A blog by outgoing Boat Club President, Chris Launchbury, with contributions from Herbie Stubberfield and Lewis Naughton.
The May Bumps are the highlight of the college rowing calendar and are the culmination of all the training, early mornings, and tough land sessions that we put ourselves through across the year. We were delighted to make history this year - twice - by having four crews take part in the May Bumps and by having the first-ever M2 crew compete for Lucy Cavendish. It’s fantastic to have achieved this after only three years since the club even had a men’s squad! Furthermore, they didn’t just compete, but they also won blades!
It was similarly encouraging to see our M1 crew continue to climb the rankings into more competitive territory, having finished the Bumps now firmly in Division 3. W1 put on another strong display in Division 2, ending the races up one position overall having endured three valiant and strong row-overs.
Whilst our W2 finished one place lower, they were the victim of the inevitable chaos of the nature of bumps racing. Had they not been caught up in a tricky three-boat sandwich situation, their campaign would have taken an entirely different direction.
Nevertheless, I am hugely proud of the successes and hard work of every crew member, every cox, and every coach within the club. It has been a brilliant season of Easter Term rowing and a memorable May Bumps. There has been so much individual and collective progress across the year, and it deserves to be celebrated!
Read on for each crew’s May Bumps story!
M1 (+5 places total, winning blades)
As told by their 4-seat, Chris Launchbury
Whilst our M1 still dominates the lower divisions, the first day saw a tricky situation whereby another blades campaign could be in jeopardy. We had to bump Hughes Hall M2 before they bumped Corpus Christi M2, who were at the top of the division. If they bumped out, there would be no more boats to bump. Despite a frankly embarrassing racing start, our crew brute-forced their way along the river to secure the bump against Hughes Hall. The nerves were now gone!
The second day of bumps saw us now chasing Corpus. With our racing start calmer, we walked through to the top of the division and became the sandwich boat. This being our second race of the day, and with sixteen boats for the taking ahead of us, we executed a slick start and Kings M2 stood no chance of pulling away from us. With the bump came history - Lucy M1 were now firmly in Division 3!
On the third day, whilst marshalling at the starting stations, a terrified coach from Lady Margaret Boat Club attempted to negotiate an over-bump with us! Determined that every boat should taste the Lucy Cavendish bow- ball, we declined the offer and bumped LMBC M3 solidly along First Post Reach.
Day four saw our opportunity to once more secure blades. It was emotional for me, as I had rowed with many members of the crew for nearly three years, and my two-year Presidency was coming to an end. I couldn’t help but give a short speech at the start line. It clearly worked. What had been a frustrating week of rowing which, although successful, was below our training standard, culminated in a fantastic row bumping Caius M3 in front of the crowds at First Post Corner.
M2 (+5 places total, winning blades)
As told by their 4-seat, Lewis Naughton
Day one kicked off with a bang, literally. We bumped Magdalene M4 and then, as the sandwich boat, Fitzwilliam M3 so hard they probably still have our bow imprint on their boats. Thanks to Chantalle, our cox, and her inch-perfect steering, our beeline into Magdalene on First Post Corner has been watched by (“almost”) three million people on the YouTube live stream.
On the second day we faced Lady Margaret M4, and things got interesting. After a brief “debate” with one of our coaches, Magdy decided to row in a jumper and jogging bottoms because, why not? "We're only rowing 300 meters at most," he exclaimed. His zen-like calmness was almost contagious, and the boat flew off the start line, bumping Lady Margaret as promptly as expected.
Day three is where it got tough. We needed to avoid a technical row-over situation and thus were forced to steer wide, but with our growing momentum and cheers from the bank, we confidently bumped Darwin M2.
The final day really was our grand finale! Clare M3 tried to escape, but with Chantalle screaming "CONCEDE!" at the cox of the boat in front, they had no choice and no chance. With the smell of success in the air we rowed home triumphantly, singing "Country Roads" at the top of our voices.
Despite two coaches who make Gordon Ramsey look like a teddy bear, we became a team of not just eight, not just nine, but eleven. Winning blades with this crew was an emotional moment for all involved and a pleasure to do so with a group of individuals I will forever love. In summary, we rowed, we bumped, we conquered. Boats were bumped, egos were bruised, and we all lived to tell about a thousand people in Cambridge that we got blades.
W1 (+1 place total)
As told by their bank-party, Chris Launchbury
As the highest-positioned crew of our club, W1 faced the fiercest competition during May Bumps. The first day saw the crew rivalling Wolfson W1 behind them and, ahead of them, Selwyn W1. Holding Selwyn on-station for the whole of First Post Reach, W1 were clean and fast. Although they slowly crept away to bump out in front, Wolfson were kept at bay all the way to the finish line for a tough but well-earned row- over.
With Wolfson still behind them on day two, we now had Newnham W2 ahead of us. Our W1 are always a crowd-pleaser, and thanks to their cox Josh’s superb lines around Grassy (and frankly quite terrifying coxing-calls), they convincingly bumped Newnham in front of the Plough! Once more Selwyn were ahead of Lucy, having failed to bump the day before. Day three saw W1 easily holding off Newnham behind them and chasing Selwyn all the way down to the Green Dragon bridge for another row-over.
On the final day the crew were again chasing Selwyn, with Wolfson also again in pursuit behind them. This time our W1 began closing in on Selwyn, achieving just shy of a length by First Post Corner. The whistle was in my mouth with the boat just inches away from getting their first whistle! Selwyn very sadly managed to catch a floundering Girton around First Post Corner, but the crew kept putting on a stupendous performance. W1 put so much distance between Wolfson behind them that Wolfson decided simply to wind-down rather than stay in pursuit. It was a hard-fought campaign, and it was a testament to the hard work of the rowers across the year. We are also very grateful to our emergency substitute, Mimi, who stepped up to the plate when one of our rowers became stranded in Iceland at the start of the week!
W2 (-1 place total)
As told by their coxswain, Herbie Stubberfield
It has certainly been a rollercoaster of a May Bumps campaign for Lucy Cavendish W2. Entering the week in high spirits, W2 faced a fierce Murray Edwards W2, who unexpectedly bumped a collapsed Pembroke W3 before First Post Corner and deprived Lucy of that crucial first bump. Nevertheless, our W2 were awarded a ‘technical row-over’ and proceeded, undeterred, onto Day 2 where they were on the run from a dogged Sidney Sussex W2. Lucy put up a formidable fight, getting off to a polished start and shaving lengths off the distance from Pembroke W3. Yet, the strength of Sidney Sussex proved impossible to fend off and W2 conceded defeat before the Motorway Bridge. Despite this setback, the crew entered Friday with admirable determination, again facing a tough opponent in Magdalene W2, who had stormed their way through the fourth division and into the third. Despite becoming yet another casualty of Magdalene’s impressive run, the entire crew remained resilient and markedly improved their technique from the start of what had become a punishing week.
This endurance was rewarded on Saturday, when W2 secured a decisive revenge bump against Magdalene W2. In true Bumps style, this was a cathartic end to a hectic week for W2. Congratulations should go to Charlotte, Hannah, Raff, Philippine, Ioana, Lauren, Aastha, Elodie and Jess for their good humour and resolve throughout. A special mention goes to Sophie and Richard for their tireless work to get the crew (and cox!) race-ready.
