Beetle Blue, Goddesses Too

Trial VIIIs

^{Words: Tom Ransley / Photos: Benedict Tufnell}

Nerves were fraying from the get-go on the first day of Trial VIIIs, and not just those of the athletes. Race organisers closely monitored the bitingly cold weather as thick, low fog shrouded the 4.17 mile Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. Visibility steadily improved and the fog lifted in time for the two Oxford University Women’s Boat Club (OUWBC) crews (named after the Greek goddesses Artemis and Athena) to take their positions beneath Putney Bridge. Flat water, still conditions and around 20 minutes of pain awaited them.

Oxford Women

Artemis, racing in white, had the better of the two starts. A minute into the race they find themselves a canvas up on Athena. Striking a pip higher than her opposite number Juliet Russell, the stroke of Artemis, leads her crew into the first bend, which favours the Middlesex station as it swings around Fulham Football Club’s Craven Cottage. On the Surrey station, Athena maintains composure, her stern pair combination, Sarah Marshall and Maria Nielsen-Scott work well to establish a strong rhythm. Lacking traction through the water, Artemis is a shade whisky. Their form was less swept and more scuttle. The two crews are still side by side at the Mile Post but Artemis’ early lead has evaporated. Athena is on the hunt. As the crews track along Crabtree Reach, Athena makes her move. It is a decisive one.

Sudden death for Artemis. They lose contact at Harrods Depository and haemorrhage another length of clear water by Hammersmith Bridge. Now cox, Tara Slade, has a free run at the best line, classically beneath the second lamppost, which she duly takes. What follows is a processional run to the finish with cox Alannah Burdess providing material for commentators Martin Cross and Phelan Hill, as she strays towards Surrey and temporarily switches stations, perhaps to avoid the puddles of those in front. Athena crosses the finish line at Chiswick in a time of 19 minutes 24 seconds, Artemis follows five lengths back.

“The coxes are here to learn how to steer and knowing where you want to be is critically important on this piece of water.”

Afterwards, OUWBC Head Coach Andy Nelder admitted a closer race would have been his preference. “You’d like a long hard, bloodbath of a race,” said Nelder but it was a far cry “from being a waste of time”. He suggested the margin might have been tighter had Artemis steered a better line in the first half. “If people aren’t quite in the right place, then that’s obviously going to be a problem. The whole race was a bit towards Middlesex. The Surrey crew pretty much got to go wherever they wanted, and the Middlesex crew ended up going further and in less than ideal water i.e., out of the stream. That’s not the whole story but it counts for something. The coxes are here to learn how to steer and knowing where you want to be is critically important on this piece of water. If you are a little bit wrong, it can cost you.” Nevertheless, Nelder considers the race useful and even suggested he might schedule an unofficial re-run in the New Year.

Oxford Men

Less than an hour later it is the turn of the Oxford men. As Wedge in white and Beetle in blue (named after The Wedge and Beetle, a riverside restaurant local to Oxford University Boat Club) drift to the start, the bow pair of Wedge sneak a couple of extra taps to edge their boat in front.

Every savvy bowman tries it, but no luck this time. Protest and justice swiftly follow. Wild gesticulations, worthy of a West End stage or Christmas panto, come from Beetle’s stern pair: James Forward and Jean Philippe-Dufour, imploring the umpire, Tony Reynolds. OUBC Head Coach Sean Bowden bellows from the tin fish coaching launch, admonishing his athletes for their sneaky tapping. A tense encounter brews.

Realigned and ready to go, both coxes lower their hands, and Reynolds drops the flag. They’re off. Immediately, the boats begin to converge and umpire warnings are given, the first of which is directed at Beetle. Louis Corrigan responds and, despite the correction, Beetle are half a canvas up. Both crews whip around Craven Cottage, Beetle are a pip lower on the rate and the smoother of the two. They tear up the straight and Reynolds is on the megaphone again, a big collision is narrowly avoided. Corrigan is forced hard on the rudder. Wedge has overturned their early deficit and are applying pressure.

“Until the crab it was a close race and that’s always what you want to see.”

Approaching the Mile Post there’s heavy blade contact and a flash of white water as Beetle’s bowsiders get a rigger-dip-dunking. Beetle come out worse, but rally well. A somewhat stunned looking Wedge stretch their lead and still have the big Surrey advantage ahead of them. As Hammersmith Bridge beckons, cox Tobias Bernard positions Wedge well in the stream, his crew enjoy half a length over Beetle, but Beetle’s Canadian strokeman Alex Bebb is proving hard to shake off. Bernard delivers a tactical ‘turn and burn’ despite warnings from the umpire: “Wedge take the turn”.

Wedge seem incapable of snapping the elastic, squashing Beetle and breaking free. Beetle persists as Bebb bats out 35.5 strokes per minute. Chasing past Chiswick Eyot, the momentum shifts and Beetle crawls into contention: there are some tired bodies waning in the middle of Wedge. More clashing ensues as the coxes fight for the stream and then as Barnes Bridge comes into view a decisive clash effectively ends the contest.

Wedge’s bowman Andrew Wakefield connects with Bebb’s blade twice before catching a boatstopping crab. Wakefield recovers speedily but it still gifts Beetle seven strokes of inaction, easily worth a length of clear water. Beetle are unimpeded for the remainder of the course, crossing the finish line in a time of 17:06, two lengths ahead of Wedge. “The important bit is that both crews were evenly matched. Until the crab it was a close race and that’s always what you want to see,” said OUBC President and Trial VIIIs winner Tassilo von Mueller. His coach echoed a similar sentiment.

