The Henley Qualifiers a good row from the four although, ultimately a lack of fitness was to let it down. Even so, the crew beat several others but with 25 crews racing for 8 places, final qualification proved to be a challenge 12 seconds too great. The experience, was valuable, however, providing an insight into the time required to make a Cardinals Henley crew viable. A critical lesson which contributed to the schedule for, and subsequent success of, the Thames Cup crew at Henley 2000.