[A belated post, but I've edited the post date to match the event]Norwich head is what you get to if you turn right; if you turn left you get to the half marathon (and if you go by train you meet the foul-mouthed old ladies). But we turned the right way and (unlike Press) had remembered to bring our riggers and (unlike the nameless Quad) we remembered not to turn turtle. And I was unaffected by the rain while waiting for the start because I'd brought my collapsible umbrella, and even if everyone else mocked me I was dry.
However, after this comprehensive list of things we got right, I now have to come on the the rowing itself. We had a good strong steady row, nothing spectacular, but it didn't feel as though we weakened. The Essex Boys came up on us off the start, and were on our tail after ~1/3 the course. Then we pushed back a bit and maybe they tired and we had the corner and we held them for a bit, before finally they had the inside of a bend and got past us. That took us to about 2/3 of the course, which is nearly back; just under the motorway bridge and home. The course itself is pleasantly rural.
And the end result? 15:28 for us and we were 5th in Division 2 4th of IM3 VIII's. I suppose we might have hoped for better, but we are just one small town boat club and Essex are an entire university, and only beat us by 30 seconds.
In the evening afterwards, a crew curry in the Maharajah. Here we all are:
Photo credit: William D's camera, photographer: Emma? L to R: Tom Watt, Andy Southgate, Chris Wood, Simon Emmings, William Dulyea, James Howard, James Tidy, Ollie Crab, William Connolley, Ralph Hancock (yes I know we all know who we are but I write them out sometimes so the search engines will find us).
You see from this (and the top pic) that it was really fairly muddy or (as James T put it) "like the Somme".
Refs
* Norwich head
* Norwich Rowing Club
* William D's pix
