OMs 1998
The editor received a steady stream of news by email during the year. A selection is repeated here.
Rupert Davies:
We had a successful year at Kingston University Boat Club. This will be my third year rowing for the club. I'm working at the moment doing my year placement in Kingston University so I will be able to row for the club again this year. Small boats season: I rowed in a pair. Last year we won Kingston small boats head S2. Unfortunately my pairs partner was ill for Tiffin Head.
We then reluctantly moved into the eight in preparation for the Eights Head where we came a disappointing 123rd. We also won college eights at Kingston Head. From the eight the top four moved into the coxed four which we did for BUSA where we got a bronze medal in the championship fours category.
We also won S2 at Docklands Regatta and had to pull out from the Sunday where we would have raced S1 with a good chance of winning.
At Henley we beat Molesey A crew but got knocked out by Thames Tradesman after leading with clear water by half way. This was in the Britannia cup which Rowley won with Brookes. It's good to Steve Williams doing so well.
Im also trying to get a Boat Club web page up and running at the moment.
Nathan Horner:
Just before the Tideway we seat raced and I was put in the 1st VIII only to be told at 6am 3 days later that it was a mistake.... so I ended up stroking a lack lustre (in my opinion very gutless) 2nd VIII. [Nathan told a long and sad tale about seat-racing - a cruel sport if ever there was one! - Ed.] Our initial senior squad was 45 people - there were 6 remaining at the end of the season!
I notice that no Monktonians are coming to Nottingham.... shame.
Charlie Bennett:
Its good to hear from Alex that he got in to the Pair for the World champs. I spoke to him a few days after Nottingham.
Well, do you remember I said that I had written that poem about rowing for the Bluefriars. . Theres no better time than now,
The Passing
The balance of life at your fingertips,
a delicate touch, slightly here or slightly there,
perfect harmony remains just out of reach,
but yet we strive for it.
An arrow is shot, and with it slicing of water,
the incredible heave is underway,
then as sudden as it comes it goes with a thud,
and as the zombies awake a blow of wind creates disorder in the air.
The spaced yet constant uproar slowly fades into the distance,
leaving nothing but the arrow head imprinted on the once undisturbed glassy surface.
James Nickless:
As promised, a brief resum of what I am up to. After working for a year in a hotel I am now here at Warwick doing maths and enjoying it. I joined the boat club last term and after a year off the water and out of training took a while getting back into it. After crew selection was carried out I was put in the 7 seat but the stroke man walked out due to work pressure. As a result we had no real natural strokes so it was decided that we bow-rig the boat and I was put in the stroke seat, despite never having stroked in my life. We had one outing in this order before we went to Stourport so it was nice to race Monkton in my first competition for a year and a half and win Senior 2! Although it is fairly scrappy at the moment, the crew have huge amounts of determination and commitment. That then, that is the story of my life, so far!!
Graham Mills:
I thought you might like some information/results of OM rowing from the British University Championships.
BUSA Results
Rowley Douglas Gold Medal -Championship Eights (Brookes)
Ed Hodgson Gold Medal - Junior Eights (Brookes). Captain of Brookes for 1998-9.
Graham Mills Gold Medal - Junior Eights (Brookes)
James Nickless Silver Medal - Junior Eights (Warwick 1st VIII)
Will Dalton Bronze Medal - Novice Fours (Leeds)
Nathan Horner Championship Eights (Nottingham 1st VIII)
Anthony Prince Championship Eights (Nottingham 1st VIII)
Here is a list of what OMs at Brookes are doing !
Ed Hodgson - Mens senior squad (Temple squad)
Steve Williams - Mens senior squad. Great Britain Senior Trials
Graham Mills - Mens senior squad (Temple squad) Great Britain Under 23 Trials
Rowley Douglas - Great Britain Trials
Jeremy Morris (after making four bumps for Caius in the Mays)
Yes, it was quite good all round; a bit close on Saturday, but they claim they were never really frightened. My second blade; not particularly deserved, we were placed well below where we should have been. If we hadn't allowed the Rugby and MCR boats to race (they almost didnt qualify) then it would have been 100% record.
Im off to Alaska with my bike to do some cycling (not quite as ambitious as Hepworth)
I saw in Regatta that a Mr BeRwick had been given an award; congratulate him for me. [Thanks - I'm not sure what it was for - just for being around rather a long time, I think. Editor]
Grace St John
I joined the boat club last term and have regretted it ever since! The training here is rather intense, in fact every day bar one I have some form of rowing, whether on the water or on land, it never ends! Im in the senior squad (no I havent grown.. yet!) and its a lot of fun. We basically got a fairly good eight together now. I know we plan to row at Womens Henley.
(Some months later) I've had a funny season, started off rowing, then at Easter, while riding my bike off to the gym to do an ergo, I fell off and broke my arm!! so I ended up coxing. I actually quite enjoyed it.
I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about rowing in Egypt because I'm going there on my year abroad, namely Alexandria, so any news would be welcome.
