Maidenhead Regatta 7th August 2004 |
James Miller-Jones (s) and Josh Hemani (b) rounded off their season by winning the Elite Pairs event at Maidenhead Regatta. Arriving for an 8:30am heat of the S2 2- event, their opposition did not turn up, so they were awarded a row over. In the S2 quarter final against Sons of the Thames 'B', they went up off the start, and consolidated their advantage to win by 3 lengths. Next came the Elite semi-final against Eton Excelsior 'A' crew, which St. John's again won by three lengths, having led from the outset. In the S2 semi-final St. John's raced a very fast London RC pair. St. John's were half a length down off the start, after which there was a danger of a collision. Having been warned, St. John's had to stop rowing for a couple of strokes to avoid putting their bow into London's rigger. This lost them more distance, which they spent the race trying to regain, rating 39-40 all the way down the course. Not making any headway, they had nowhere to go on the sprint and lost by 4l to the fastest recorded pairs time of the day. London went on to win the event. In the Elite final, St. John's raced Eton Excelsior 'B', a big crew with a real determination to win. St. John's went up off the start, and after a slight blade clash opened the lead up to clear water, and strode it down to 35 past the enclosure to win by 2.5 lengths. |
Henley Town & Visitors' Regatta 31st July 2004 |
After a month's break, the St. John's pair of James Miller-Jones (s) and Josh Hemani (b) entered Henley Town & Visitors' Regatta. Their first race went well, as they beat Upper Thames Rowing Club by 4.5 lengths, who themselves beat the third-placed crew easily. By the time of the second race however, the cruisers had woken up, and St. John's struggled with the choppy water. They raced Oxford Brookes in the Elite semi-final, and went up off the start, only to throw away the advantage after an airshot and a shipwreck in the rough water put the brakes on. They struggled to get back to parity, but never got back to within a length, and the final verdict was 2.5l. It turns out that the Brookes crew were going to the World University Games. In the S2 semi-final, they raced a very experienced Wallingford crew consisting of an ex-world champion and an ex-blue. St. John's were down off the start, and again struggled with the rough water. Despite a good patch in the middle of the race, they lost by 1.5 lengths. |
Reading Town Regatta 26th June 2004 |
St. John's paddled the boat down from their Oratory base through two locks to the Reading Town stretch as a warm up for Reading Town Regatta. They were drawn into a straight final against a Walbrook/Molesey composite in both the S2 and Elite events. Boating, they were full of confidence as their opposition appeared to be substantially older. After a good warmup, St. John's were perplexed to be dropped off the start. They pulled back into the race towards the end, but lost by 3/4 of a length. Bemused, they were puzzling over their defeat when they bumped into Mark Nixon (aka Buzz) who informed them that they had been racing the former Olympians Martin Cross (winner of a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in the 4+ with Steve Redgrave), and Ian McNuff (who won a bronze with Martin Cross and others in the 4- in the 1980 Olympics). Further research showed that they had come 7th in this year's Pairs Head and that McNuff still pulled a 6:11 2k. Feeling somewhat better, St. John's decided to rise to the challenge and go all out in the Elite final. This time they lost only half a length off the start. The water was fairly choppy thanks to the cruiser wash, and St. John's lost a little more distance during the body of the race, but called their push early, and began to move back. They emptied the tank in the last ten strokes and were moving straight through their opposition, but the finish line came 5 strokes too early, and St. John's lost by half a length in possibly their best race of the season thus far. Full results may be found here. |
Marlow Regatta 19th June 2004 |
The St. John's pair of James Miller-Jones (s) and Josh Hemani (b) entered the Elite Pairs event at Marlow (there being no lower-status categories offered in the pairs event). 21 crews were to compete in 3 heats, the fastest in each heat progressing to the final, and the second- and third-placed crews in each heat racing in the repechage for the last 3 spots in the final. In their heat, St. John's got off to a fast start, sitting in 2nd for the first 1200m or so, and were a seat up on the University of London pair with 750m to go. UL made a move, but since Gloucester "B" in 4th place were way back, St. John's did not counter, there being no real merit in coming in 2nd rather than 3rd in the heat since both crews would qualify for the repechage. Easing off over the last 500m, they posted a time of 7:23 in a medium tail wind. In the repechage, Worcester RC did not arrive at the start, so only 5 crews contested the race. This time, a poor line off the start hampered St. John's, who did not manage to hit their rhythm. Trailing the field, they tried to keep the rate high, but struggled in the wind (which had by now swung round to a cross wind) and choppy water. After a poor first 1000m, they rowed a more competitive second 1000m, re-establishing contact with the other crews briefly, but finished 2 lengths down on the field in 7:20, 7s outside the qualifying time of 7:13. UL won the repechage in 7:09.6. Full results and split times are available here. |
