Robinson Head Results
Admirable performances all round in this year’s Robinson Head! The unfavourable windy conditions of the last week had finally calmed, and the 2.5km course from the Little Bridge to the Pike and Eel felt like a reasonable challenge as opposed to a crossing of the North Sea. M1 raced between the M3 crews of LMBC and Emma, swiftly leaving the latter in its wake and the former a nervous wreck; our powerful start and excellent cornering around Grassy brought us to within a few lengths, with the stretch of the Reach still ahead. Coming around Ditton Corner, the first bumps and swirls of LMBC’s puddles could be felt under the boat and with some tidy manoeuvring we pushed past, finishing several lengths ahead. The pain of those last hundred strokes will not be easily forgotten, but are entirely justified; finishing with a time of 9 minutes and 30 seconds and beating the M1 crews of St Edmunds, Fitzwilliam and Corpus, this was a superb result and places us well above our current Lent Bumps ranking in terms of competition. Fitz M1 are no fewer than 39 places above us, the heady heights of Division 1 are clearly not a push too far for HHBC. M2 gave a similarly proud performance, rowing in the earlier (and rainier) division. Crossing the line with a time of 11 minutes and 2 seconds, the agony evident from the towpath was rewarded with a time better than crews not needing to get on for Bumps; an encouraging result considering the looming presence of the Getting On Race on the 25th February. A measured and confident beginning to the course met with a gruesome finish, and spurred on by hysterical screaming and seething, manic rage from Captain and Cox alike, M2 took the rating up for one final exhausted push over the line. The attached images are testament to the torture endured; try not to look too closely at the facial expressions in M1 for fear of uncontrollable, derisive laughter. Dominic is clearly displaying the fury necessary for overtaking on the reach, whereas 6 and 7 look like they might be enjoying themselves a little too much. A heavy night prior to racing for the gentleman at bow, perhaps? One final note of thanks to Laurence for rowing twice (a feat beyond contemplation for most others), and to Kate and Stella for their flawless navigation of the course. Another successful day’s racing for HHBC!
