For the first time since 1967, we were able to enter for the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley. Public and internal exams were finished in good time for the regatta, so the Special Race for Schools, which was instituted in 1974, was abandoned this year. The Special Race and the P.E. had 40 entries between them last year, so we feared that a large number of crews would have to qualify this time; as it was, there were 35 entries, of which one withdrew, so the qualifier involved only five crews of which three qualified. We were very glad not to have to race on the Friday before the Regatta, which was the last day of term, because it would have meant going to Henley early that week when most of the crew was involved in the tiring end of term routine.

On the Monday after Marlow and Reading Town, we took the boat down to the river to concentrate on Henley-distance training. Although the course had been practised earlier in the term, the crew had not been able to get clear runs at it because of lack of space and time; it was rowed three times in the last few days of term, and some confidence was gained, though too little and too late. To make the training more interesting, the crew imagined that the three races were easy, hard but winable and very hard - in that order, and the time taken was correspondingly reduced from about 7.40 to 7.08. It was good to train on a peacfeul river on the last morning of term before leaving for Henley after lunch.

We arrived in time to see the car park full of oarsmen's cars, rather than the bustle of the regatta proper, and the river was quiet, except for the many crews which were having to row in the qualifiers. We met one OM (an ex-Third VIII man who was stroking a London crew which failed to qualify). He said he would be back to try again next year! After an early fish and chip meal bought from a shop we had discovered three weeks before, the crew drove to Maidenhead where we were to stay at the home of a member of the crew.

Saturday training aimed at familiarisation with the course and technical exercises. The crew showed some signs of tiredness at the end of what had been a hard week's training and early morning walks which had been undertaken in anticipation of an early race at the regatta. To the crew's relief, a lie-in was allowed on Sunday before two outings, with fairly light technical work in the morning followed by the last full course trial in the afternoon. This went very well, with no weak patches; the crew and coach were pleased with the day's efforts. The World Cup provided entertainment in the evening before an early night.

The atmosphere at the regatta on the Monday and Tuesday was an exciting one; a large number of crews practised, and others spent time sorting out their boats. The side-head wind was so strong that we made our gearing easier to give the crew a better chance of coping with the 1 mile 550 yard course; they liked the change and looked better for it. Training concentrated on each part of the race in turn, and the crew enjoyed the company of other crews in several set pieces. Wednesday, the first day of the Regatta, was cold and windy; training was confined to a short session during the lunch interval. A quiet afternoon, supper at Marlow, and watching England knocked out of the World Cup marked the end of training. We learned during supper that our race was to be at 5.40 the following day.

We arrived at the Regatta just before lunch, having had a leisurely start; oarsmen had lunch with their families and then rested during the afternoon. Weather conditions had changed slightly by tea time, with the wind moving round to cross-tail; the rig was left in the new position because there was still the danger that the harder gearing would be too difficult on the long course. Pleasure traffic on the river disrupted the wann-up, but the crew was reasonably composed and ready to race by the time they got to the start. On form, we were expecting a close race with Bedford, which might have gone either way: in practice our starts had looked faster, and they had looked more settled over long distances; the records of the two crews in previous encounters had been on a par. So, 'Are you ready?, GO!'. We went off at a very high rate (47! - some three pips higher than ever rowed previously in the season), and, hidden in clouds of spray, nearly came to grief on the fourth stroke. The boat and crew remained very unsettled for the whole of the start routine, but we stayed level with a somewhat calmer Bedford crew. At the Head of the Island the two crews were level, and by the time we reached the quarter mile post (still striking about 40) Bedford had gained just four feet. We appeared to be calming down as we approached the Bather, where we were nearly a length down, and the deficit was being reduced; a good race was still likely. We were, however, finding the side wind difficult, and the technical skill of the crew was not sufficient to cope; the water was attacked from a height and not perfectly in time. Disaster struck just before Fawley, when a seat came off its runners; after two or three hesitant strokes, the crew got going again, but the fire had gone out of them, rhythm had been destroyed and speed lost. A few strokes later, the seat became more solidly jammed and it took some time to get straight again. Over two lengths had been lost, but the crew got back to work with commendable determination; they could not catch the Bedford crew, who could see our troubles developing, and were naturally rowing with some confidence.