St Catherine's College Rowing Society
[PWC
Vice Presidents: Don Barton, Richard Peters,
Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE, Ben Sylvester.
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Newsletter#2, Hilary Term, 2004 (20th March)

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St Catherine's College
Oxford University Rowing Clubs
St Catherine's College Boat Club
St Catherine's Rowing Society

In this Issue ...

Racing on the Saturday of Torpids. The first time the full scale Torpids - 11 divisions, 4 days - has been run since 1997.

[Torpids Racing]

So, it was one of those Torpids. A net loss of 22 places by our crews was 'bettered' (?) only by Oriel (-25) and Brasenose (-33), which also happened to be the only two colleges that any of our crews managed to bump. Not that these things seemed to affect the atmosphere at the Rowing Society Dinner, at which our President was last seen brandishing an original Baker Pot. 35 years ago our Torpids also went down but, if the evidence of the Alumni News section is anything to go by, the rowers still seem to be on speaking terms. And if you're any good at crosswords, there's an important job waiting for you ...

Results

Burway Head, 21st February (49 eights entered)

Time

Overall

Category

Place in Cat

10:33

19th

S2 8

6th/6

10:37

21st

S3 8

5th/5

14:00

48th

WN 8

9th/9

14:01

49th

WS4 8

3rd/3

NB: Only Catz 1st crews, each racing twice

Torpids, 3rd-6th March

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Finish

Men's I

=

=

-1

-3

1st Div II

Women's I

-2

-2

-2

-2

10th Div I

Women's II

=

-3

-2

-1

4th Div IV

Men's II

-1

-1

-1

-1

8th Div V

Sums up the week, really. The Women's 2nd Torpid crossing the finish line on Thursday, having lost one oar and 3 places along the way.

[Womens 2nd Torpid]

Torpids

This was the first year since 1997 that a 'full' Torpids had been run. Not that that was necessarily a good thing from the Boat Club's point of view. All our crews went down at least 4 places, but special commiserations to the Women's Captain, Katharine Pierce, who not only went down 8 places stroking the 1st Torpid, but also another 6 coxing the 2nd Torpid.

The Men's 1st Torpid, after rowing over on Thursday.

[Mens 1st Torpid]

Katherine may disagree, but there were a couple of brighter moments during the week. Despite their bump on Brasenose on the Wednesday, the Men's 1st Torpid's finest moment was probably on Thursday when they managed to hold off Pembroke (reckoned as the fastest crew on the river) over the whole course, much of it by inches rather than feet. Unfortunately they couldn't repeat the heroics the next day, and on Saturday things went from bad to worse when they were caught by a fast-starting LMH, and then moved swiftly on to disastrous when they ended up in the bank watching the remainder of the division row past. Top of Div 2 next year.

The Men's 2nd Torpid actually had fewer novices than the 1st Torpid but hadn't rowed together as an eight until the previous week (the question 'Why?' springs to mind). They got a consolation bump on the last day which cheered them up a bit, but with just a little more training ...

What Tiggers Like Least. Another hard day at the office for Ben Gander, cox of the Women's 1st Torpid, together with their (formerly) lucky mascot.

[Mens 1st Torpid]

The women's crews were really on a damage-limitation exercise all along. Starting second on the river with a boat full of novices the 1st Torpid's main job was keeping out of messy bumps and so hang on to a Division 1 place, which they managed to do, but by the end they were losing heart and were getting bumped by crews that they might have held off earlier in the week.

The Women's 2nd Torpid (ahem, surprisingly!) rowed over on the first day but broke an oar when getting bumped on Thursday and went to the bottom of the division. They continued to drop over the following two days and now find themselves back in the Rowing On divisions.

Quite simply, the problem was lack of experience. All but two of our Women's 1st Torpid had not rowed before last October (some, indeed, had only started rowing this term) while the Men's 1st Torpid contained 5 novices. Although this might provide the men's boat club with some hope for the future, unfortunately most of the women rowers are only on 1-year courses.

