Equipped with dalmatian onesies, face paint and back-combed hair a plenty, WNB or ‘The Erg Animal’ had a convincing row down to the start, intimidating their opposition Jesus W2 whose steering ability had evidently been hindered by the terror struck into the cox as the erg animal powered past.
WNB powered off to a fantastic start as the race began, and were easily ahead when Jesus veered across in a desperate attempt to injure the Sidney crew resulting in an almighty crash and the need for a restart. Once again Sidney meant business, but once again Jesus employed the tactic of ‘bumper boats’, sneakily pushing our boat out of the way and edging ahead into our station. Incredibly, the erg animal sprang to life and sought revenge, whizzing past Jesus and crossing the finish line 3 lengths in front. A huge congratulations to the crew for such a courageous comeback.
After repairing the war-wounds and damage to our boat, we set off for the next battle against a strong Queens crew. Once again, Sidney’s calm and technical start saw them gain half a length on Queens which they maintained until the last 200m, when, in a devastating turn on fate, a couple of cheeky crabs saw Queens crawl past to victory.
Despite this near miss, the erg animal’s spirit could not be dampened, I speak on behalf of the crew when I say what a fantastic morning was had by all, so well done WNB!!!
(Thanks also to our worthy competitors Jesus and Queens, no offence intended!)
The supersonic efforts of the second Sidney boat in the W2 division must also be mentioned. WNC lived up to their superhero costumes in two heroic epics against a fiercely strong Queens crew and Churchill crew. The fact they were beaten by an inch from Queens despite only having 7 rowers due to a crab is testament to their rowing and determination! Well done girls.
We look forward to seeing what adventures lie ahead…
