18:54 – Merton get their bump! They return to Division I for the first time in 45 years! Unsurprisingly, Oriel conclude the day at the other end, eyeing up headship for the second year running.
18:52 – Oriel cruises by without a care in the world. New improve to catch Balliol, and Merton and Wadham are engaged in a slugfest for the last spot in Division I tomorrow.
18:47 – Hot start! Wolfson make light work of Christ Church, Pembroke also get an early bump on Keble.
18:42 – 5 minute gun has gone off [apparently?]
18:24 – Lincoln bump Johns and Magdalen bump Oriel. New unlucky not to get out of Division II today, but will be keen to give it another go with John’s in front of the potential sandwich boat tomorrow.
18:23 – Balliol bump Teddy Hall – the latter falls another step after being bumped yesterday.
18:23 – UNIV CONCEDE HEADSHIP TO WADHAM! Wadham get their title, let’s hope they retain it this time.
18:22 – Christ Church concede to Pembroke! They get their bump after losing it yesterday. Wadham closing in on Univ slowly.
18:21 – They’re off!
18:20 – 1 minute gun is finally fired.
18:14 – Race delayed.
18:10 – 5 minute gun goes off for Women’s Division I.
18:06 – In anticipation of Women’s Division I yesterday, it’s worth mentioning that after a successful appeal from Univ yesterday, there’s been movement in the top four after the race ended. Starting at the head of the river will be Univ, with Wadham chasing them, and Christ Church behind Wadham due to a penalty bump. Pembroke’s bump on Univ is thus rescinded, and they’ll return to fourth.
17:49 – Oriel pulling hard, but Lincoln edge away in the nick of time!
17:48 – Hugh’s applying the squeeze to Jesus – half a length the gap!
17:47 – LMH concedes to Merton!
17:46 – LMH first out of the gut, followed keenly by Merton.
17:45 – They’re off! Oriel closing on Lincoln, and pulling away from John’s. Exeter rapidly closing in on Queen’s.
17:44 – 1 minute gun goes off, all on time for Men’s Division II.
17:40 – 5 minute gun has gone for Men’s Division II. At the same time, representatives from Wolfson, Christ Church, Univ and Linacre are called for a Division III dispute…
17:22 – LMH tickle a houseboat near the end, but with a monumental lead over Peter’s, it’s ultimately inconsequential.
17:20 – Merton bump Mansfield, leaving Peter’s as the last racing crew after securing the position of sandwich boat earlier in the day.
17:19 – Somerville bump Catz.
17:18 – Exeter follow Green Templeton out of the gut, which means that Linacre have bumped Anne’s.
17:17 – Jesus the first crew out of the gut, but concede soon after to New.
17:16 – Mansfield find themselves on the wrong side of the river already…
16:54 – Anne’s comfortably cruise through to the end, Somerville will need to have another go tomorrow.
16:53 – With just moments to spare, Green Templeton leaned out of the racing line to try and escape but it isn’t enough! Pembroke bump them at the very end.
16:52 – Pembroke closing on Green Templeton at the death, is it too late?
16:51 – Two to three lengths between Somerville and Anne’s, the latter with a lot of clear water in front of them as New bump Corpus.
16:51 – Peter’s bump Mansfield, leaving Brasenose alone at the head of the race.
16:49 – Brasenose first out of the gut, a length up on Mansfield, Mansfield only a quarter of a length ahead of Peter’s.
16:48 – Univ M2 bump Christ Church M2.
16:48 – Men’s Division III underway.
16:47 – One minute gun goes off.
16:42 – Peter’s announced the sandwich boat for Women’s Division II, but representatives from both Peter’s and Trinity have been called for a penalty bump consideration. Still no five minute gun for Men’s Division III, likely due to some of the traffic still moving up and down the course at the time of writing.
16:25 – Just Oriel and Pembroke are still racing, but Pembroke look strong as the rhythm from Oriel falters, and row over once again.
16:24 – Hilda’s concede to Univ.
16:23 – Worcester concede to Brasenose! Queen’s given a life after their embrace with nature.
16:21 – After Queen’s collide with a tree, Worcester start closing in, but Brasenose are hot on their heels.
16:20 – Trinity concede to Peter’s: Peter’s will be sandwich boat for Division II, chasing Somerville.
16:19 – Corpus concede to Hugh’s!
16:19 – Gun sounds and Women’s Division III begins.
16:15 – Delay in the start as a kayak is asked to move.
16:13 – Appeal removed: Somerville will still be the sandwich boat for Division III.
16:10 – 5 minute gun fired before Women’s Division III.
16:09 – Representatives called from Somerville, Balliol and Hilda’s to have a complaint reviewed ahead of Division III later.
15:52 – Reuben secure an overbump to bump for the second time today, catching Peter’s after Merton catch Magdalen.
15:50 – Hertford have bumped Teddy in Men’s Division IV, and Balliol are bumped by Hilda’s, giving Somerville some breathing room at the surge.