2004 St Catherine's Torpids

Men's 1st Torpid

Men's 2nd Torpid

Women's 1st Torpid

Women's 2nd Torpid

B James McInerney

B Mark Gibbon

B Carolyn Shuckerow

B Jinghua Fan

2 Eric Vincent

2 Edmund Peacock

2 Jennifer Lee

2 Anne Rosenzweig

3 Darren Chadwick

3 Chris Thomas

3 Kassy Long

3 Sarah Killingsworth

4 Steve Wicks

4 Cesar Ramirez-Montes

4 Lena Matthai

4 Monica Herald

5 Evan Burfield

5 Charlie Perrins

5 Emma Willis

5 Laura Stratta

6 David Royse

6 Joe Wilson

6 Lydia Hutchinson

6 Kate Waldeck

7 Dan Blakey

7 Nick Savage

7 Carolyn Aler

7 Jen Ryan

S Justin Puleo

S Alex Russell

S Katharine Pierce

S Julia Harris

C Dan Dockery

C Ali Ross

C Ben Gander

C Katharine Pierce

35 Years Ago ...

We have no written records of the year 1968/69 but the following recollections are from those who rowed at the time (the first two taken from the History).

The 1969 1st Torpid (lower left), racing under the 'two-lane' system in use at the time. Just coming up to the Gut now ...

[1969 1st Torpid]

[Stephen Jepps, M.67] One incident which comes to mind concerns the 'restricted' VIII James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree. We took delivery of this boat not long before we planned to race in it in Torpids, 1969 [although in the 5th July 2003 newsletter, Mark Stevens claims this was 1968]. It was delivered with a very small rudder. On the first day of racing, as we emerged from the Gut, our cox was unable to straighten us up, and we collided with the bank near where Catz boathouse now stands. Needless to say, a larger rudder was quickly fitted in time for the next day's racing
[Nigel Lloyd, M.67] I can very clearly remember running beside our 1st VIII, coxed by Simon Clark in Eights Week in 1969. I think it was still in the days when there were starting pistols to tell you the half length (1 gun), the canvas (2 guns), and the overlap (3 guns). Certainly it was in the days of big rudders at the stern of the boat [In Eights, the 1st crew rowed in a 'shell' rather than the 'restricted' which had the rudder under the keel]. Coming through the Gut, the boat was overlapped by the chasing boat, but Simon 'washed it off' with flicks of the rudder, so that contact was not made and no bump was achieved. This was continued for many strokes until the chasing boat [Trinity] 'blew up' from their inability to make their bump, and Catz pulled away to row over.
[Andrew Geddes, M.65] I had already rowed full time at school and had been in their first VIII so when I arrived at Catz (Oct 65) I was invited to join the first boat as well as being made Treasurer. In my second year I was the Capt of Boats. If I remember right we managed two or three bumps in both Torpids and Eights in each year but we never managed 4, although came quite close to it in '67 Eights when we had a double crack at it when head of Div 2 and also racing at bottom of Div 1 at the same time. We put together a schools VIII in '69 and I think we took the position of the fourth Catz boat and named ourselves Katzeberger Ruderklub. We were hopelessly unfit so our only chance of making a bump was to go like the clappers for the first minute. We made 5 bumps.

Baker Pots

Tony Hancox, the Rowing Society President, at this year's dinner with the Murray-Aspinall family silver.

[Baker Pot]

Letter to Tony Hancox from Tom Aspinall (M.59)

Dear Tony,

I greatly enjoyed your article in the St Catherine's Year 2003. It gave us some interesting information about the Baker Fours tankards, one of which we have had in the family since the twenties. It is a 1923 pot identical in design to the 1928 one shown in your book, A History of St Catherine's Rowing.

It is inscribed with the crew's names: A D Wiles (bow), W T Bowie, R L Child, C D Murray (str) and T Smithies (cox). Charles Murray was my second wife Judith's father and died four years ago.

Incidentally we have a bit of a record of long service to St Catherine's Rowing:

I have not yet identified any likely future St Catherine's oarsmen in the family, but one can hope!

