Eleanor Dickinson

The Neptunes

G REETIN GS ALUMNAE AN D H APPY N EW YEAR! Once

again I am thri l led to introduce this term’s

edi tion of the Neptunes by announcing that i t

has been again a wonderful term for MECBC.

New victories on the river, lots of new faces

and, paradoxical ly the longest but yet most fun

erg in Boat Club history.

I would fi rst l ike to start by congratulating

W1 on their fantastic achievements this term in

both Fairbairns and Winter Head. New recrui t

Emma Jones wi l l be relaying the detai l s of

beginning l i fe at Cambridge by unexpectedly

finding herself in our fi rst crew.

Michaelmas got off to a pretty

overwhelming start for us committee members.

With over 70 people signing up ini tial ly to row,

and then four novice crews to dri l l into shape,

Marina, Ying and the LBCs certainly had their

hands ful l thi s term. Wel l i t most defini tely paid

off as i t was a hugely successful term for our

newest recrui ts, one of whom wi l l share her

memories of rowing on page 4. For a more

detai led report, see page 5 for LBC Reana

Maier's take on this term.

Final ly, this term saw 39 ergers row al l

the way to Antwerp in our fundraising

enterprise for this term. Rowing in a variety of

weird and wonderful costumes, we managed to

raise over a whopping £2000. For an extensive

report and pictures of the day, check out pages

5 and 6. Thank you so much to al l those who

helped and supported us.

January 2012 Volume 4, Issue 2

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I T SEEMS THAT THIS TERM, ALL THOSE EARLY

MORN IN GS, ergs and circui t sessions real ly did

pay off for W1 . Wri ting as a new member of the

crew and of the boat club, I for one was not

expecting the resul ts that we managed to

achieve in both Winter Head and Fairbairns.

Having worked hard to improve our

fi tness and technique over the fi rst six weeks of

term, when the morning of Winter Head final ly

arrived we fel t prepared for the race and ready

to give i t our best row. As we sat marshal l ing on

our way up to the start, spiri ts were high (helped

by the Haribo and sunny weather) and we

enjoyed watching other crews row by.

After narrowly avoiding being set off

behind a much slower crew (thanks Mark!), we

were off. We had a strong row down the course

and kept up the power, driven on by Chloe's

“Push for ten”s (and some loud cheering from

Amy's Mum!), and 9:50 minutes later we

crossed the finish l ine. We arrived back at the

boathouse happy with our row, but open to

Mark's constructive cri tici sm.

I t was only later, when the resul ts were

released, that we discovered just how wel l we

had done; we were 1 0th out of al l women's

boats, and, more importantly, 1 st in our

division, and 1 st out of al l the Cambridge

col lege women's boats! We were especial ly

exci ted to discover that we had each won a

si lver hip flask!

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W1 Race ReportEmma Jones

Emma Jones

1 st year Geographer

Si ts at 4

Best rowing moment: Racing at Winter Head

- AN D WIN N ING!! (I real ly never

thought I would ever win anything in

rowing!)

After such a good resul t, pressure was on to

keep our posi tion at Fairbairns two weeks later,

and to try to maintain our one second lead over

Downing. The crew's nervous energy was clear

in the amount of jumping that took place during

Mark's pre-race chat (al though this may also

have been due to the cold)! At 4.3km the race

was longer than any piece we had managed to

do on previous outings, but we were mental ly

prepared for the length and determined to row

as hard as we could to keep Downing at bay.

We had a good race and made i t to the finish

l ine in 1 7:08 minutes.

On arriving back at the boathouse, we

celebrated with some of Reana's excel lent

baking When the resul ts were eventual ly

released we found that whi le we had not

succeeded in beating Downing as we had

hoped, we had come a very respectable 3rd

behind Downing and Jesus. I t also turned out

that we had come 1 st in the Senior Women's

VI I I invi tational category, winning us a Jesus

shield! A very successful end to the term.

I 've real ly enjoyed my first term of

rowing and am so exci ted about hopeful ly

participating in Lent Bumps - a race which I 've

heard a lot about and would love to try myself!

