There was only one week before the next regatta; a different boat was tried on Monday; on Tuesday the river was so crowded with other craft that work on the water would have been impossible, so fitness work was done in the Gym; Wednesday was Field Day and we fitted in our only evening outing of the term - the pattern of academic work during the best working hours of the day, followed by training on an empty river, then supper and early bed is an excellent one. All four races at Avon County, over the 800m course at Swindon, showed that the crew was fast over the first 600m or so, but that lack of regular distance training made the crew vulnerable. Keenness, dedication and loyalty, which this crew had in no small measure throughout the season, cannot make up for lack of mileage - some suggest that this weakness can be remedied by moving training to Saltford but I dread to think what hassle this would cause! Monkton crews used to overcome it with evening outings and by keeping the river clear of beginners who were confined to the tank for long periods in their first year: we must find means of training more efficiently if we are ever to hold our own in an ever more competitive sport.

The two weeks leading up to the National Schools Regatta included technical sessions with BSM, and dissection of 1500m races into 500m sections. The stop-watch continued to tell a sad story; after a powerful start and before a reliable determined effort over the the last two or three hundred metres, the middle part of the row was sluggish and slow. It was improved gradually, but never enough. Competition at Nottingham was tough (as always!). The crew was confident, but judging by their warm up, were too keyed up for the race. Their start was at about 46, and the rate stayed at over 40 for the first 300m; this enabled the crew to stay near the front of the field, but this place was achieved with great expenditure of energy; the rate dropped to about 38 for the rest of the race (still too high), and the inevitable fade resulted in our position slipping further and further back. The crew had tried very hard, and were naturally very depressed by the eventual outcome.

The following day was spent relaxing before the Bank Holiday regatta at Hereford. The first heat was against Worcester Rowing Club, who looked big and smart at they went on the water. However, there was no problem during the race, during which we were able to settle down to 30 (quite a change after Nottingham!). The second round was against RGS Worcester, who had beaten us at Nottingham two days before. The race this time was hard, but there was never any doubt about the result. Monmouth School were tougher in the final, but another good start gained us a length which was sufficient margin to allow for fade in the second half.

During the three weeks after half term, the prospect of Henley came to the fore and a newly measured I mile 550 yard course was used for the first time since 1967. The crew began to understand that a steady pace and endurance were needed for this distance; training on home waters was supplemented by a useful afternoon at Henley itself. Marlow regatta came after school exam week, and we managed to get to the course in time for an outing on the Friday evening. Our first race was against Canford; this was won comfortably, but our row was not as settled as it should have been, and the crew found Thames conditions difficult. In the second round, we had a bad start; after re-gaining some ground on the other two crews, we fell back and finally lost contact when wash from a launch finally destroyed what rhythm and power remained. On the following day we went to the inaugural Thames Valley Sprint Regatta which was held on the traditional Reading Town reach. We had only one race, against Shiplake and St. Edward's. There was a strong headwind all day long, and we hoped in vain that it would subside before our race at tea time. The crew launched in good time and paddled up towards Reading, only to return a few minutes later having discovered that two riggers had been put on incorrectly. After hasty re-mounting there was no time for practice, so the crew went down the 500m to the start, turned and arrived on the stake-boat slightly late.

Then the amplifier system broke down - nothing seemed to be going right! The start was covered with spray, and the other two crews slipped a little ahead; then strokes 17 to 26, on which we had spent some time in practice, took us past both the opponents, so that half way along the course we had ¼ length on Teddies and ½ length on Shiplake. Our strokes were short and the row was not controlled, but there was plenty of determination. There was nothing in it at the finish, where one member of the crew looked round on the last stroke and caught a crab; luckily we were already over the line, and after some deliberation the judges announced that we had won by a margin of one foot. It had been the fastest race of the day by three seconds.

It was on the Monday after this race that the crew broke the 500m record at home, reducing it to 1 minute 27.3 seconds in a row that never fell below 42.