Reading Amateur Regatta 12th June 2004 |
Between the close of entries and the Regatta itself, the planned VIII evaporated, as oarsmen decided against trying to qualify for Henley. So St. John's had to scratch from S2 and S3 VIIIs, leaving just the S2 2- of James Miller-Jones (s) and Josh Hemani (b). The opposition (Curlew) scratched from their first heat. In the quarter-final, St. John's beat Exeter University "B" by 1.75 lengths in a time of 5:18, at that point the fastest recorded pairs time of the day (including those for the E2- event). In a strong tail wind, they dealt badly with the choppy water, but a good middle section allowed them to take a comfortable lead which they maintained for the rest of the race. In the semi-final, they lead from the start, beating Oxford City "B" by 3.75 lengths in the same time of 5:18. In the Final, they raced Auriol Kensington. They came off the start at a slight angle and had to crank it round the first corner. Then AK got stuck in, and John's pulled back to parity. The race was neck and neck all the way down the course, one boat moving, the other countering, both crews rowing extremely well. It was going all the way down to the wire, with AK less than a seat up, when St. John's moved over into the wrong lane and there was a blade clash. At which point the race was not rowed out as St. John's would have been disqualified had they won from that point. AK won in 5:16, and the winning elite 2- time was 5:10. Full results are available here. |
Oriel Regatta 10th-12th June 2004 |
St. John's entered two pairs in the Men's Open 2- event at Oriel Regatta. James Miller-Jones (s) and Josh Hemani (b) won their first race easily as their opponents, Teddy Hall, crashed into the bank 4 times on the way up the course. Julian Bennet (s) and Alex Woods (b) raced Wadham in their heat. They shaved the bank slightly on the Green Bank, but were about 2 lengths up coming up to the finish, when they inexplicably dived into the bank 5 strokes from the end, and Wadham rowed out the race to win. In the second heat, the remaining 2- beat Univ after Univ crashed into the bank on the lethal inside station, setting up a final with Wadham. So had the bank not intervened in a dramatic recreation of Friday of Torpids, there would have been an all-St. John's final. St. John's quickly reclaimed the stagger, and then proceeded to row away from Wadham, beating them "easily". In the M1x, Matt Townsend lost ground off the start due to underrating his opponent. He was initially clawing back some distance until an encounter with the bank saw him go out in the first round. A W4+ entered on the Friday, but did not win the event (apologies - no more details are known by the writer at this time). |
Eights: Saturday 28th May 2004 |
The denouement of the week's racing came on Saturday, as both the 1st VIII and the Sirens' boat won blades. The Men's 3rd VIII rowed over at the bottom of the river. The Sirens' boat bumped Balliol III before Women's Division VI was klaxonned to win blades (+6 overall). The Women's 2nd VIII rowed over at the head of Division V, and then were on to bump at the bottom of Division IV when the division was klaxonned. The Men's 2nd VIII rowed over head of Division V, and then rowed over 2 lengths behind Merton II at the bottom of Division IV. The toll of 7 rowovers in 4 days obviously took its toll. The Women's 1st VIII rowed over at the head of Division III in an extremely close race with Jesus. Jesus had overlap in the Gut, and some excellent coxing (with some superb non-standard lines) and gutsy rowing allowed John's to hold them off to the finish line. After the race, Jesus congratulated John's and downed the obligatory pints of Pimm's, only for the tannoy to announce that Jesus had bumped John's. The (stationary) umpire maintained they had seen blade-on-boat contact (see OURCs' message boards for details), and the bump was awarded, much to everyone's confusion and St. John's disappointment. Needless to say, after Pimms on the raft, Jesus only managed a rowover at the bottom of Division II. The 1st VIII had a slightly shaky start, probably owing to nerves (although the struggle to free Jim's boatman's pole from the stroke rigger in the final few seconds of the countdown probably didn't help matters). Nevertheless, John's took some distance off Brasenose off the start, and once they settled into their base rate under the bridge, began to overhaul them fairly quickly. Brasenose however managed to close on Keble slightly. But John's made the bump at the exit to the Gut, and had to pull in to the nearside to allow the following crews past. Which all got rather scary as Worcester and Mansfield came by very close as they bumped out. Thankfully everyone was unhurt, and John's were able to celebrate the first Eights blades the 1st VIII had won since 1989. |
Eights: Friday 28th May 2004 |
