan was seen shrieking in delight running alongside, bursting with pride at their excellent performance. When he asked me what rate they raced at, and I informed him it was r30, he asked me again - refusing to believe that it could be so high when it looked so controlled. As the results came in, the proof was right there – second in their division and the fastest college crew! Outstanding effort. Watch this space….we are well and truly on the BLADE HUNT! Watch out Cambridge! |
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