The Neptunes
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January 2018 Volume 9, Issue 2
2018... The Year of MECBC! Danielle Oxborrow, Publicity Officer
WELCOME BACK TO THE NEPTUNES and a massive Happy New Year from everyone at MECBC!! Now that the days of eating mince pies are long gone, we're all raring to get back on the river Cam and put those Christmas carbs to good use. It's time for our novices to spread their wings and fly the nest, but they won't be going too far as they join the senior crews in the cold weeks running up to Lent Bumps. As well as the infamous Bumps, there are lots of exciting things coming up in Lent term. We'll be hosting our alumnae Neptunes Dinner, partaking in a gruesome 24 hour sponsored erg and W1 will be heading to the Thames for WEHoRR.
This term's issue will fill you in on all the goss from Michaelmas term, including one novice's Michaelmas highlights, a sculling tale and a QErgs success, along with a selection of photos taken throughout the term. Enjoy! As always, you can find this issue and all past issues on the website: http://mecbc.soc.srcf.net You can also find us on: Twitter: @_MECBC Instagram: @_MECBC Facebook: Murray Edwards College Boat Club
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Michaelmas Term Race Results Please visit the website for full results W1 Winter Head: 10:24 (joint 6th in their event) Fairbairns: 18:37
Novices Queens' Ergs: Wildfire reached final Winter Head: Wildfire 12:56 (6th in their event) Emma Sprint Regatta: Blizzard 3rd in division, Tornado won first heat, lost second heat (to Blizzard!) Fairbairns: NW3 13.50.3, NW2 13.56.0, NW1 17.34.6
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W2 Winter Head: 12:17 (3rd in their event) Fairbairns: 15.59.4
Dates for the Diary
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Look out on our social media and website for more information regarding races, events and socials!
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Winter H2H: 27th Jan. Newnham Short Course: 3rd Feb. Robinson Head: 9th Feb. Pembroke Regatta: 17th Feb. Neptunes' Dinner: 17th Feb. Getting on Race: 23rd Feb. Lent Bumps: 27th Feb. - 3rd Mar. (Visit CUCBC webste for info about spectating) Lent Bumps Dinner: 4th Mar. WEHoRR: 10th Mar. Talbott Cup: 13th March. Sponsored Erg: 10th - 11th Feb.
A Michaelmas Novice Story
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Phoebe Thomson-Bird 2nd year, Veterinary Medicine
O NE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES of my novice term was competing for the first time as a crew, in Fairbairns. Before the race the boathouse was buzzing – one of us brought in face paint and we branded everyone with stripes. We were ready! I think this might’ve been the best we’d ever rowed. Something about the mix of adrenaline and the desire to get out of the cold fuelled us, and for once we were catching in time. But after about a minute the shouts from our cox box were almost completely muffled by a piercing beeping. With half of our boat deaf to instructions, we kept rowing hard and went straight into a house boat. A marshall let us start off again, but we’d already spent at least a minute stalled and other crews had overtaken us. We could only come in dead last, and we had to pass the cox’s orders down the boat, but still we persevered. We were put in as NW1 and beaten by both NW2 and NW3. But that didn’t matter to us; we rowed home all 8 in time, serenading the rest of the Cam with deafening Christmas songs, and I couldn’t help but be glad I’d become a novice.
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Watson's W2
MICHAELMAS IS A DIFFICULT TERM on the Cam – it lures you in with warm late summer evenings, but then the clocks go back, the earlies become earlier, the temperature plummets, and the river becomes increasingly blocked by either novice crews or pack ice. I was fortunate, then, to be coaching MECBC’s W2, who proved to be an excellent antidote to the tribulations of the term. The crew ended up as a IV – with the squad starting out as a crew of six rotating rowers, changing to five, before eventually settling on four as people moved around in support of the first boat. With a settled crew, we were able to push on and to make some really good progress. They went off hard and with serious intent in the Winter Head, but ended up suffering on the second half of the course. For Fairbairns, an even longer and more gruelling race, and with little time in between to do serious fitness work, we decided to take it more sustainably, and the result was a well-fought and creditable performance against tough opposition. The whole crew should be proud of both the efforts they’ve made in training and the performances they’ve achieved in races this term. They’ve really reminded my why it is that MECBC is so special – the determination, dedication, and constant positivity of all the coxes and rowers who belong to it.