After Thursday's successes, Friday set up some interesting showdowns for the final day. It was really a day of "should have been"s for the 2nd VIIIs. The Men's 3rd VIII were bumped by Univ V to go bottom of the river. So they are looking forward to a final day when they can't be bumped. The Sirens' boat bumped St. Hugh's II to continue their upwards trend. The Women's 2nd VIII rowed over at the head of Division V, but just failed to make a bump at the bottom of Division IV. The Men's 2nd VIII also rowed over head of Division V, and had overlap on Merton II in the Gut at the bottom of Division IV, but again failed to close out the bump. They will be fired up on the line tomorrow! The Women's 1st VIII continued to swap positions with Trinity. This time, Trinity had the advantage of a rudder, and made a quick bump on St. John's. The 1st VIII found themselves in a very similar situation to Wednesday, and managed to get the same result. They were chasing St. Peter's, who were chasing a Brasenose crew who had conceded 2 bumps in 2 days. Peter's had overlap on Brasenose in the Gut when John's, rowing well through the rough water, made contact with the Peter's boat, making their 3rd bump of the week. Results, as ever are available at OURCs' site. Live updates on Saturday's racing can be found on this site. |
Eights: Thursday 27th May 2004 |
Thursday was a much better day for St. John's, with five of the six crews making bumps. It was also fairly busy, the 6 St. John's crews contriving to row in 9 of the 13 divisions of the day. The Men's 3rd VIII were bumped by the top bunglines by LMH II. Then the Sirens' boat, as expected, made a quick bump on Queen's III. The Women's 2nd VIII bumped Regent's Park to move to the top of Division V, and then rowed over at the bottom of the (fixed) Division IV. The Men's 2nd VIII followed suit (just). They had overlap on Jesus II coming out of the Gut, rowed down the course a canvas off, and only closed off the bump at the end of the course. Rowing over at the bottom of Division IV, they narrowly failed to make a double overbump on Brasenose II. The Women's 1st VIII rowed over well clear of St. Anne's at the top of Division III, and then bumped Trinity on the Green Bank after Trinity lost their rudder. The 1st VIII bumped St. Anne's in the Gut, closing them quickly off the start, but making heavy work of the rough water under the bridge. Results are available on OURCs' site. |
Eights: Wednesday 26th May 2004 |
Wednesday was a bit of a mixed bag for St. John's. The Men's 3rd VIII had a fairly eventful first race. Strokeside had to pull their blades in to get round when boats ahead of them bumped out in the Gut. Nevertheless, they pushed away from the opposition down the Green Bank, until they clipped the OUBC raft. Rowing away only a canvas ahead of Christ Church III, they looked like they would make it until they reached the boathouses, where, distracted by their supporters, they proceeded to catch crabs, and conceded the overbump to Christ Church. The Women's 3rd VIII (the Sirens' boat) overbumped Magdalen III when they hit the bank. The Women's 2nd VIII were bumped by Lincoln II, and the Men's 2nd VIII came within a canvas of Wadham II in the Gut. Not realising this they did not up the pressure until a "backs-out-wind" was called, which proved their undoing. Losing their rhythm, they rowed in a procession down the rest of the course. The Women's 1st VIII were bumped by a high-rating Trinity crew, overrating them by at least 4 pips, and bumping them by the end of the bunglines (before the klaxon was sounded). The 1st VIII had a good start, but dealt badly with the choppy water. Nevertheless, they closed on Merton as Merton closed on Anne's. Merton had overlap on St. Anne's coming out of the Gut, steered for the bump, but missed, and then there was contact between John's and Merton. Finally a piece of luck went John's' way! Results are available on OURCs' site. |
Coate Water Park Regatta 22nd May 2004 |
St. John's won their first silverware of the year as Alex Woods (b) and Julian Bennet (s) won the Novice 2- event at Coate Water, by virtue of rowing better than their opponents and actually steering a straight line. Going up off the start, they put in a power 10, and as their two opponents (Birmingham University and Wallingford RC) peeled off towards opposite banks, they realised that if they kept going straight, they would win. Alex managed this (despite a fit of the giggles as Wallingford recrossed their stern, on their way across all three lanes), and the pots were theirs. The Men's N4+ (Duncan Gould, Tim Williamson, Alex Woods and Julian Bennet, coxed by Donna Brown) won their heat against Exeter University, then lost by 1.25 lengths in the semi-final. The Men's 2nd VIII beat CORC in their S4 semi-final, then lost in the final. The Women's 1st VIII won the semi final of WS4 VIIIs, but one of them came off their seat on the fourth stroke of the start in the final and could not refit it, so St. John's lost the race. Short video clips are available at the RowTV website. |
Eights: Rowing On 21st May 2004 |
Rowing on went relatively well for St. John's, with 3 crews out of four qualifying for places in Eights, despite the intense competition (52 crews for 25 places on the Men's side and 40 for 25 on the Women's side). The Women's 2nd VIII rowed "as well as Penny had ever seen" to qualify fastest by 5s in 3:04. The Women's 3rd VIII just missed out on a place, coming 26th in 3:38, 1s off the pace. Had they not disrupted their rhythm with a wind at the finish, they might just have squeezed in. The Women's 4th VIII (the Sirens' boat) qualified 10th in 3:20, despite a poor row as a result of rating too high. W2 start at the top of Women's Division V, so hold high hopes of gaining a fixed-division place this year (although the second-fastest qualifier starts immediately behind them). W4 were renamed W3 by OURCs, and start bottom of the river. The only way now is up! The qualified 19th of 25 in 2:56, and start 8th in Men's Division VII. Full results are available for both the Men's and the Women's divisions. Photos are available from Bigblade and JET Photographic. |