Lent Term RacesMECBC IS PLAN N IN G ON entering these races for

Lent 201 2. Please see out websi te for an up-to-

date l i st of races and resul ts.

21 st Jan - Head to Head (W1 )

4th Feb - Newnham Short Course (W2 tbc)

1 0th Feb - Robinson Head (W3 tbc)

1 8th Feb - Pembroke Regatta (W1 , W2 tbc)

24th Feb - Lent GoR (W2, W3, W4 tbc)

28th Feb - 2nd Mar - Lent Bumps

Please note that Lent Bumps for women is held

on Tuesday-Friday this year

in order to accommodate WEHoRR entries.

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W2 Race ReportEleanor Dickinson

Senior Fairbairns

W1 VI I I : 1 st in Invi tational division, 3rd overal l

W2 VI I I : 36th

Novice Fairbairns

Calypso: 1 2th

Athena: 32th

Artemis: 50th

Winter Head

W1 : 1 st in division and of al l Col lege W8+

W2: 1 6th

Calypso: 11 th

Athena: 1 5th

Queen's Ergo Competi tion

7pm crew: 9th (final i sts) in upper division

5pm crew: 1 3th (final i sts) in upper division

8pm crew: 11 th in lower division

Senior crew: 5th

Detai led times and rankings can be viewed on

the websi te http://mecbc.soc.srcf.net

I ’LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT IT HASN’T BEEN the

easiest term for W2. With several di fferent crew

changes during the course of Michaelmas, we

have seen better terms.

Nevertheless this did not prevent us from

giving i t our al l in the fi rst race of term Winter

Head. We got off to a flying start, powering

through under Ola’s ki l ler cal ls from the coxing

seat. Disaster struck on the reach when we

caught a crab. However, once recovered we

fought val iantly unti l the finishing l ine, even

pushing off a ni fty Clare as they attempted to

outmatch us on the home stretch.

Determination at i ts finest!

2 weeks later along comes Fairbairns,

which we may not have been able to even row

in i f i t wasn’t thanks to novices Hannah and

Henny jumping in at the 11 th hour. Al l I can say

for Fairbairns is that i t was a PAIN FUL 20

minutes, though i t was made more bearable

with Ola's friend Artin shouting 'helpful ' cal l s

from the bank - let' s just say i t was the tone that

mattered real ly. So far strong!

Despi te a slow down on Ditton, we

pushed through the pain to final ly fini sh the

race, emptying our tanks on the final straight .

Though the resul t was not our best, I am real ly

proud of the way we pul led through as a crew

despi te only having about 2 outings al l together.

As such I am real ly looking forward to

see what we can achieve this coming term.

Bring on Bumps!

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Georgie Field

Novice 1 Cox

1 st year Archeology and

Anthropology

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Why did you sign up?I ’M ORIGINALLY FROM BATH so have had a go

rowing on the Avon before. After a disastrous

fi rst outing in Bath with many crabs I decided

that the cox was definitely getting a better deal than I

was and decided to give coxing a go in Cambridge.

What was your first experience and impressionof coxing?My first outing was on a gloriously sunny day

and i t was a great feel ing to be out on the water.

Coxing was much harder than I was expecting.

I t seems obvious that pointing left would make

the boat go left, but try tel l ing my hands that!

Best things about early morningsWell I ’l l be honest; I ’m not real ly a morning

person! However, early morning rowing is a

real ly good wake up and always makes me feel

real ly productive when I get back to col lege.

Early mornings al low us to see the sun rising

over the cam and see the orange sky. I t’s very

beauti ful and an awesome way to start the day.

Worst rowing momentLucki ly I haven’t had that many yet; probably

being freezing cold whi lst wearing 8 layers and

wishing for a hot water bottle.

Best thing you’ve seen around the riverThe thick fog on the cam is amazing. I t i s real ly

eerie and watching the boats loom out of the

fog is great- al though pretty scary when trying to

cox and boats are appearing out of nowhere!

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THIS PAST TERM, I AN D MY FELLOW LBC' S, Ola and

Chloe, had the great fortune to be in charge of

the over 30 wonderful women who made up

MECBC's novice cohort this year.