15:29 – After Magdalen fail to turn up in time for Women’s Division IV, Wadham were left chasing Oriel, but the latter had it’s target set on Christ Church. Although Christ Church survived for some time, Oriel’s hard line took them straight into the side of the Division leader, forcing the physical bump. Reuben bump Hertford to continue their run, Keble bump Brasenose, Worcester bump Lincoln, and Wadham are awarded a penalty bump on Magdalen as a result of failing to turn up.
14:58 – Reuben bump Catz at the top of Men’s Division V to move, and will row again in an hour. After Queen’s bump Lincoln, and Worcester bump Jesus, that leaves Wolfson leisurely paddling away from a straining Univ crew who were looking to keep moving up the Division after bumping New yesterday. Unfortunately for Hugh’s (and Oriel M3), Green Templeton secure the bump on the former, leaving Oriel stuck at the top of Division VI again tomorrow.
14:50 – 1 minute gun goes off for Men’s Division V. Start delayed due to a narrowboat approaching the startline, and not listening to marshalls.
14:30 – Dog-filled kayaks are asked to ‘show how bumps can be done in kayaks too’ by the race desk, having moved into the empty space left by Women’s Division V.
14:25 – After Mansfield decide that a spot of gardening might be more fun than being sandwich boat, they’re declared ‘non-racing crew’ and then eventually ‘non-persons’. Ahead of them in Women’s Division V though, Reuben bumped Wolfson. After securing a double overbump yesterday, and the fastest time in the Division during rowing on, they’ll be filled with confidence as sandwich boat in Division IV later. Elsewhere Merton bump Balliol to keep moving up, and Teddy Hall valiantly hold off a relentless Hugh’s W2, and are eventually saved by the oncoming New W3, just in front of the Univ boathouse.
14:03 – Teddy Hall improve on their +7 yesterday, making it +8 after a bump on Linacre M2 puts them into second place in Men’s Division VI. On the other side of yesterday’s major incident, Balliol row over to prevent the slide from extending any further, after a penalty bump had made it -8 on the day yesterday. Elsewhere, Exeter were bumped by Anthony’s to send them down to Division VII for tomorrow, Pembroke bump New to keep their hot start going, John’s bump Univ to do the same, and Hilda’s bump Oriel M4, while the latter’s M3 row over to have a short of going straight back up to Division V later today.
13:42 – In Women’s Division VI, Univ bank off the rip, and never recover from that start, leading to an inevitable bump from Wolfson. Meanwhile, Mansfield bump Trinity to move into the sandwich boat position for Division V, Queen’s bump Anthony’s, LMH bump Peter’s, and Hilda’s secure an overbump on Catz. Anne’s looked to be closing in on Oriel W3, but in the end ran out of gas, and the latter pulled away to row over.
13:39 – After some delayed concedes this morning and yesterday, RQ has ordered that coxes do so much more quickly than they have been so far. ‘If a crew behind has already caught you before Donnington Bridge then a bump is virtually inevitable – they are so much quicker than you that no amount of running away or hoping will stop the bump. Do not steer out of the racing line to avoid them as that is dangerous, and do concede.’
13:13 – Doesn’t mean that there were no bumps though, as four crews made it 2/2. St Anthony’s bump Hertford, Balliol bump Pembroke, Wadham bump Pembroke, and Hilda’s bump Exeter. Allegedly, the cause of the klaxon was a ‘four boat pile-up in the racing line’, reported by a member of Brasenose M3.
13:06 – No luck again in Men’s Division VII, as the race gets klaxoned for the second day in a row.
12:36 – Pembroke W3 row over to have a shot at re-entering Division VI after an unfortunate crab sent them down yesterday. They were aided by Wadham W3, who caught Worcester W3 fairly early on in the race, opening a fairly wide gap between the head of the race and the fourth placed Exeter. Meanwhile, St John’s W3 bump New W3 to make it two bumps in two days, and Somerville W3 catch Keble W3 to do the same. Jesus’ Valkyries keep with campaign going strong with a bump on Hilda’s W3, and Univ W4 catch Queen’s W3 to round out the bumps in the first race.
12:12 – 5 minute gun for the first race of the day: Women’s Division VII.
11:13 – After a pretty hectic day one of Summer Eights, there’s plenty of narratives to play out today. Balliol M3 will want to earn back some spots after their disastrous incident yesterday, and we should be eyeing up plenty of movement in Men’s Division VII after the Klaxon stopped some crews short of bumping yesterday. Overall, it should be an entertaining day two, where those [multiple] crews that stepped up a Division yesterday will want to consolidate, or even bump again to continue the quest for blades. Watch out for Hertford M1 who looked incredibly strong yesterday in their effort, despite not bumping. After Hugh’s got a relatively quick bump on Catz, and Merton caught Jesus, it was always going to be difficult to secure the double over bump on LMH. Instead, with Catz on the bungline in front today, they should be eyeing up a bump. With Worcester behind them though, it will be no mean feat staying out of their clutches…