Wallingford Regatta 2nd May 2004 |
St. John's entered 4 crews into Wallingford Regatta this year; an S2 2-, an S3 4+, an S3 VIII and Matt Townsend in the S4 1x. Unfortunately, training had been somewhat hampered in the run up to the regatta, as James Miller-Jones, the stroke of the VIII, had an ill-timed bout of tendonitis, and could not race the VIII or train properly in the 2-. In addition, Evesham Regatta the previous day had been cancelled, leaving the crews without the planned race experience they had hoped for. Nevertheless, the 4+ raced first. A scratch crew of Donna Brown (c), Ian Streeter (s), James Yates, Julian Bennet and Alex Woods (b) put in a good performance, coming in 3rd in their heat in 5:15. Sadly only the first two crews made the final. Finding themselves down after their start, they had moved through the field over the course of their race, but had left the push fractionally too late, as the second-placed crew (Cambridge '99) only beat them by 1s. The 2- of James Miller-Jones and Josh Hemani was next to race. They were competitive off the start, and held a comfortable 3rd position throughout the race, until the last 200m, when a Kingston boat moved from a length down on John's to a length up by the end of the course. St. John's had no answer to such a move, and also finished one place off qualifying in 5:35. The Eight raced in the afternoon, with Ian Streeter in the stroke seat and Joe O'Neill filling in. They were dropped by Oriel off the start, but gave them a good run for their money, finishing 6s back in 4:43 (1s faster than Exeter's time in their heat). Again, they finished 1 place off qualifying for the final, in 4th. The final was dominated (as were the Novice, S4, and S2 Eights events) by extremely fast schoolboy crews, and Oriel and Exeter finished 5th and 6th respectively in 4:40 and 4:41. Matt Townsend's S4 sculling heat was much more successful. He came back through the field to win his heat by 2 feet. However, the decision was controversial, and he did not realise he had won, and had derigged his boat by the time the results came out. Rerigging it, he then found the decision reversed after protestations by his beaten opponents! All very annoying... Full results, and photos from Bigblade are also available. |
Oxford City Bumps 24th April 2004 |
St. John's entered two Men's crews for Oxford City Bumps this year. Rather than forming the two halves of the Eight, as had originally been planned, Collections and an unexpected Christening meant that two substitutions were necessary. Nevertheless, both St. John's crews managed to hold position, the second boat finishing 13th and the first boat finishing 3rd. In the first race, the second boat bumped Magdalen College School I early on, and the first boat, after falling back coming into the Gut, put in a good second half to close to within 8 feet of Wadham at the finish. The second race was a little more eventful. The start gun went 15s or so late, giving an advantage to all the (mainly Club) crews racing frontloading IVs, who had dropped the bungline before the start and could then touch the boats up unhindered. The second boat was bumped by Falcon, before going on to catch the freefalling Merton II. The first boat was hit by CORC II, who had an unexpectedly rapid start, and gained the overlap deemed to be necessary for a bump by taking an unrowable line, and hitting the bank the following stroke. But the bump was allowed to stand after an acrimonious debate with the race umpire. Fired up for the third race, the SJC boats proved their superior fitness, with both boats catching the fast starters who had hit them in the previous round. Unfortunately, before catching Falcon, the second boat were hit by the blades-winning Exeter crew. Going into the last race, the first boat knew they needed a quick start. They put in a lot of power off the start, and CORC II did not gain a seat. This brought John's to within 6 feet of Wadham, before two crabs on the Green Bank ended their challenge for 2nd place. The second boat was again the subject of a controversial umpiring decision as Falcon were deemed from the clubhouse to have gained overlap on John's, despite neither of the judges on the banks awarding the bump. Parallax anyone? Thanks go to the polemen, Jon Sheppard and John Weir, and to the judges, Louise Weston and Jenny Wotherspoon. Full results can be found on the CORC website. Photos are available on the Bigblade site. |
Bedford Spring Fours and Small Boats Head 4th April 2004 |
With nothing else to do in the long weeks of the Easter holidays, Matt Townsend took his scull to Bedford Head. Despite having a little trouble finding the right motorway to take him there, he arrived in good time with some other scullers from Univ and Merton to keep him company. Having struggled to get up to a decent racing rate in previous races, he was looking to capitalize on 4 weeks of uninterrupted rate-work on the Isis and try to post a sub-8 minute time to set him up for the regatta season. The first race was a highly competitive novice event containing 28 crews. Matt tried to stick to his ‘fast and light’ race plan but found himself struggling in choppy waters over the last stretch. Rating 26-27 he finished in 7:46 (6th). In the second race (S4), Matt wound to 34 on the start and settled to 28. The higher rate paid off as he came in 4th in 7:43. More details can be found at the Bedford site. |