From the more than 60 people who

turned up to our tubbing sessions, we ended

up with four crews of boaties-in-training who

we quickly discovered were a fantastic pool of

talent and potential .

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Novice Race ReportsReana MaierLower Boats Captain

As I thought about how to capture the

chaos, the glory, the marvel lous gong show that

i s novice term, I real ized that, basical ly, being

an LBC is al l about corruption and infection.

Fi rst, we corrupt their priori ties. We convince

them that things l ike sleep, warmth and free

time are insigni ficant trivial i ties, persuading

them to exchange, at ungodly hours, cozy beds

and sweet dreams for cold, dark early morning

outings, lei surely dinner times for torturous erg

exercises (not to mention the rather distinctive

smel l of the erg room).

Or, even more sinisterly, that pain IS

fun. We also corrupt their sense of

professional i sm and focus, pointing out that the

rowing is not the only source of entertainment

on the river. Though, to be honest, judging by

the way the novices jumped on the Oar of

Phwoar bandwagon, this last one took very

l i ttle convincing. They clocked on quickly

which days are Goldie days.

I know I speak for my fel low LBC's and

everyone who helped out with coaching when

I say that working with the novices this past

Michaelmas was an incredibly rewarding and

fun experience. We are so proud of the work

they've done and are overwhelmed and thri l led

at the number who intend to stay on with us

into Lent term; I can' t wai t to see how they' l l

progress in the months ahead. We can see in

these women the spiri t, enthusiasm and

dedication that makes and wi l l continue to

make the Murray Edwards Col lege Boat Club

not only wel l hard, but also, wel l , special .

Ed note: See our websi te or page 3 for the ful l

novice resul ts

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AT THE EN D OF LAST LEN T TERM, the club was in a

bi t of a fix; we had broken Harald, the beloved

W2 VII I . For the next term we had to rent a boat

to ensure that W2 could race in the May Bumps

competi tively. Having not the resources as a

club to continue renting in the long term, we

were left with one viable option - buy a new

VII I . We made a club decision not to just buy

any old boat, but to buy a boat that would put

us on equal footing with the better funded

crews, and perhaps more importantly, a boat

that would match the power, drive and passion

of our rowers.

But, back to the task at hand, and my

ini tial fundraising ideas of a naked calendar or a

sponsored boat wash were, regrettably, vetoed.

On the suggestion of our Captain, we settled on

the idea of a 24 hour ergathon. I t was my job to

inform the col lege community; sending out

bul letins, putting up posters and making sure

that those taking part were getting sponsored.

At the last moment I also had to get hold of an

erg! The event i tsel f has turned into a sweaty

blur in my memory, al though I can recal l the

sound of the spare change bucket as I viciously

rattled i t at passersby.

We started off with the aim of reaching

£700. Afterwards we real i sed we had gathered

just about half that amount in the bucket alone,

for which we can only thank the generosi ty of

the students, fami l ies and staff of Murray

Edwards. Adding the onl ine pledges we were

carried over £1 000.

Why did you sign up?I ’M ORIGINALLY FROM BATH so have had a go

rowing on the Avon before. After a disastrous

fi rst outing in Bath with many crabs I decided

that the cox was definitely getting a better deal than I

was and decided to give coxing a go in Cambridge.

What was your first experience and impressionof coxing?My first outing was on a gloriously sunny day

and i t was a great feel ing to be out on the water.

Coxing was much harder than I was expecting.

I t seems obvious that pointing left would make

the boat go left, but try tel l ing my hands that!

Best things about early morningsWell I ’l l be honest; I ’m not real ly a morning

person! However, early morning rowing is a

real ly good wake up and always makes me feel

real ly productive when I get back to col lege.

Early mornings al low us to see the sun rising

over the cam and see the orange sky. I t’s very

beauti ful and an awesome way to start the day.

Worst rowing momentLucki ly I haven’t had that many yet; probably

being freezing cold whi lst wearing 8 layers and

wishing for a hot water bottle.