Angus Whitfield [Not an OM, but JMB's godson, and son of our hosts at Henley for the past few years]
We completed our row from Lechlade to Teddington in roughly 28hrs 55mins. Sorry I haven't posted anything earlier, been sleeping!!
We set off at 5am from Lechlade (90mins later that hoped), and made good progress along the relatively few straight passages from Lechlade to Oxford. However, there were some horrendous bends which, together with the overhanging trees, makes it quite frustrating.
Problems came between Abingdon and Wallingford where we were clobbered by a very strong midday sun, and had to stop for longer than planned at Wallingford to rehydrate. From then on we made steady progress, but fell behind at some of the locks, especially once they stopped being manned.
We took on some hot food at Henley and then carried on (in the dark now), avoiding the drunkards and their launches alongside the Henley festival. Rowing in the dark was not the problem that one might think as our bowman was a veteran of 4 Devizes-Westminster races, and knew the river extremely well. However, he couldnt work out the double lock at Cookham, and we wasted a lot of time there (it cant be accessed by land at night).
After our final stop at Eton, the end was in sight (just less than one Boston marathons distance left to go!). However, the wait at Romney lock (Windsor) whilst trying to get it to work delayed and frustrated us.
The final stretches were a blur, but we discovered that full pressure was the only way to null the pain in our backsides. Godfrey seat-grips are very good, but 29hrs is a tall order. We cranked it up on the final 5 mile stretch from Molesey lock to Teddington, doing the final mile at 36 and winding to 40 at the end.
This ultra-marathon can be done, and it can be done quicker. We could have taken less time given an overcast day, and no delays at the locks. If anyone out there wants to have a go:
1) Get your head examined
2) Let me know and I'll give you all the ins and outs of the logistics behind it.
Thanks to everone who wished us well, I'm off to see my shrink now.
Zara Thompson (Girls Captain 94):
Zara has just graduated from De Montfort University with a joint honours degree in Sports Studies and Business Studies. She has been rowing for Star RC and is currently stroking their WS28+. The crew have had a very successful season with many wins and an appearance at Women's Henley. In addition to this, she has been coaching J14 and J15 girls at Star with her 3 crews all reaching the finals (1 crew winning a bronze) at the National Championships. She has also had coaching attachments at Bedford School and Dame Alice Harpur School. She recently started a PGCE Physical Education course at Homerton College, Cambridge, and she plans to combine teaching at a school with her coaching.
OMs 1998
The editor received a steady stream of news by email during the year. A selection is repeated here.
Rupert Davies:
We had a successful year at Kingston University Boat Club. This will be my third year rowing for the club. I'm working at the moment doing my year placement in Kingston University so I will be able to row for the club again this year. Small boats season: I rowed in a pair. Last year we won Kingston small boats head S2. Unfortunately my pairs partner was ill for Tiffin Head.
We then reluctantly moved into the eight in preparation for the Eights Head where we came a disappointing 123rd. We also won college eights at Kingston Head. From the eight the top four moved into the coxed four which we did for BUSA where we got a bronze medal in the championship fours category.
We also won S2 at Docklands Regatta and had to pull out from the Sunday where we would have raced S1 with a good chance of winning.
At Henley we beat Molesey A crew but got knocked out by Thames Tradesman after leading with clear water by half way. This was in the Britannia cup which Rowley won with Brookes. It's good to Steve Williams doing so well.
Im also trying to get a Boat Club web page up and running at the moment.
Nathan Horner:
Just before the Tideway we seat raced and I was put in the 1st VIII only to be told at 6am 3 days later that it was a mistake.... so I ended up stroking a lack lustre (in my opinion very gutless) 2nd VIII. [Nathan told a long and sad tale about seat-racing - a cruel sport if ever there was one! - Ed.] Our initial senior squad was 45 people - there were 6 remaining at the end of the season!
I notice that no Monktonians are coming to Nottingham.... shame.
Charlie Bennett:
Its good to hear from Alex that he got in to the Pair for the World champs. I spoke to him a few days after Nottingham.
Well, do you remember I said that I had written that poem about rowing for the Bluefriars. . Theres no better time than now,
The Passing
The balance of life at your fingertips,
a delicate touch, slightly here or slightly there,
perfect harmony remains just out of reach,
but yet we strive for it.
An arrow is shot, and with it slicing of water,
the incredible heave is underway,
then as sudden as it comes it goes with a thud,
and as the zombies awake a blow of wind creates disorder in the air.
The spaced yet constant uproar slowly fades into the distance,
leaving nothing but the arrow head imprinted on the once undisturbed glassy surface.