Torpids: Saturday 6th March 2004 |
After half the crew had stuffed themselves at Argo's breakfast, the Men's 3rd Torpid bumped the freefalling Mansfield II in the Gut to finish up 3 overall in 2 days of racing. The Women's 2nd Torpid bumped St. Peter's II before the division was klaxonned (owing to an entanglement in the Gut) to finish level overall. The Men's 2nd Torpid rowed over to finish up 3 overall. The Women's 1st Torpid rowed over half a length clear of Hertford to finish up 1 place overall. The 1st Torpid had an equipment failure in the warmup, and had to sit at the Longbridges raft while a replacement 2 blade was brought by the safety launch. But this did not deter them, and they rowed over at the top of Division 2, 4-5 lengths clear of Univ, who had come no closer than 1/2 a length in the Gut this time. Thanks go to Ian Anderson for running over to pay a fine and thus allowing the Torpid to race. In their second race, starting behind Wadham at the bottom of Division 1, John's managed to take 3/4 length out of them by the bridge (again), after which both boats rowed clean past St. Catz who had hit the bank after being bumped by LMH. So the 1st Torpid re-entered the 1st Division for the second time in a week and finished up 1 place. More details may be found on OURCs' Torpids site. |
Torpids: Friday 5th March 2004 |
Men's Division VI actually ran properly today! And the Men's 3rd Torpid bumped Wadham III, who went on to bump Wolfson II, moving St. John's up two places. The Women's 2nd Torpid were bumped by St. Peter's II, but went on to bump Lincoln III to stay level on the day. The Men's 2nd Torpid, with a last-minute substitution due to illness, were rowed down to half a length by Teddy Hall II, but pushed them away for a rowover. The Women's 1st Torpid were bumped by Teddy Hall, but went on to provide a thrilling chase against Univ. St. John's were half a length behind Univ going past the boathouse, and a big effort saw them chase Univ across the river to bump them up near the finish. The 1st Torpid had a slight mishap. Unfortunately, they were slightly too fast for their own good. Only 1/2 a length or so off Pembroke coming into the Gut, they tried to nip through a gap between Pembroke and the bank when Pembroke bumped out on Catz. Sadly this led to a little incident with the bank. John's were at that point about 2-3 lengths clear of Wadham. They spent a good few seconds in the bank, extricated themselves, and were halfway through a restart when they were caught by Wadham, who had already been hit by LMH. This put them in the amusing position of starting on Saturday surrounded by the same boats as on Wednesday. It also gave them some much needed practice of rowing in wash (which will be useful come the Head of the River Race), as the safety launch sat ahead of them washing them down as they raced down the second half of the course. A big Thank You goes to the launch driver for Men's Division I. More details may be found on OURCs' Torpids site. |
Torpids: Thursday 4th March 2004 |
There was a strange sense of deja vu as Men's Division VI was klaxonned again. This time, however, it was perhaps a stroke of luck, since the Men's 3rd Torpid, having gained considerably on Wadham III in front of them, were falling back towards Exeter III as the John's 3-man had come off his seat. The Women's 2nd Torpid were bumped by Hertford III, but came extremely close to catching Lincoln III, who had started 4 boats ahead of them. So they can look to a bump tomorrow. The Men's 2nd Torpid did themselves proud again, bumping SEH II on the Green Bank, the John's cox having taken a very good line to cut Hall off and prevent them crossing the stream. The Women's 1st Torpid rowed over well clear of both Hertford behind and a couple of lengths back from Worcester in front, looking very tidy. Hertford were bumped by SEH on the Green Bank, so John's may have more of a challenge on their hands tomorrow. The 1st Torpid, having got onto their bungline on the minute gun, caught Brasenose by bungline 4. In the process of which, they left Wadham 2.5 lengths behind despite some very dirty water in that first minute. Unfortunately, Pembroke, having closed to 1/4 length on Catz by the Gut, failed to make the bump. So St. John's will go for Pembroke tomorrow... watch this space! More details may be found on OURCs' Torpids site. |
Torpids: Wednesday 3rd March 2004 |
All in all a very good first day of Torpids for St. John's. The day got off to a disappointing start as the Men's 3rd Torpid had overlap on Univ IV when the division was klaxonned. Unfortunately, the chasing crew failed to hold their boat up, and the John's cox was knocked into the water, and the boat was shunted forwards, putting a large hole in the bow section. However, thankfully no-one was injured. The Women's 2nd Torpid then held position, getting bumped by Exeter II but going on to bump the freefalling Brasenose II. The Men's 2nd Torpid hit Oriel III, despite having to row in the Women's second boat ("Carol"). The Women's 1st Torpid made a good start to their race, pulling away from Hertford, and closing to a length on Worcester. Worcester then began to reclaim some distance, but Balliol (starting 2nd in the division) came to the rescue, lodging themselves in the bank and allowing all but the last racing crew to row past them. The 1st Torpid, starting at the head of Division II, were being chased by Univ, who rated 40 all the way onto the Green Bank, closing St. John's to a quarter of a length at the exit to the Gut. But John's held their nerve, and took a much better line out of the Gut. Along the Green Bank, they left Univ for dead, rowing over 8 lengths or more clear. Univ, having blown up, were subsequently bumped by LMH (who were worse than on station with John's at the time). Rowing sandwich boat in Division I, St. John's closed Wadham to 3/4 length off the start, attempted a wind in the choppy water under Donnington Bridge, resettled, and then powered it into Wadham (who conceded late enough for the John's bowman to make the bump with his back on the stroke's blade) in the Gut. More details may be found on OURCs' Torpids site. |