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Rob Watson, W2 Coach
FELICITY PARKER
On the day of Christmas Head my true love gave to me...
a Single Sculler Sculling! Felicity Parker, 3rd Year, Classics
THERE ARE THREE PRIZES in Christmas Head: fastest in category, best line round Green Dragon, and best fancy dress. Based on previous experience I knew I had little chance at the first two, so for the week between Fairbairns and Christmas Head, as well as a couple of outings to reacquaint myself with sculling – I hadn’t been since Small Boats Head in September!– I poured all my efforts into putting together an appropriately festive costume. After racing in the first division with a Clare Hall VIII – during which I discovered that red velvet leggings, while extremely festive, give no traction on a smooth plastic seat – I headed for my own boathouse, got out the 8m of tinsel I’d carefully sourced in approapriate colours and got to work (see picture above). The 2km course runs from the P&E to Goldie boathouse, so I knew I’d have to do the first stretch with no bank party to help me steer. As I wound it up, it seemed for a moment as though the entire race would be a disaster, with the boat tipping wildly, arms flailing around, catches coming late. Then the horn blew and I sat up tall, fixed my eyes ahead and settled down to some proper sculling. I took the first corner tighter than I’ve ever taken any corner without crashing – and for
once it was entirely deliberate! I didn’t win the prize and except for one marshal (who looked quite impressed), there was no one else to see, but I will remember it with pride for many years to come. My brother caught up in time for the next corner, by Cantabs boathouse, and told me to go wide because there was ‘an obstacle’. This turned out to be an unfortunate sculler and his boat. It was a chilling reminder – no pun intended – of the potential risks of what I was doing. The temperature was 3˚C and for most of the course there was a 2m high concrete wall between me and help. But the best way to avoid capsizing is to row well, so I kept my cool, kept up the pace and in no time at all was coming round Combined and up to the S-bend under Elizabeth Way. Here a bank party came in very handy, since I’ve never been able to practise the racing line round those corners. I was at last into the final straight, breathing hard, legs aching, but still giving everything I had right up until I crossed the line and the horn blew again. I hadn’t crashed or crabbed once! Needless to say, I didn’t win my category – but I know it was the best race I’ve ever done.
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The Final QErg-down
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Tamzin Byrne MSt Social Innovation
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“GIVE ME ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… PUSH HARDER! GIVE US MORE!” I can still hear Issy and Taine’s encouraging roars as I think back to Queens’ Ergs 2017… and can still smell the sweaty air of Queens’ College Fitzpatrick Hall! MECBC's women put on a good show at this year's QErgs, with three keen crews who each did us proud! Team Wildfire were our best hope. They took an early lead in their heat, thanks to a solid first leg from Brittany Orton, who very nearly posted the quickest womens’ time of the day. They came in 4th in a hard-fought race, with just seconds separating the top four crews, and qualified in 9th place for the final. Back at 10pm for the final, the girls were noticebly more tired, pulling harder but at a lower rate.They finished a proud 9th place overall with an average 500m split of 1:56.7. Avalanche and Tornado didn’t see success on the night, finishing last in their heats. They did keep within reach of the pack, a few more early mornings should put them in a good position for Lent Bumps. Congrats to Newnham for taking out both womens’ divisions and finally, a massive thank-you to LBCs Taine Ranaghan and Issy Pearce-Mason for corralling and coaching, for their unbounded enthusiasm, and for our well-earned pints afterwards.
Here's a selection of photos taken throughout the term, there's a bit of everything from early morning outings, long weekend rows and races to fireworks on bonfire night and boat club dinner. Follow us on instagram to see photos throughout the term. @_mecbc
LEANNE HAGGER
LEANNE HAGGER
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Michaelmas Term Photo Gallery
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The Neptunes January 2018 by Murray Edwards College Boat Club is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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