After the strenuous races of Emma Sprints and Clare Novice Regatta, the Nymphs were shocked to find out that Fairbairns was over twice as long. Despite not having a bank party until the last minute, everyone was relatively calm, if a little cold, not really knowing what to expect. The Nymphs pushed off with a strong start, gaining on Churchill and then holding them throughout the race (and getting a better time than our boathouse-mates). Although everyone was rowing well, 2.3 km is a long way to go, and a long way for a cox to keep the motivation levels high, especially when the boat behind is not threateningly close. The Nymphs managed to keep a strong rate 30 (occasionally creeping to 32) throughout the whole race, but lagged a bit in the middle in terms of strength and power, especially after 6 nearly decapitated a swan with her blade. Even though there were occasional drops in the power and speed of the boat, there were also bursts which showed off the true potential of the Nymphs. And coming 16th out of 60ish boats is a testament to the hard work of the Nymphs this term...