Reading University Head 28th February 2004 |
The Men's and Women's Torpids took advantage of one last opportunity to race before Torpids at Reading University Head, along with boats from Keble, Hertford and Balliol. The Torpid rowed the boat down from their training base at Oratory, giving them a 12km warmup paddle before they had even started the 4.25km head race. Starting off immediately in front of Keble and Hertford, they were slightly sluggish off the start, but settled into a good rhythm at 34. Rowing in a bit of a vacuum, they gradually gained ground on the boats ahead and behind. The timing began to drift off slightly in the last 1000m, but a determined finish saw them wind to 39, and settle back to 37 to cross the finish line. They finished 2nd in S4 (losing to UWE by 5s), and 28th overall, in a time of 14:47.805 (the author is a bit concerned about the precision here...). They beat Hertford by 7s, Balliol by 49s, and Keble by 51s. The Women's Torpid raced for the first time in their new Stampfli, the "Lady Scholar". They raced the course at 32, rowing a fairly consistent piece. They finished 5th in WS4 (125th overall) in a time of 18:01.297, beating Keble by 50s. The full results are now up, and photos can be found on the Bigblade, Nature's Images and Photo Row sites (SJC were crews 32 and 60). |
Torpids 2004: Rowing On 27th February 2004 |
The Men's 3rd Torpid, on the back of their single practice outing, after which they rerigged the boat and swapped the crew order, did not quite row to their potential in rowing on. Nevertheless they qualified joint second fastest in a time of 3:05, and will start 10th in Men's Division VI. They are chasing Univ IV (7s slower in rowing on) and being chased by Exeter III (also joint 2nd in rowing on). The Women's 2nd Torpid qualified 2nd slowest, in a time of 4:35, and start 6th in Women's Division V. Full results are available on the OURCs' Torpids site. Photos may be found here. |
Isis Winter League 'E' 22nd February 2004 |
Racing for the second time in two days gave the 1st Torpid a chance to practice the racing line on the Torpids course, and to measure themselves against their opposition. Their stroke-rigged racing shell being at their Oratory training base meant that they had to race in the bow-rigged third-boat shell with cleavers as opposed to their usual smoothie blades. The order was changed, with James Yates making another appearance in the stroke seat, and Matt Townsend filling in for the absent Josh Hemani. St. John's lead off the second division of the afternoon into an icy head wind. They struggled to hit their target rate, but settled into a good powerful rhythm, and took lengths out of the Brasenose boat behind them. This was good enough to WIN the event by in 5s in 4:45, beating Anne's, Jesus, New, Keble and Brasenose, among others. This bodes well for Torpids. Matt Townsend, meanwhile, came 3rd and 4th in his scull, in 6:08 and 6:12; only 7s off the winning time. And this despite having to stop and steer at the finish where boats marshalling impeded the racing line. Full results can be found on the OURCs site. |
Burway Head 21st February 2004 |
After a quick warm-up outing at their Oratory training base, the 1st Torpid went to race the 3000m Burway track. There had been a problem with the entry, so they were entered at the bottom of the afternoon S4 division. They started well, attacking the first minute, and settling into a good rhythm. Halfway down the track, the head wind worsened, causing the length and the rate to drop. Nevertheless, they gained almost a length a minute on the Imperial 'B' crew ahead of them. This, however, proved to be their undoing. Having taken a wide line to cut the corner on a bay, John's found themselves overtaking in the middle of the stream and the outside of the following bend. Pulling alongside the other boat, they lost concentration and the rowing fell apart somewhat. In the last four minutes, they gained only a length on the IC boat, moving from contact to a canvas in front, and the narrowness of the course caused a few blade clashes. Had they been able to push past the IC crew, and move back out of the stream, they would doubtless have posted a significantly faster time. Nevertheless, they finished only 5s slower than the Merton crew in the same division, and 12th fastest overall in a time of 10:08. Full results can be found at the Burway site. Thanks go to Jon Sheppard for being Lard once again. |
Bedford Eights and Fours Head 15th February 2004 |
