march 2009 - Fitzwilliam College - University of Cambridge

The Goat perspective
What a fabulous day it was to be on the river, enjoying
the most perfect weather, and thankfully free of all
masochistic tendencies such as ‘Baits Bite or Bust’. It
was so lovely on the water that undue exertion seemed
quite unnecessary, and thoughts of the Lotus Eaters
could be entertained. The river was heaving with Billy
boats, and we added to the spectacle with balletic
gyrations, entailing much activity from 2 and 4
whenever we had a rest – they never had a rest! The
Long Reach was as much as aged limbs could manage,
with frequent pauses and the aforesaid gyrations.
Considering that all bar two of us matriculated in
the 1950s, progress was commendably good.
The river is a great forger of bonds, and the annual
renewal of friendships at these events is always heartwarming.
Cox happily renewed his partnership with
his Stroke from 52 years ago. Friends for life.
GEOFF HARRISON (1955)
Reunion Rowing – Veterans
In the fine weather of a late September day the Veterans’
reunion row commenced in suitably relaxed fashion.
By two-thirty there were enough Fitzwilliam old boys
of middle age to propel both a IV and an VIII along the
Cam. However, with the one person willing and able
to cox having headed off with the IV and the idea of a
coxless VIII being dismissed pretty quickly, the eight
remaining rowers had to come up with another plan
to satisfy our appetite to re-live part of our youth. With
the realisation that Geoff Harrison was happily tucking
into his lunch in the Nines boathouse after coxing the
over-60s crew in the morning, our plan was formed:
determined to get out on the water, we sent our best
negotiator to convince Geoff that stepping in to cox
for the second time that day really was a good idea.
After some intense negotiation (and the emergence of
sandwiches to fuel the Veterans’ crew) Geoff emerged
from the Nines, kitbag in hand, ready to save the day.
Within minutes, and as if in answer to Geoff ’s
prayers to be reunited with his lunch, the Churchill
old boy and current Tideway cox Trevor Cave appeared.
With Fitzwilliam able to muster six crews and Churchill
unable to produce a single reunion crew it seemed only
fair to allow Trevor to take charge of our outing as
planned. As soon as Trevor took control the relaxed
atmosphere changed and we were down to business;
before we knew it, the boat was in the water and we were
pushing off on the uncannily clean waters of the Cam.
The focus of our outing had now moved from
relaxation and enjoyment to proving that we still had
winning spirit within us – and the legs to back it up.
After a traditional warm-up we were in the swing of
things and by the time Chesterton Footbridge was in
view all eight were paddling with more than a modicum
1 If you are interested in alumni rowing and would like more
information, please contact Adrian Tollett c/o Fitzwilliam
Development Office.
of balance between strokes. With a bit more power on
down the Long Reach the crew was really starting to
come together. A quick blast to First Post Corner and a
few practice starts later we were ready to race. Since the
completely impartial draw had resulted in the Veterans’
VIII rowing against the winner of the race between Fitz
Recent Graduates VIII and Selwyn mixed VIII, a short
period of rest at the end of the Long Reach seemed
appropriate; we were able to relax again in the sun and
to satisfy the curiosity of the passing scullers as to what
was going on.
With the Fitz Recent Graduates returning victorious
it was time for the Veterans to prove that our power
could last another 500m of full race pressure. Side by
side with the Recent Graduates and with over 20 years
average age gap the Veterans were treated to a couple
of seconds head start. Ten strokes in and the practice
starts had clearly paid off, with our confidence building
(and maybe that this was the second race of the day
for the Recent Graduates!) we were able to open up a
convincing lead and produce a clear win by the railway
bridge. The result was in no small part due to the expert
coxing from Trevor who gave the encouragement and
coaching required to get the boat moving quickly.
Basking in the glory of our victory the row back
to the boathouse was smooth and controlled with
only one interruption. This was to admire the new
Cambridge Riverside Bridge – although one eighth
of the crew had a hand in its creation, most of us had
not noticed it during our warm-up. Racing victory and
modern bridge design – was there no end to the talents
of this fine body of men!
On return to the boathouse the benefit of the new
sliding boat racks was evident to the crew as we hung
up our oars for another year 1 . With the boat safely back
in the boathouse Trevor excelled himself by producing
some bubbly to celebrate with and round off a perfect
reunion row.
ALAN ALCOCK (1988)
Veterans: Jonathan Price, Bow; Alan Alcock, 2; Robert Doe,
3; Paul Roach, 4; Brian Smith, 5; Dan George,
6; Mark Taylor, 7; Ben Booth, Stroke; Trevor Cave, Cox
65