On Sunday afternoon, we had the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities. It was a late start, as the race had to take place on the flood time (tide coming up or water level rising, for those that are not familiar with rowing/tidal terminology...) so that the crews could race from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge. If you ever walk towards Chiswick Bridge, on the Surrey side, and you look at the Middlesex side (in non-rower terminology, if you stand outside The Ship and you look to the other side of the river), you will see the University post, which has the colours of the 2 prestigious universities. That post marks the end of the 6.8km between the 2 bridges.
I ended up watching it with my friend Sandra at the club after a mad day of rowing, trip to Dorney, kit shopping trip to Westfield. I was considering watching it all from home as I was feeling quite tired and the appeal of the couch was very strong but changed my mind because the river's calling was much louder! :-) So, Sandra and I took our positions by the club's wall along with the crowds around the club house.
First, came the Isis vs Goldies and by the point that they passed us, halfway through the race, Isis were well ahead with no signs of slowing down. They were looking strong with long, powerful strokes.
I was very happy to see that and was ready for the main event of the day, the Top boats! We waited about 20 more minutes and soon we could head the helicopters moving, as they followed both crews upstream.
Once again, the Dark Blues were well ahead and we cheered them on when they rowed past us. I took some photos, which I will post at a later stage. We watched the immense flotilla that filled the fairway following them and quickly walked upstairs to one of the club's meeting rooms to watch the rest of the race. It was good to watch their wonderful technique in place but it was a bit like an anti-climax because there was no way that Cambridge was going to make any sort of comeback.
We only understood what happened after the end of the race when BBC showed the footage again and we saw the Number 2, Luke Juckett, from Cambridge almost fly out of the boat as his blade got caught by Oxford 7's blade and then he ended up catching a crab - basically, his blade entered the water at a very wrong angle, cutting deep into the water and sent him bouncing back, almost ejecting him out of the boat. I only realised last night the craziness of that moment and, no matter how many times I watch it, I'm in still in awe of how the human body can act like a springboard and how quickly Luke reacted to sit up right immediately, just seconds after he had his head in the water, found his seat again and started rowing again. There was a lot of team work going there, with the bowman passing him his blade back and helping him get back into the rhythm and the race. And the rest of the crew didn't even stop rowing...
It reminded me a bit of the 2012 race, when Hanno Wienhausen lost the 'spoon' of his blade soon after the restart of the race (this was the year of the protest swimmer) but kept going for what to me seemed a lifetime. But he didn't give up, he kept rowing, he kept working with the crew even though the race was lost at that point for the Dark Blues.
So, as it stands in terms of wins, Cambridge has the advantage since the Race started in 1829, 81 to Oxford's 78.
Going into work yesterday, I lost count of how many people asked me if I watched the race on Sunday - what a silly question, people!!! :-) What made me laugh the most were people's comments, what they got out of the experience of watching it. One person asked me: does everyone wear those Wellington boots? I said: well, we tend to wear Wellies (no one really refers to them as Wellington boots, right?!?) but not all of us own kit-coordinated Hunters. But I wouldn't mind!! So, a suggestion was made to get me some for my birthday?? Darn, why is November sooooooo far away!!!
However, my favourite comments came from a colleague in my team. She nearly verbally rugby tackled me as soon as she saw me in the morning and wanted to give me some feedback about what she learnt from watching the race, she could give me 3 points - I couldn't help but chuckle because that's our coach's approach, summarise things in 3 points (had she been talking to Allen??). Knowing Maria, I knew it would have zero to do with the sport itself but I wanted to hear it! At lunchtime, we sat together and I said: OK, Maria, I'm listening!! Prepare yourselves:
1. These rowers are supposed to be very bright and intelligent people, correct? They are going to a very prestigious University, right? So, why, WHY don't they realise that they can't get the medals around their necks if they are wearing baseball caps and sunglasses on their heads? And they don't learn from other people's mistakes? 4 of them did exactly the same, one after another... AND even the coach at the end...Seriously!! = I was in fits of giggles but I was making notes of this!
2. Oxford's legs were better than Cambridge's! Especially the stroke's... (she even knew his name!!!) They wear those tight fitting clothes (called Lycra, Maria) and then those wellies and you can see their muscles... And yes, Oxford's legs were much better! = oh well, can't fight that, can we?
3. Maria couldn't think of the 3rd point but the information she would have given me would have been as entertaining, I'm sure! :-)
Us rowers look at technique, rhythm, strokes... Non-rowers find other ways to enjoy the sport... To each their own, just happy that other people enjoy my favourite sport.