Both the Torpid and the Women's Torpid entered their first race of the season at Bedford. It was especially interesting for the Men, since the 6 crews around them in Torpids were also competing that day. In the event, they rowed messily, but their aggressive rates gave them a competitive time despite a mini-crab towards the end of the race and the 7-man having food poisoning! Their time of 6:23 beat Univ (chasing them in Torpids) by 5s, and were comparable to the majority of the Oxford crews competing. Thanks go to Jon Sheppard for being Lard for the day. The Women's Torpid raced a fast first half of the race, and were looking very tidy rowing past Star Club. They caught up some time on the crew in front (New College), but let it slip in the second half when the rowing began to fall apart. A little more consistency and they will be set to post some much quicker times. Full results may be found at the Bedford site and photos are available of the Men and the Women. Another set of photographs may be found on this site. |
Burway Small Boats Head 13th December 2003 |
Despite no warmup, Josh Hemani and James Miller-Jones put down the third fastest pairs time of the day (10:19) in a roaring tail wind in the morning division. A fast first minute was followed by a fairly rocky rest of the race, and despite rowing along an unfamiliar stretch of river (not having seen it on the warmup), they beat the surrounding competition (Sons of the Thames pairs), and overtook a S1 Eton Excelsior crew. Matt Townsend in the 1x had a good first stretch, but then lost it a little, and finished his Novice race in 12:31. He put down a much faster time of 11:34 in the afternoon to finish 8th in S4. The 2- rowed a more sat, but slightly slower second race, putting down the fifth fastest pairs time of the day (10:21) in S3, to win their category unopposed. A full results listing can be found on the Burway site. |
Wallingford Head 7th December 2003 |
The conditions at Wallingford, although a little cold, were much better than have often prevailed there in recent years, with very little in the way of either wind or stream. The Men's Novice A crew (with Matt Wain subbing in at 7) and the Men's Dev Squad set off in the first division. The Dev Squad crabbed and had an encounter with the bank halfway down the course, but still crossed the line in 17:06 (4th in the Novice Category), about halfway down the list of Oxford Colleges, beating Exeter, Jesus, Somerville and Worcester. The Novices came in only 9 seconds behind, in 17:15, finishing 7th in the Novice category, rounding off a very successful term with a good result. The Women's Dev Squad raced in the afternoon. The start was severely delayed and the crews had to sit in the cold conditions for half an hour before racing. After being caught rapidly off the start, St. John's held the chasing crew for two-thirds of the course while sitting in the stream, showing great determination. They finished 6th in the WS4 category, in a time of 20:24. A full results listing can be found on the Wallingford site. |
Christ Church: Saturday 29th November 2003 |
The last day unfortunately fell victim to the strong winds (as did the Scullers' Head, so we were in good company), and at the last minute (11am) the organisers binned knockout racing and told everyone to get ready for a 600m time-trial. Starting half-way down the order, the Men's Novice A crew missed out on the roaring tailwind enjoyed by earlier crews, including Exeter A, the eventual winners. St. John's got a good enough start, striking 36 down the Green Bank, and (in the opinion of one W. Trugeon-Smith) rowing far better than anything else on the river. Just when things looked to be going to plan, disaster struck in the form of a broken seat and a crab. Said crab was retrieved, and the crew put in a huge effort to cross the line, but alas 6 seconds adrift of Exeter, and a measly 2 seconds behind Christ Church. So the Men's A's finished 3rd; the best result for St. John's Men for several years. Congratulations to (almost) all involved. |
Christ Church: Friday 28th November 2003 |
No-one has told me what happened (again! Grrrrr...), but from the Christ Church regatta site, it appears that the Men's Novice A crew beat St. Peter's B in the second round and Hertford A in the third round. The Women's Novice A crew got knocked out by Balliol A in the third round and the Women's Novice B crew got knocked out by Linacre A in the second round. So only the Men's A's survive to the Saturday, where they race Univ B at 11.36 in the 4th round, then face a provisional quarter final against Christ Church B or Keble A at 12.30, a potential semi final at 13.05, and the final (should they reach it) at 14.05 (the third-place race-off is at 13.50). We wish them the best of luck! |
Christ Church: Thursday 27th November 2003 |
No-one has told me what happened today (thanks guys), but an investigation of the Christ Church regatta site revealed that the Men's Novice B crew beat Pembroke E in the repechage and then got knocked out by Univ A. The Women's Novice A crew beat Queen's A in the second round. |
Christ Church: Wednesday 26th November 2003 |
Despite a last-minute substitution owing to one man falling sick, the Men's Novice A crew beat Worcester B easily. The Women's Novice A crew received a bye against Brasenose C, although they raced the course anyway for practice, and are looking strong for their race tomorrow. The Women's Novice B crew beat Exeter B, after a dramatic race where both boats collided on the green bank, but St. John's managed to pull ahead to win by about 2 lengths. The Men's Novice B crew lost in a good race against Christ Church A. They performed well and are looking to win in the repechage tomorrow. Full results can be found on the Christ Church regatta site. |