James Nickless:
As promised, a brief resum of what I am up to. After working for a year in a hotel I am now here at Warwick doing maths and enjoying it. I joined the boat club last term and after a year off the water and out of training took a while getting back into it. After crew selection was carried out I was put in the 7 seat but the stroke man walked out due to work pressure. As a result we had no real natural strokes so it was decided that we bow-rig the boat and I was put in the stroke seat, despite never having stroked in my life. We had one outing in this order before we went to Stourport so it was nice to race Monkton in my first competition for a year and a half and win Senior 2! Although it is fairly scrappy at the moment, the crew have huge amounts of determination and commitment. That then, that is the story of my life, so far!!
Graham Mills:
I thought you might like some information/results of OM rowing from the British University Championships.
BUSA Results
Rowley Douglas Gold Medal -Championship Eights (Brookes)
Ed Hodgson Gold Medal - Junior Eights (Brookes). Captain of Brookes for 1998-9.
Graham Mills Gold Medal - Junior Eights (Brookes)
James Nickless Silver Medal - Junior Eights (Warwick 1st VIII)
Will Dalton Bronze Medal - Novice Fours (Leeds)
Nathan Horner Championship Eights (Nottingham 1st VIII)
Anthony Prince Championship Eights (Nottingham 1st VIII)
Here is a list of what OMs at Brookes are doing !
Ed Hodgson - Mens senior squad (Temple squad)
Steve Williams - Mens senior squad. Great Britain Senior Trials
Graham Mills - Mens senior squad (Temple squad) Great Britain Under 23 Trials
Rowley Douglas - Great Britain Trials
Jeremy Morris (after making four bumps for Caius in the Mays)
Yes, it was quite good all round; a bit close on Saturday, but they claim they were never really frightened. My second blade; not particularly deserved, we were placed well below where we should have been. If we hadn't allowed the Rugby and MCR boats to race (they almost didnt qualify) then it would have been 100% record.
Im off to Alaska with my bike to do some cycling (not quite as ambitious as Hepworth)
I saw in Regatta that a Mr BeRwick had been given an award; congratulate him for me. [Thanks - I'm not sure what it was for - just for being around rather a long time, I think. Editor]
Grace St John
I joined the boat club last term and have regretted it ever since! The training here is rather intense, in fact every day bar one I have some form of rowing, whether on the water or on land, it never ends! Im in the senior squad (no I havent grown.. yet!) and its a lot of fun. We basically got a fairly good eight together now. I know we plan to row at Womens Henley.
(Some months later) I've had a funny season, started off rowing, then at Easter, while riding my bike off to the gym to do an ergo, I fell off and broke my arm!! so I ended up coxing. I actually quite enjoyed it.
I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about rowing in Egypt because I'm going there on my year abroad, namely Alexandria, so any news would be welcome.
Angus Whitfield [Not an OM, but JMB's godson, and son of our hosts at Henley for the past few years]
We completed our row from Lechlade to Teddington in roughly 28hrs 55mins. Sorry I haven't posted anything earlier, been sleeping!!
We set off at 5am from Lechlade (90mins later that hoped), and made good progress along the relatively few straight passages from Lechlade to Oxford. However, there were some horrendous bends which, together with the overhanging trees, makes it quite frustrating.
Problems came between Abingdon and Wallingford where we were clobbered by a very strong midday sun, and had to stop for longer than planned at Wallingford to rehydrate. From then on we made steady progress, but fell behind at some of the locks, especially once they stopped being manned.
We took on some hot food at Henley and then carried on (in the dark now), avoiding the drunkards and their launches alongside the Henley festival. Rowing in the dark was not the problem that one might think as our bowman was a veteran of 4 Devizes-Westminster races, and knew the river extremely well. However, he couldnt work out the double lock at Cookham, and we wasted a lot of time there (it cant be accessed by land at night).
After our final stop at Eton, the end was in sight (just less than one Boston marathons distance left to go!). However, the wait at Romney lock (Windsor) whilst trying to get it to work delayed and frustrated us.
The final stretches were a blur, but we discovered that full pressure was the only way to null the pain in our backsides. Godfrey seat-grips are very good, but 29hrs is a tall order. We cranked it up on the final 5 mile stretch from Molesey lock to Teddington, doing the final mile at 36 and winding to 40 at the end.
This ultra-marathon can be done, and it can be done quicker. We could have taken less time given an overcast day, and no delays at the locks. If anyone out there wants to have a go:
1) Get your head examined
2) Let me know and I'll give you all the ins and outs of the logistics behind it.
Thanks to everone who wished us well, I'm off to see my shrink now.
Zara Thompson (Girls Captain 94):
Zara has just graduated from De Montfort University with a joint honours degree in Sports Studies and Business Studies. She has been rowing for Star RC and is currently stroking their WS28+. The crew have had a very successful season with many wins and an appearance at Women's Henley. In addition to this, she has been coaching J14 and J15 girls at Star with her 3 crews all reaching the finals (1 crew winning a bronze) at the National Championships. She has also had coaching attachments at Bedford School and Dame Alice Harpur School. She recently started a PGCE Physical Education course at Homerton College, Cambridge, and she plans to combine teaching at a school with her coaching.