Many will agree that the Nantes rowing camp becomes a trip that is never forgotten amongst Old Monktonians and undeniably becomes a highlight to all good times at Monkton. The 2005 trip turned out to be a definite triumph on all levels, not only from the rowing perspective but from a social and academic standpoint as well. Nantes has always been renowned to maintain the perfect balance between those three important aspects of Monkton education.
We left Portsmouth with only two eights and a pair, a total of 21 boys and 1 girl cox (with 1 spare boy cox). For the seniors, the main objective was to select the 1st VIII from the senior squad, made up of 10 upper and lower sixth form boys, so testing was continuous. The first day we were on the water in beautiful spring sunshine for up to 5 hours, so some of the time the mood was tense due to a combination of seat racing and 500 metre Ergo tests but with the awareness of crew members' limits and with understanding of individuals' characters the squad began to bond properly. After that, training only got tougher; we were on the water for up to 5 hours a day; hands bleeding, muscles aching, but finding the solid rhythm we hadn't achieved before. Technical fitness and progress were made and the crews began to "gel" together as a unit in a way that they had been unable to earlier in the season. Relishing so much time on the Erdre made the eights and the pair get better and better.
It is safe to say that the crews thoroughly enjoyed the training camp and as a result, it naturally built crewmanship and racing mentality. The water was not particularly helpful and at times, with the aid of cruel hail, it came close to sinking conditions, but despite this a lot of miles were covered and regatta fitness and a rate of striking were definitely achieved by the end of the final week. As for the academic side, 3 to 5 hours a day were reserved for revision and work, which became beneficial to all (including the exhausted coaches!).
Those who were more interested in the cultural side of the trip concluded their days speaking French and enjoying the city life that Nantes had to offer.