During the Lent Term training was rather disrupted by providing replacements for members of the 1st VIII who were ill. Our first Head Race was at Avon County where we came 5th out of 6 against strong opposition from Cheltenham 1st VIII in two fours, Abingdon and King's Worcester. At the City of Bristol Head we won our category and came 3rd overall in the fours division losing by four seconds to the overall winners, Bath University.

When it came to regattas in the summer term, we had a much more settled crew. At Avon County we lost the first heat by a canvas and in the next heat came second by an even smaller distance. In the final we clashed blades with another crew at the start; this upset our cohesiveness, and we trailed in last. Our final regatta was at Reading Town where we were beaten by a strong Abingdon crew by 41/2 lengths, having led off the start but catching a crab in the final take home. It was very disappointing not having a 2nd VIII this year, but with smaller numbers at the top of the club it is something we will need to get used to from time to time. Also owing to table-tabled games we missed the esprit de corps and camaraderie which has been so important in the past at Monkton, and the friendly rivalry on the water between crews. Unfortunately most of our training outings were solo, with no opportunity to test our metal against Colts or other crews.