Over the time I have been at King's the standard of the men's first eight has consistently increased, possibly at the expense of the lower boats. I now have the difficult job of continuing the standard of the first boat in the face of only retaining three of the 1996 Mays crew, and also trying to turn around the lower boats. It is a task that I am sure has been tried many times before and I am certain is possible to achieve, hopefully not at the expense of my degree! Again Michaelmas term is crucial to the success of the Boat Club, both with coaching novices and oarsmen with an eye to the first and second boats for the Lent and May bumps.
My task is going to be made a lot easier by the support of the rest of the Committee, especially the Development Team that has done so well this past year in its dual efforts to involve past members of the Boat Club, and in raising funds. Their success will really make it easier to concentrate on what matters - producing results for the Boat Club, and the enjoyment and recognition that comes with gaining them.
Tim Granger
After the dissapointing results in the bumps a little consolation was
gained in the weeks following the bumps, when the stern pair of Mark Galle
and Matthias Hammer nearly achieved the double of winning the Magdalene
Silver Pairs and the Lowes Double Sculls. After winning the pairs event
without ever being seriously threatened, they narrowly lost the doubles to
the Downing stern pair by a canvas in an exciting final.
At Henley, King's entered the Temple Challenge Cup as a composite crew with
St. Catharine's and although they missed qualification by 4 seconds, they drew
comfort from the fact that they were the third fastest non-qualifier, beating
Pembroke, Emmanuel, Girton, Clare, Jesus, Wolfson and Queen's (from
Cambridge) and Corpus Christi, Christ Church, Jesus, St. Catherine's and Keble
(from Oxford) in the process.
Attention, set, go - and away they go with 'The Yellow Submarine' and 'Caterpillar' of Mr. Gordon Williams first out of the stakeboats, closely followed by 'St. Andrew' of Mr. Nicholas Bull. For a while those three have the race to themselves, but then 'Daredevil' of Mr. Gerard Arnhold comes charging through and by April has established a good lead. At this point, about half way through the race, it looks like 'Daredevil' will break clear of the opposition, when two new contestants, 'Claude' of the Debenham brothers and 'The Lady Johanna' of Dr. Paul Stonehart, enter the competition. 'Claude' immediately draws support from the spectators who join in to maintain his bid for victory, but 'The Lady Johanna' keeps putting herself back into the race by well-timed pushes at decisive moments. To the delight of KCBC, the race for the line between 'Claude' and 'The Lady Johanna' is becoming a true battle. Meanwhile, 'The Yellow Submarine' and 'Caterpillar', early and honourable leaders of the race, find the pace too great and succumb, presenting KCBC with a new Boat Club flag instead (see photo below). 'Daredevil' too drops out due to an unfortunate overseas absence of his crew at the crucial moment when 'Claude' and 'The Lady Johanna' go for their power tens. 'Daredevil's' absence allows 'St. Andrew' to stay in the competition, clinging on to third, whilst the race for the finish is really beginning to pick up between 'Claude' and 'The Lady Johanna'. A decisive push just before the line, breaks 'Claude's' resistance to see 'The Lady Johanna' through to victory, with 'Claude' not far behind and 'St. Andrew' coming in third. As the crews recover and names are painted on boats, it becomes clear that the true and delighted winner is KCBC with an unexpected, but greatly appreciated total raised.
The organisers of the auction and the Boat Club wish to thank those who took
part in the auction, and kept pushing despite the pain, to make KCBC the
true victor. Racing were (in alphabetical order) Mr. Gerard Arnhold,
Mr. Nicholas Bull, Sir Adrian Cadbury, Mr. Paul Court, Messrs.
Jeremy & Nicholas Debenham, Mr. John Field, Mr. M. H. Heycock,
Dr. Ronald Ingle, Mr. Edgar Leven, Dr. Paul Stonehart, Dr. Peter Summers,
Mr. Gordon Williams and three anonymous alumni.
The boat naming ceremony and champagne reception after the last race on Saturday saw some twenty alumni returning to their roots and three boats christened. The clinker scull was named 'St. Andrew' by Mr. Nicholas Bull after the parish the boathouse is in. In the absence of the main bidders (the Debenham brothers, Nicholas and Jeremy), Mr. John Field named the men's coxed four 'Claude' after the much-remembered boatman Claude Lester. Finally, Sir Adrian Cadbury named the men's first eight 'The Lady Johanna' on behalf of Dr. Paul Stonehart. This drew the obvious question from onlookers as to who the lady might be, to which the auction organisers could only reply that it was something of a mystery, but that the lady was evidently 'someone special'!
