W1 were a little jittery when they met at the boathouse today: we knew Fitz W1 would be our greatest challenge so far, as they had had similar race results throughout the term. We resolved to row as technically as we’d done yesterday, and to pursue Fitz all the way to the finish if need be.
After a particularly clean Peterborough Paddle (like battle paddle, but better) down to our station, we spun and pulled in right under the Motorway Bridge, next to the cannons.
Our start sequence was controlled and slightly faster than Fitz’s. Unfortunately, carnage ahead denied Lucy Cavendish/Hughes Hall their predicted quick bump, and they thus had to row the whole course ahead of Fitz. Fitz, having someone to chase, never let the power down. We’d known they’d be a tough nut to crack, so we stayed extra lucid and unrolled our race plan, doing pair pushes up the Gut and gaining on Fitz inch by inch. Tom took a flawless line around Grassy, where we hovered a length away from Fitz through a powerful middle-four push.
Sitting up tall against the wind after Ditton, motivated by SSBC alumnus Tom Ash’s very loud and coxly cheering, we sank our teeth into Fitz and refused to let the gap widen. The crews behind us had bumped out, but we never relaxed the pressure, alternating between power 10’s and up 2’s all the way up the Reach. We pushed our way past the Railway Bridge, cheered on by the entirety of the marshalling M2 division, and gave everything we had on every stroke to Peter’s Post, where we finished within station of Fitz.
A glance at Lucy Cav, whose dream of blades had been shot by sheer bad luck, made us take conscience that our own row-over had at least been the most honest, gutsy row we could have given — we never allowed Fitz to pull away from us. Back at the boathouse and past our first moment of disappointment, we built our confidence anew by reminding each other that W1 are currently +2 in the charts, and that we are über-prepared for whatever happens tomorrow. The word ‘stubborn’ having been thrown around during the crew meal last weekend (although I prefer ‘tenacious’ when it is applied to yours truly), we concluded that Sidney W1 has a wealth of determination to pour into tomorrow’s race — we’ll grip Fitz, and we’ll grip them tight.
Many thanks as ever to Silvia for her bank-partying and unfailing support in our daily mental preparation, to Tim for pushing us out and Pete for counting down, and to Oli for being there for us again with smiley motivation. See you all tomorrow !