Nephthys Regatta 22nd November 2003 |
Saturday dawned wet and miserable, in stark contrast to Friday's conditions for the Head. However, the day got off to a good start as England won the Rugby Union World Cup!!!. The Men's Novice 'B' crew were the first John's crew to race in Nephthys Regatta but lost by 2 lengths to Jesus II. Next, the Women's Novice 'A' crew lost to St. Hugh's (having boated early and in a rush, and sat around in the rain for half an hour before the start), the verdict 'easily'. Five minutes later, the Men's Novice 'A' crew restored some pride, beating Pembroke I 'easily'. They repeated this achievement with Keble I in the quarter-final, Corpus in the semi-final, and went on to beat Christ Church by over 3 lengths in the final, having rowed away from them in the first minute. So, unbeaten in 5 races, things are looking promising for St. John's in Christ Church Regatta, provided that the weather holds off... Unfortunately, the Women's Dev Squad 4+ could not emulate the feat, as they lost to OXILP in the semi-final. Full results can be found (in Excel format) on the OULRC website. |
Nephthys Head 21st November 2003 |
In still and dry conditions, St. John's entered their Dev Squad VIII, a pair (James Miller-Jones and Josh Hemani) and Matt Townsend in his scull into Nephthys Head. The pair and the scull were unopposed, and thus won their events... The pair had not rowed since IWL-C owing to injury, and (after a panicked last-minute heel restraint adjustment) put in a time of 4:53, to finish 8th overall, being beaten by all the Open 8's and an Open 4+. The scull (with new blades!) finished in 5:42, beating two Women's Junior 8's and two Women's 4+'s. The Dev Squad was unable to provide a third win (!), coming 7th (last in the Men's Open 8's) in 4:50. However, they achieved their goal of beating the pair. Full results can be found (in Excel format) on the OULRC website. |
Isis Winter League 'C' 16th November 2003 |
In their first competitive race, the Men's Novice 'A' crew managed to win the Novice event, despite catching two crabs during the course of the race (one of which was partly due to a steering maneouvre required to overtake Univ, who appeared to have stopped on the racing line). They put in a time of 4:38, to beat St. Benet's by 1s and come in 13th overall. The Men's 2- were the only other SJC crew to race, as the Women's 4+ had to scratch owing to illness, and the Men's 1x also scratched. The pair rowed a time of 4:26, coming in 7th overall, beating 12 4+'s and 3 Men's VIIIs (despite a close shave with the bank coming through the Gut and a finish line which took them by surprise, having been moved significantly downstream since IWL-B). Full results and photos are now up. Also see updated scoring systems. |
Autumn IVs 6th November 2003 |
St. John's Women raced for the first time this season in Autumn IVs. They had a very good race, rapidly overtaking a slow Catz 4+ below Donnington Bridge, and continuing to extend the clear water between the crews to finish tens of lengths up (despite a fit of the giggles brought on by Mark McMillan's coxing) in a time of 7:20. The Men's 2- asked to change their starting order, to start in front of, rather than behind a Teddy Hall Pazolt crew. This confidence was justified as they beat them by 18s, finishing 6th overall in 4:29, and beating the only competition, Wolfson, by 7s. Can't find any web results yet... |
Isis Winter League 'B' 2nd November 2003 |
In addition to the pair and the scull, St. John's also entered a Men's coxed IV for the second instalment of the Winter League. The 2- raced first, catching a 4+ coming out of the Gut, crossing early, and then drifting out into the stream by the boathouses. Nevertheless, they posted the fastest SJC time of the day, coming 9th overall (unopposed in the 2- category) in 4:59. The 4+ raced next, overtaking a Jesus 4+ in thrilling fashion outside the boathouses, coming 11th overall in 5:07. The 1x rowed over at quite a low rate in 5:54. Full results can be found here. The different scoring systems for the IWL can be found at the St. Catz site. |
Isis Winter League 'A' 22nd October 2003 |
St. John's fielded a fairly small entry for the first part of the Isis Winter League this year, with James Miller-Jones and Josh Hemani racing the pair and Matt Townsend entering the singles event. The 2- started well behind the OILP Women's VIII "as we don't know how fast you are relatively" but quite close in front of the Wolfson 2- (their only competition) to allow for a decent race. Starting at Donnington Bridge, the pair was overtaking the VIII by Timms, and rowed up the centre of the river, having a good race with Wolfson until they hit a log in the last few hundred metres. The pair finished 7s clear of the opposition, crossing the line in 4:55, winning the 2- category, and coming 9th overall. The scull, after a slight tussle with the Bank at one stage, resulting in Townsend "having to fend off the OURCs officials", finished 5th out of 6 in the 1x, in a time of 5:32. The full results can be found here. |
Results 2002-2003 | Results for the 2002-2003 season |
Results 2001-2002 | Results for the 2001-2002 season |
Results 2000-2001 | Results for the 2000-2001 season |
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