“Although it was likely Beetle would carry on and win, there was still good fight and energy left in Wedge. I think they would have battled hard all the way to the line and perhaps kept the margin down,” said Bowden. He was pleased with Trials VIIIs which he sees as a “Stimulus to accelerated learning; getting people motivated to make change and produce good performances”. Next the team will return to Oxford for further testing as Bowden unearths his 2023 Blue Boat.

Cambridge Women

On the second day of Trial VIIIs, snow replaces fog, but aside from the icy-cold air conditions are great for racing and the Tideway grants another day of flat water. The Light Blue women are the first to take to the water. Their crew names reference football legends Megan Rapinoe, a US World Cup winner, and England’s Women’s Euro 2022 winner Beth Mead, both strong advocates for women’s sport.

A slick start sees Mead establish an early lead. Inside the first two minutes Sam Clark’s crew snatch two thirds of a length on Rapinoe but umpire Matt Smith is already warning the green-haired cox for his line. Unflappable, Rapinoe hold their ground. They dig-in and limit the damage. The margin remains unchanged despite the Fulham bend. Ragged, rugged and racy, Rapinoe refuse to yield and they set light to the Crabtree Reach, rating 36. Mead settled lower and their smooth, consistent rhythm is in stark contrast to their steering. “Move Mead!” Smith commands Clark before the two crews clash in front of Harrods Depository and again beyond Hammersmith Bridge.

Around their Surrey bend, Rapinoe elbow themselves out to almost a length’s lead before Mead veers into them again, this time with unquestionable consequences. As her blade clashes with Rapinoe’s strokewoman, Rosa Millard, Vera Kunz catches a huge boat-stopper. Momentarily pinned prone beneath her oar handle, Kunz struggles in vain to unhook the blade. A futile wrestle – painfully slow – eventually sees her regain control of the oar but Rapinoe are long gone.

At the request of Head Coach Paddy Ryan, Smith red flags the race and restarts the crews on equal terms with about 1.25 miles remaining. Again, Mead has the cleaner, quicker start but they settle perilously low. Likewise, Rapinoe’s cast-iron tenacity is clear to see, punching out a highrating, high-energy output around the outside of the final bend. Another heart-in-the-mouth moment as the two crews seem in danger of converging as they scramble through Barnes Bridge. Here, Mead has two thirds of a length on Rapinoe.

It should be a done deal but it isn’t. Rapinoe claw their way back around the outside of the bend. With a mere handful of strokes left before the finish, it looks like Mead will hang on. Both crews cross the line, exhausted and delighted in equal measure, not by the result, which they are yet to discover, but by their collective efforts. “That was awesome. I’m so proud of you all,” an Aussie voice enthuses. It belongs to Coach Ryan who is ecstatic. Smith makes the call: six inches to Rapinoe.

“It was so good! With the finish as close as it was – that was such an exciting opportunity to have deeply dedicated matched crews,” says Isabelle Bastian, six seat of Rapinoe. “I think our coxswain [Kate Crowley] called it really well. Again, it was just grittiness from both boats to not let anyone get a lot of traction. It happened that we were on the surge right at the line. It was bowball to bowball. Full credit to both crews for driving it. I’m sure everyone was in deep pain; I know I was.”

Cambridge Men

Launching themselves into the race at over 40 strokes per minute, the Cambridge men’s crews named Experience (racing on Surrey) and Youth both deliver clean starts. Racing on Middlesex, with his brother in the seven seat, cox Jasper Parish incurs an early warning from umpire Tony Reynolds. Youth takes a one seat margin as the two crews shoot the end of the Fulham wall and into the first bend. Passing the apex, the first clash comes, as the rival coxes battle for the racing line.

From the Mile Post through to Harrods, Experience lag Youth by half to three-quarters of a length, both crews striking 36 strokes per minute. Youth strokeman Luca Ferraro sets a fine rhythm for his crew to follow. There is another tangle of blades as Ollie Boyne and Parish tussle for position in sight of Hammersmith Bridge. The former St Paul’s student, Parish, delivers Youth directly beneath the infamous second lamppost while Boyne is forced towards the Surrey bank following umpire Reynolds’ warnings.

Experience claw themselves back, but time on the inside of the big Surrey bend is fast running out. “Youth! Do not cut the corner!” Reynolds flags Parish for his attempts to diminish their disadvantage. The coxes tread a perilously fine line as Light Blue blade tips flirt and mingle above the fastest water. Both crews slip to 35.5 strokes per minute and Experience unlock a better rhythm as they pass Chiswick Eyot. As the Surrey bend ends the margin remains. Experience have the uncomfortable knowledge that the remaining Middlesex bend favours Youth. Yet Youth cannot shake Experience. It is a gritty performance from both sides. Winning Blue Seb Benzecry rallies his Experience teammates from five seat, as they hang on through Barnes Bridge, meanwhile the Parish brothers are pushing to break open the race. Calm and consistent, Ferraro is forging a path to the finish but Youth are not quite in control. It is do or die time for Experience. They bravely throw everything they have left onto the oars, launching an out and out sprint finish desperately early.

“There are points where it has got a bit heated between crews.”

On the charge, Experience steal back three seats: two hard jinks of the rudder for Youth as opposing blades slap against one another again. On the line, there’s barely half a length separating the two eights, but Youth hold on for victory. Following 17 minutes of total physical effort, the crews pull alongside in a show of squad camaraderie. Handshakes, hugs, and smiles. A fitting end to the first half of the season.

“It is a great thing to be able to do, to cross the finish line and put it all aside and come together,” said CUBC men’s President Ollie Boyne. “Having been here for four years it is just very ingrained. It is competitive, there are points where it has got a bit heated between crews but we very much know what the real goal is; the second we finish it is right back to one squad pushing to win the Boat Race.”