The Novice Fairbairn was held on the 30th of November where our novice men had a really strong race. They started well and looked strong, together and in control around the first few bends. By the time they passed our boathouse they were fully in their stride. Spurred on by the cheers from the women’s crew, the guys started to close the gap on the boat in front of them. By Riverside Bridge, First and Third were already in their sight, despite a minute head start. Then came the Green Dragon where initially, the First and Third cox took the (now traditional) step of not giving way to our Hughes boat. Our crew made short work of passing, waiting just long enough for this manoeuvre to take place directly in front of their waiting coaches and the marshals at the P&E. Our crew then claimed the reach, while chasing down Lady Margaret. Another 500m would have given them the double, but what a way to finish the term! The final results showed a time of 11:14.1, which flew by. The novice men placed 17th out of 56 crews! (19 places higher than last year!)
Being the first ever entry for the Hughes Hall women’s team in the Novice Fairbairn race, our women were not intimidated. With a strong rolling start they were powering on ahead. Our women kept a strong rhythm and a constant rate throughout. Passing the Green Dragon, they pushed for a power 10 and no one could overtake them at this point. Even with a strong form, in the last 300 meters of the race they caught a crab which could not be rescued. Caius took this opportunity to overtake in the last stretch to the finish line. Regardless of this minor obstacle, our women powered on to finish the race, ranking 16th out of 47 crews! Considering it being the debut year for the Hughes Hall women’s team, this is an incredible feat achieved by our ladies to be as competitive as the far more established boat clubs on the river!
The senior/experienced rowers on the men side have been training all term together to prepare for the Senior Fairbairn race held on the 1st of December. Despite the initial chilly morning after an evening of heavy snow, the senior men were not daunted by the 4.3km race course that awaited them. Having started the race strong with the help of some cheers from the Hughesian’s Blues rower triallists as they pass the Goldie Boathouse, they kept a constant rate to row full force right up to the Green Dragon. As they reach the middle of the Long Reach, having put in a considerable amount of work to cover half of the race course, the power in the boat started to dwindle as the crew gets tired. But with the encouraging screams from the bank by their coach and the determined voice of their cox, the men found their strength back only to start seeing the Homerton boat in front of them within reach even with their 1 minute head start. Passing through the First Post Corner, the coach yelled for a rate build up to empty the tank for the very final stretch of the race. With a clear exhaustion towards the end, the senior men finished strong with a time of 16:55.7 to place 32nd out of 57 crews. This is definitely the best showing that has been achieved by a senior crew from Hughes Hall in the Senior Fairbairn race! With strong performances throughout the boat club this term, we are definitely excited to see what we can do in Lents! 😀
Hughes Hall Boat Club 