77 races today, 77 crews all done. Plenty of room in the boat tent now!
The bulk of the racing over the past two days has been in the four events with the full subscription of 32 crews: the Thames Cup for club eights, Temple Cup for school/college eights, Princess Elizabeth Cup for schoolboy eights, and the Wyfold Cup for club fours without coxswain. Now there are eight crews left in each event, all of competitive standard. Racing should be exciting over the next three days. All the spying, scouting, time comparisons, posturing, and strategy will yield nothing without fitness, skill, and most importantly, courage. Bring on the courage!
While crews in the four events above really get their money's worth, with five races needed to win a Cup, crews in the events with the highest standard race only once (Queen Mother 4X, Stewards 4-) or twice (Grand Challenge 8+). Doesn't seem right! The women elite rowers get to work tomorrow, with the 8+s of the Remenham Cup, 4xs of the Princess Grace Cup, and the 1xs of the Princess Royal Cup in action for the first of three possible races.
I don't know the crews in all events well enough to know what results may be upsets, but come from behind wins always impress. In the Temple Cup, Proteus-Eretes' battle with Bristol was outstanding, as was Aquirre Barco's push through Thomas in the Diamond sculls.
The most impressive rowing I saw today was the Shrewsbury School's P.E. eight easily cruising along at 29 spm, sending their boat through the water with flowing aggression. There are some powerhouse PE crews remaining, many from the US, that may be able to challenge Shrewsbury, but...
The Henley course, though beautiful with its posts and booms, does not provide the easiest of conditions to row upon. Wakes and swells from the river traffic and Umpire launches roil the water, whose surface bounces about all day. Single scullers have the hardest time, and to row a strong, continuous rhythm through the slop requires real skill.
T.H.Graves of the Bantam Rowing Club was dealing well with sloppy water to lead his heat of the Diamond Sculls. As Mr. Graves approached the enclosures, an Umpire's launch moved onto the course from the finish end, as is the normal procedure, on its way to start a future race. The Umpire's launches typically move through a gap in the booms a few hundred meters from the finish, so as to avoid conflict with races in progress, and a course worker stationed at that point closes the gap with a moveable boom. This launch seemed to be much too close to the race, and I doubted whether it and its wake could clear the course before the racers were upon it. I should have given the launch driver more credit, as he undoubtedly knew what he was doing. And in fact, all was well, as the launch made it to the gap, the sliding boom closed the hole, and the wake cleared Graves' scull by, oh, maybe ten feet! Mr. Graves was a member of the Temple Cup winning Trinity College crew of last year.
Something I can't explain: Above every urinal and posted in every toilet stall within the Competitor's dressing area is the admonition “NOW WASH YOUR HANDS”. Clearly, that is good advice and promotes health and hygiene. Why then are there no such signs in any bathroom within the Steward's Enclosure? Does the Regatta not care as much for the health of the Stewards and their guests as they do the competitors? Or do they think that the Stewards and their guests do not need the reminding as much as the burly competitors do?
And it is well known that the Stewards regulate the hem length of women's dresses to fall below the knee, yet there is clearly no regulation concerning the location of necklines. This is an observation, not a complaint.
Cheers,
Foreign Correspondent Roock
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|