News from Alumni

Andrew Geddes (M.65)
It is amazing how friendships forged on the water seem to have lasted the test of many years. Apart from the odd occasion when I join Leslie Singleton (ex-McBride '65) fly-fishing, and provided he has not dragged Simon Clark ('66) away for another spot of fishing, Simon and I enjoy sailing on a boat that we share together. Strange how water is such an essential element of some people's life one way or another. Professionally I have spent my last 30 years on the commercial side of the international metals business, started with Rio Tinto after graduating then lived in Switzerland for 16 years, now back in the UK for the last 12 years, based in London.

Leslie Singleton (M.65)
Leslie Singleton may mean more to some of you as Leslie McBride. After qualifying with Arthur Andersen he joined National Bank of Detroit and spent three years in America. His stepfather was childless and wanted his name to endure so immediately on returning to Blighty Leslie changed his name by Deed Poll. This was easy enough to do, with his family, including his new American wife, delighted and a completely new role in the Bank as a lending officer. He stayed with the Bank, ultimately becoming a Vice President, till a recent hostile takeover, which he was unfortunately on the wrong end of, and is now semi-retired, doing as much fishing with Simon Clark as he can. He may have been the last Hon Bargee, he's not sure.

Simon Clark (M.66)
After Oxford coxed with London Rowing Club and won some cups in regattas that I forget! Also did LRC veterans for years. Had my own ad agency which built for 20 years and sold 3 years ago. Now doing various part time non exec stuff. 2 daughters - the 5 year old 'loves rowing races'. Living in Fulham.

Chris Little (M.67)
Still commuting weekly between Exeter and home in Reading, so not much time on the water in Exeter, but hopefully will try to learn to scull when the clocks go forward.

Steve Jepps (M.67)
After leaving Catz I did a PhD at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. There followed a spell working for the aircraft industry in Lancashire, before I moved south again and took a variety of jobs involving software development. I'm currently living just outside Tunbridge Wells, writing software for city traders. The only rowing I've done since Oxford was in Norwich. I teamed up with a former Magdalen man to take a pair out on the Yare. However, we were both used to having someone else steer for us, so our progress was punctuated by frequent collisions with the bank. I have two daughters at university, but both of them have been far too sensible to take up rowing.

Sarah Askew (M.94)
A quick update on Lents in 'the other place': my crew managed to get 5 bumps (Clare Hall, Corpus Christi, Queen's II, Homerton and New Hall II) making us the first women's crew from St Edmund's ever to get blades. Sadly, I'm going to have to hang up my blade for the time being and watch Mays from the towpath as I'm currently 5 months pregnant. Hoping to be back in the boat for Lents 2005 ready to chase LMBC II though ...

Becky Killick (M.94) & Lyndsey Highton (M.99)}
We should also congratulate two of our alumnae now rowing for Osler-Green on their four bumps in Torpids. We'll overlook the fact that the last of these was on our own 1st Torpid, but at least they both had the decency to do it wearing their old Catz rowing kit.

Crossoars

You may have noticed the front cover of the Hilary 2004 edition of the Oxford Today magazine since it has a photo of a set of stretchers. However, if you turn to the last page you'll see that the crossword puzzle is set by James Lovegrove (St Catz 1st VIII 1986-88) and the prize is a book, The Meaning of Everything, by Simon Winchester (St Catz 1st VIII 1964-65). The crossword editor, Michael Macdonald-Cooper, is also a Catz man (M.62) but we have no record of him rowing. Nevertheless, it's got to be done. Get those entries in!

Coming Up ...

In the next newsletter, as well as reports on the various University Boat Races, there will be a feature on the Boat Club of 45 years ago (58/59). So if you rowed under the captaincy of R. J. Roughley please send me a few lines to let me know what you're doing now. News and contributions from alumni of other years also welcome. And the best of luck to Colin Smith (OUBC) and Paul Holland (Isis) in next Sunday's Boat Races.

Diary

21 Mar 2004

Henley Boat Races

28 Mar 2004

The Boat Race

26-29 May 2004

Eights

Anu Dudhia (email: dudhia@atm.ox.ac.uk )