Tim Male writes:
Ahem, the details of the old blades is somewhat erroneous (apologies, Tony, if my spelling is incorrect). The Oratory Cardinals 4+ defeated Westminster in the heat after a re-row, but due to the odd nature of the Regatta, they formed a different crew and then raced the other side of the draw, racing with their original crew in the final, defeating us by half a length. Although we did give Hampton a damn good spanking.
We won the 2x+ of Ali Main, Andy Flood and myself, defeating the Vikings by a length and a half, albeit rating 24, as Ali had not done that much sculling. He was told the time honoured mantra "Don't pull, just put your blades in and take them out at the same time as Stroke." He passed the finish line having not broken sweat, saying "I see what you mean, I didn't pull hard for a stroke!" I had to wait a while before I could reply, as I was gasping for breath. All credit to him, though, if he had tried, we probably would have gone haywire and lost. And much credit has to be given to steersman Andy Flood, who took the bend well and kept us in the middle of the stream, ensuring us of a more comfortable bend.