MECBC: Well Hard!Holly Smith, Fundraising Officer

After the pledges were gathered, we had

made nearly triple our aim! I t was wonderful

receiving messages of support from alumnae of

al l ages as we ploughed on through the 24

hours, and this was another significant aim for the

committee. We have been trying to strengthen

links with the women who rowed for our college

in the past. We are incredibly grateful for the

generosity of some of our predecessors.

Whi le huge amounts have been

achieved, our work is not finished. MECBC is at

i ts biggest and most active in at least decade, and

we have our sights set high. To maintain this

success we need security in a steady form of

income and cannot rely on intermittent

fundraisers. We now have a fund set up to bui ld

up towards capital purchases, so it is extremely

important that the Gift Aid form is fi l led in when

making a donation. This maximizes the amount

the boat club receives with no extra cost. Also,

donations must be made to Murray Edwards

College, but please state clearly that you are

donating to the "Boat Club Special Fund".

Final ly, we warmly invi te al l boat club

members, alumnae and supporters to come

back to col lege to the formal dinner on the 11 th

February, and hope to see you there. Join us as

we celebrate the launch of our brand new VII I ,

the success of the club and our long

distinguished history on the river.

One of the many

highl ights. . .Mark and the blue,

flowery al l -in-one

Amongst the many

costumes we had a

cow, two

Superwomen,

Poison Ivy, and

Ayla here as 'Black

Swan'

Passing long 30 minutes by reading to each

other. Texts ranged from T.S El iot' s poetry,

Ethics in International Pol i tics and The Secret

Lives of Cats

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MECBC: A Brief HistoryNatalie Skorupska

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BEING EXCESSIVELY LOQUACIOUS, THE TASK OF writing a

history of Murray Edwards College Boat Club in

two hundred words of continuous prose was

impossible. Therefore, I have condensed my

official account as follows:

Important dates for women’s rowing:• 1 827 Bumps race instituted

• 1 893 first women’s boat club (Newnham)

• 1 941 Newnham and Girton rowers form

CUWBC

• 1 954 Women start rowing in VIIIs

• 1 962 Women started rowing in Bumps

• 1 974-89 Women’s senior crews only

permitted to row Fairbairns and May Bumps in IVs

Important dates for Murray Edwards CollegeBoat Club:• 1 974 New Hall Boat Club founded

• 1 977, 1 981 , 1 984 Head of the River

in May Bumps

• 1 988, 1 989 Winner of Queen’s Ergs

• 1 989 Head of division in Tideway

• 1 999 Club moved from the Fitzwill iam

Boat House to the Peterhouse Boat House

• 2008 Club renamed Murray Edwards

College Boat Club

This summary does not take into account

the many other successes that the Boat Club has

had throughout the years in winning competitions,

providing Blues rowers and even an Olympic

rower but should suffice to provide an overview of

some basic boatie history.

Evidence concerning the boat club (and

indeed, rowing at Cambridge general ly) has

been hard to come by. Therefore i f anyone has

further information that they would care to

share please get in contact with the Boat club; i t

would be much appreciated and might lead to,

i f not a correct history of the boat club, then at

least a less incorrect one.

The Neptunes January 201 2 by Murray Edwards Col lege BoatClub is l icensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0Unported License. Some rights reserved.

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Boaties just wanna have funEleanor Dickinson

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Finally, some of our rowers (who would prefer to

remain anonymous) share some of their highlights

from this term:

"At the Clare swap, I smacked some kid upside

the head for giving a fine to anyone not born in

the nineties."

"Three words: Captain Marina's birthday"

"Captain Marina's Birthday: a certain Trini ty

novice asked to leave after singing NAH NAH

NAH COME ON N "

"Whose bright idea was i t to have a boat club

swap the night before a 6:30am outing? (This

appl ies to EVERY SWAP OF TERM. THAN KS.)"

COMIN G FROM AN ALL-FEMALE COLLEGe has many perks. One of them it seems is a good eye for talent.

This term, we Murray Edwards girls have been keeping our eyes open for the finest male specimens

on the river, awarding the coveted 'Oar of Phwoar' prize to the best from each outing. As such, we

have col lated the data, and here are our favouri te col leges for this term. Eyes in the boat ladies. . .

Well done to Caius, LMBCand Goldie!

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