MCBC take Summer VIIIs by storm

MCBC were back in full force this term after their torpids success.

O2 roundup

On day one, the O2 sought to bump Univ M3, but unfortunately were bumped by Linacre on their blades quest before they got chance. The crew came back together and rowed over on day two. The third day meant being chased by Oriel, a boat stacked with ex-blues rowers. Not phased by this, they donned their finest Hawaiian t-shirts, and held Oriel off with some impeccable rowing all the way until the gut! On the last day, the 02 tried to bump Univ M3, but the race was klaxoned, bringing another row over for the squad.

Overall the O2 was net -2 positions across the competition.

W2 roundup

With a no nonsense line up and a terms worth of hard work under their belt, the W2 were ready for anything.

Day one saw the W2 chase St Anthony’s down with a bump just past Longbridges to secure their spot as Division Five’s sandwich boat. Unfortunately, a speedy Keble W2 meant that the team rowed on. Day two saw a strong row over before a speedy bump on St Catherine’s. Day three was particularly interesting; having finished 5.5 seconds faster than St Edmund’s, who were on the bungline ahead, W2 went in confident. However, at Donnington Bridge, with half a length off, some trigger happy coxing saw a boat-stopping crab. During the circa 15 second stop, St Catz managed to gain on the W2 before the girls got started again. They worked hard to close the gap on St Edmund’s and recovered while holding off St Catherine’s. On day four, the klaxon saved St Edmund’s from what (we can only insist) would have been a bump.

It was a phenomenal week of racing from the W2.

O1 roundup

The O1 were back for Summer VIIIs with essentially an entirely new crew. Day one provided tough opposition, with the O1 being chased by a strong Oriel M2. O1 held them off until the gut in a valiant row but in the end the better crew bumped them. Day two was admittedly not their best row, although the team pulled together and looked to set things right in the final two days. The O1 put in one of their best performances of the year, holding off Brasenose and St Johns in brilliant neck-to-neck racing which saw the team hold their nerve for very long periods of time. The highlight has to be their 3 boat sandwich with St Johns and Peters on day four, which saw the O1 hold them off until just before Boathouse Island. Being able to row past Longbridges with all their fans cheering was an honour and really capped off the week well.

The O1 ended the week with a -4 and +2 Brasenose appeals won. Unfortunately, they ended with spoons. The team faced fierce competition in Division 2 but gave it their absolute all.

This was a transition year for the O1, which will hopefully see them come back even better next year with some experience under their belts!

W1 roundup

The W1 were a fearsome crew to watch this VIIIs season – bringing huge watts and an unmatchable hunger for bumps down to the Isis. They delivered in style: the first day of racing saw an early bump on Wolfson II, making up the length and a half before Donnington Bridge and whetting the girls’ appetites for another blades campaign effort this year. Unfortunately, Thursday’s klaxon had other ideas. As they hunted down LMH by the top of the bunglines, some hardcore crabs higher up in the division saw a stop to racing and a technical row over for the W1. Undeterred, they came back buzzing for the rematch with LMH on Thursday afternoon and made a photo-finish bump up by Falcon. Spurred on by the crowds, they headed down for their last bumps race of the year on Saturday. Set up to chase Exeter; they once again fell victim to the marshall’s klaxon, cutting the race short before the gut. The W1 can proudly say that they bumped every day that they rowed.

A particular shout out to their amazing cox, Emma, who somehow managed finals and some of the best racing lines on the river over the four days.