With a slight confusion at the boathouse, in terms of which crew had what boat, the Sirens unfortunately were consigned to row in Qandisa. Much as we all love the charming character of this wooden boat, having trained all term in Sarah Harriet, the thought of carrying this extra weight was a slight concern. Although lacking in strength in comparison to some other novice boats on the Cam, the Sirens were adamant they would do well since they had their technique nailed. This was going to be their race.
On hearing horror stories of terrifyingly cold weather at last year's Fairbairns, the Sirens came prepared. Each member was bundled up in several layers of clothing, ready for the eventuality of a long wait whilst marshalling. As we rowed up to marshall, spirits were high in the boat and every crew member was excited for their first Head Race.
An unexpected issue with the cox box led to a frantic cycle back to the boat house by a member of the bank party. With what seemed like only a matter of seconds allowed to de-kit and change the cox box before rowing to the start line, there was unfortunately no time for pre-race sweets.
The Sirens started off strong. As they rowed past Jesus boat club's flagpole, the technique was faultless and every crew member was focussed into the boat. Rob called for pushes off the two bridges and soon enough we were rowing past Selwyn's own boathouse. This was now our stretch of river and the Sirens knew what to expect. At a rating of 28, the rowing was controlled and on approaching Chesterton
footbridge, it almost seemed as if we could catch Clare II.
Unfortunately disaster struck and 4 managed to catch a monster crab. She was knocked back and the blade flew off behind her. She was now trapped. A minute of furious fighting with the blade (with 3 dropping out to help) fortunately allowed for a recovery. However, immediately on recovering the blade, the shock of catching a crab caught 4 by surprise and another crab managed to get in the way - again knocking her back with the blade remaining trapped behind her. Two more minutes of struggling and the Sirens were back on track. And they came back fighting. The Sirens stormed their way through Chesterton, clawing back the distance lost and again almost catching Clare II. It was an excellent recovery.
Soon enough, the Sirens were rowing under the Railway Bridge and Rob was calling for a push off the bridge and onto the Reach. This would be where they would make it or break it. The rowing remained technical, with all eight crew members squaring beautifully in time.
The fatigue of Fairbairns unfortunately began to creep in and 3 was next on the Cam Crab agenda. It must have been the lack of pre-race sweeties. 3 was knocked backwards and as she lay there fighting to regain control, the Sirens continued to row strong, not letting this issue set them back. A miraculously speedy recovery from 3 and all 8 were rowing again.
The end was near and all the term's work was coming to a close. Rob called a final power ten and the Sirens rowed across the finish line, with a final result of 42nd out of 61. Although not a sparkling result, considering the crabs that had been caught and the difficultly of rowing in the wooden boat, it was still a moment to be proud of. With Fairbairns officially over, the Sirens had now graduated into the world of Selwyn senior rowing. ...And finally they could eat the (now) post-race sweeties.