The focus of the events then shifted to the Front Lawn at King's where photographs where taken before proceeding into Hall for the traditional Bumps Supper where past and present members of the Boat Club celebrated together and engaged in a vigorous exchange of 'oars' yarn'.
Sunday morning saw the hardy attend the champagne breakfast where, as
one alumni put it, 'there was rather more champagne than breakfast'.
Finally, alumni and current members of the first eight met at the boathouse
for an eights outing in a mixed alumni/first eight crew in the glorious
sunshine, with at least one member of the crew evidently enjoying moving
an oar for the first time in 33 years in what can be described as a
surprisingly good paddle. (It has since been suggested that the outing
was so good, because the first eight stroke was put at bow by the Captain
and told to keep quiet - Ed.)
After watching King's row with enthusiasm, but regrettably without success, the first formal event centred around the naming of three boats at the boathouse in the early evening. Together, a strong presence from the present Boat Club, a gathering of former members, and an ample supply of champagne, ensured a distinguished and appropriate setting for the culmination of the boat names auction.
Phase Two of the Mays Events followed traditional lines and our hosts at the pre-dinner drinks, and the May Bumps Supper, ensured that alumni did not suffer from a lack of hospitality during the evening. Toast, fines, speeches and songs kept us alert (more or less) and fully participative.
By nine the next morning, the Captain, Mike Dell, was back in Hall again with more champagne and some orange juice, to seek to repair, or at least alleviate some of the previous evening's damage. Suitably fortified, a group of alumni and current Boat Club members rounded off the Events with an outing in an eight. With some of us not having rowed since going down 33 years ago, there perhaps should have been a doctor (and for added safety a clergyman) in the boat! However, the exercise engendered no ill effects in the crew, and concluded a very enjoyable weekend.
The efforts of the Development Team, and of course the Boat Club as a whole, really deserve our support. King's now has a superb new boat, an enormous amount of enthusiasm and I believe many who have rowed for the College in the past, would enjoy a renewal of this association at events which the Alumni Association will undoubtedly organise in the future.
In addition to past King's crews, we have been collating names of alumni who have represented the University in rowing or who have rowed at international level. These names will be painted on a board to be displayed in the Mays room at the boathouse, which we hope to unveil at the 1997 Mays Events. Also ongoing is the construction of full bumps charts, tracing the history of King's men and women's crews all of which we plan to distribute with the next issue of Henry's Eight.
Information on and/or donations of the following would be particularly
appreciated:
QMABC (women's) bumps results 1974-1989
Old bumps programmes
Photographs of your crews
Newspaper articles
Information on QMABC/KCBC Blues, Colours or Internationals.
Allison Bean, is a graduate student who rowed for the women's first eight
in 94/95 and is now the secretary & archivist of the Alumni Association
Also planned is a Christmas Alumni Dinner. Provided there is enough interest, this will be hosted by the Captains for the first time on Saturday, 7th December 1996 and is designed to bring alumni and alumni crews together at around Christmas (see the form provided at the end of this newsletter).
Please address comments and questions to:
The Newsletter Editor
King's College Boat Club
842 King's College
Cambridge CB2 1ST
Fax: 01223-331347
E-mail: kings-boatclub-request@lists.cam.ac.uk
Written contributions to Henry's Eight on any Boat Club topic would be
gratefully received and should be sent or faxed to the editor.
What happened to the President?
The same committee meeting that saw the name QMABC dropped, also relinquished
the post of President without replacement. The men and women were henceforth
headed by their Captains who now hold full decision-making authority for
their respective crews. Committee meetings are chaired by the Secretary,
and Boat Club dinners and functions are jointly hosted by the two Captains.
Decisions pertaining both clubs are made by the Committee, which also
retains the final say over matters concerning the whole of KCBC.
Steering Committee
Plans are under way to introduce a 'Steering Committee' of alumni which
would meet at least once a year and advise the present Committee and
maintain continuity in the face of the constant change of students. The
President's post may be resurrected as the Chairman of this Steering
Committee. The only prerequisite for membership of the Steering Committee
is a genuine interest in the Boat Club's affairs and fortunes, whilst the
Chairman should ideally live in the Cambridge area. Plans are in their
infancy and more details will be published in the near future, but
preliminary enquiries from alumni at this stage are encouraged and
very welcome.
If you are interested in joining the 'Steering Committee'
or would like to receive further information, please contact
The Development Team
King's College Boat Club
842 King's College
Cambridge CB2 1ST
Fax: 01223-331347
E-mail: kings-boatclub-request@lists.cam.ac.uk