SCBC

M3's bumps campaign began full of drama. A confident row up from the boathouse was preceded by a staring contest with Sidney II, our target boat, which Selwyn won. This was then repeated when Sidney rowed past us again having missed their station (thinking they would be starting from further back...was that a sign?!). Again, Selwyn won. If bumps were a staring competition Selwyn III would be pushing headship, but unfortunately bumps involve rowing too. Shame we didn't get to do much of this today. A stacked ARU second boat behind us had got it down to less than a length off the start. Our start was jittery and panicky but this was the start of our problems.
As we started to settle down into a better rhythm, we caught a crab, veering us towards the bank and giving ARU the chance to close in. The crab on its way to recovery and crash narrowly averted, ARU had overlap, forcing the concession. However, the vast difference in boat speed left cox and stroke fighting with their bow man, resulting in cox being stabbed in the back and Peter being knocked in the face by his own blade, as well as falling off his seat and knocking it off its runners. ARU 1, Selwyn most definitely 0. The two boats became completely entangled, and with our bow still trying to rescue his blade, rowing on was interesting. We eventually managed to free ourselves from the carnage and clear, but we still managed to muck everything up for everyone behind us in what can only be called a disastrous sequence of events. As a re-row was ordered for everybody behind us, a smirking Iain Monro told Selwyn to just row home.
Tomorrow, however, is a new day, and getting as far as the corners seems like a far more likely prospect with CCAT in front than behind. We will put today's chaos behind us and focus on a better row tomorrow, because we know we can row better than today showed!