M1
After a term of intense training, but full of ups and downs M1 went into Torpids confident they could bump. Unfortunately, one of their rowers had to drop out on the day before Torpids started due to illness and was out for the rest of the week. On Wednesday David George subbed in for him and fitted in seamlessly. Unfortunately M1 were bumped before Donny Bridge by a very strong Hertford crew, and Wadham and Worcester in front of them both bumped out early as well, leaving no one to bump for Lincoln. On Thursday James Plimmer subbed in and M1 did an excellent job at rowing over and holding of St Anne’s, before going in for the bump on St. Johns in Div 1. Unfortunately Worcester (in front of St. Johns) caught a crab, so St. Johns bumped out before Lincoln could catch them. On Friday, M1 rowed over twice again, this time holding off St. Anne’s in Div 2 and 1 going for the overbump again after Worcester caught St. Johns for the second time in Div 1. M1 was chased by New on Saturday, a very strong crew that had bumped before the gut every day. M1 wasn’t going to give in easily though. They went off the start harder than they’d ever gone before and rowed better than they had done all term. New came close to them coming out of the gut but Lincoln held them off and crossed early. New closed in and caught them by Univ. boathouse, but Lincoln came off the water being proud of how they’d performed that week.
M2 M1 wasn’t the only crew that went into Torpids being confident. M2 had a very strong Keble M2 behind them, but were also chasing some weaker crews. On the first day Keble got them just before they bumped St. Hugh’s M2, so M2 maintained their position. On the second day things went a bit wrong and after pulling away from their rivals, Brasenose M2, off the start, they caught several crabs in a row and in the gut Brasenose quickly moved in to bump them just before the division was klaxoned. Going into the race on Friday, M2 was pumped: they really wanted revenge on Brasenose. They went off the start hard, immediately gaining on Brasenose. Meanwhile in front of them a Regent’s Park rower had caught an ejector crab and Brasenose had the opportunity to row past them before the race was klaxoned again. On the last day M2 were chasing Regent’s. M2 finally got a chance to show everyone what they were truly capable of and bumped Regent’s before entering the gut.
Women’s side On the women’s side, many bumps were won, and the tantalising, three days-three bumps achieved by W1 and W3. W1, coxed by Elliot “Diva” Thornton and with a mix of novice and returning rowers, faced good competition from LMH and Hertford ahead of them. W1 bumped Queens, LMH, and Catz, ending Torpids up three and 2nd in Division II. W2 in Division IV, coxed by LCBC veteran Haden Spence, stroked by novice Louisa Keech and backed up by a strong crew of novice and returning rowers, proved themselves a mighty force in their division. W2 bumped Anne’s W2 and Worcester W2 before rowing over the last two days. In Rowing On Division V, chaos reigned, and W3 bumped each day as boats around them plummeted through the ranks. On day 4, W3 left Keble W2, who had clocked the best time in Rowing On, lengths behind them and had a strong row over, putting in a sprint that nearly got them an overbump. W4, proudly the only W4 on the river, came two places short of qualifying in Rowing On, and put in a performance that left many bystanders amazed at the quality of the fourth boat.