Newsletter#2, Hilary Term, 1995 (25th February)

Dear Alumnus,

When Torpids went ahead it was with half-divisions of 6 boats: on Friday just 3 divisions (2 Men's, 1 Women's); on Saturday, having decided that Friday's racing was safe, this was extended to 6 half-divisions (4 Men's, 2 Women's). At least both Catz 1st Torpids got to race on both days. No one could recall ever trying to run a bumping race in such a fast stream, but having proved successful (i.e. no one drowned) they may revert to this format more readily in future. I'll always remember Torpids '95 for the endless series of negotiations with the Boatmen and the NRA over what divisions, if any, could be safely trusted to race; and also for making the mistake of encountering some of the '60s alumni at the end of the Rowing Society dinner. Whatever you have to say about the general construction quality of Catz, whoever put the JCR door on its hinges certainly didn't botch the job. But that's a story for another time. These are Cheryl Hardy, the Women's Captain's recollections of the term:

Yet again, rowing in Hilary Term has been disappointing as the bad weather meant that the river was only open during 0th Week, 1st Week and 5th Week. However, congratulations must be given to all three women's crews for their continued enthusiasm and training even though the rewards were few.

The first two days of Torpids were cancelled but eventually it was decided to run a race on Friday with the top half of the Women's 1st Division. The river was flowing very quickly and the currents were strong, and unfortunately we had a very bad start. Wadham bumped us between Donnington Bridge and the Gut. I think our only comfort came from a comment made by a Catz supporter, that there hadn't been a Catz crew in years that could have held them off as they were very fast. However, we did ourselves justice on Saturday with a strong row-over, leaving Christ Church way behind and even gaining ground on Wadham for much of the race.

I'd like to thank Richard Copley and Matt Pinsent for training and coaching the 1st VIII, Nigel Manson for taking on the 2nd VIII and Glyn Randles for being very willing to coach the 3rd VIII even though the Amber Flag was never down long enough for them to get out on the river!

Finally it just remains for me to thank the anonymous donor of some money to the women's Boat Club a few years ago [Back in 1993 the women received 5000 pounds to buy a set of blades to go with their new boat, but there was enough left over to buy another new set this year] as we have now been able to purchase some hatchet blades for next term.

After the antics of Torpids, the Men's Boat Club have a new saying: "It's not how you do it, but doing it that counts!". We moved up one place without actually bumping anyone, quite an achievement considering the sporadic nature of outings during a term once again dictated by the weather. Lack of time on the water was certainly supplemented by hours in the gym and that, no doubt, had a strong influence on the end result.

The commitment and determination displayed by the crew was definitely something to be proud of. After being technically bumped [It is now a requirement that coxes should wear lifejackets whenever they are on the water. On the Friday of Torpids, Balliol and S.E.H. coxes didn't, so were each bumped down one place.] down on the 1st day, Balliol were after our scalp but we held them off admirably proving that we were worth our new position in Division I.

The rain and subsequent river conditions prevented any of the other Catz crews from getting out this term but the enthusiasm is definitely there and for summer Eights we hope to put out four crews. Next term the 1st VIII move to Wallingford under the supervision our coach Tim Bramfitt who promises to take us to new heights in Division I.

I'd like to thank all the crews for their continued perseverance through the rain-dominated term, and a special thanks must go to Hassan and his baseball cap for inspiration, motivation and improvisation in the face of adversity: "You did good, mate!"

Oriel retained the Men's Headship (just) from Brasenose, while Catz are now 10th on the river (they reached 7th in 1989, and 6th in 1972).

Those of you at the Rowing Society Dinner will remember Bruce Mitchell reading out a letter from Angela Kukula (nee Sweatman, M86) saying that she and her husband had survived the Kobe earthquake, although their possessions hadn't. Since then she's been in touch to say that things weren't quite as bad as they'd originally thought, but she's made alternative arrangements to receive these newsletters pending the arrival of a new mail box (which will no doubt come with the new front door, which will come with the new house). Although he has yet to make it to the Dinner, we should also note the reappearance of Bruce Heald (M83) on the towpath, after an absence of several years - he looks much the same, but time has not been kind to his Catz sweatshirt.

So will Torpids ever be the same again? More importantly, do we need to change the date of the Dinner? Below is a summary of the recent history together with the difference between the January+February Oxford rainfall figures and the long-term mean (93mm). What these figures show is that, basically, we've just been unlucky and had a few very wet winters. Even in 1993, almost all the rain came in January, leading to the Rowing On divisions being cancelled early, although by Torpids itself conditions were benign. On the whole, I'd say `don't panic'.

(Rainfall figures supplied by the Radcliffe Meteorological Observatory)

Year	Rain	Effect on Torpids
1995	+105 mm	2-day Torpids, Women's 1st and Men's 1st and 2nd Divisions
1994	+51 mm	1-day Torpids, All divisions.
1993	-3 mm	4-day Torpids, Fixed-division crews only.
1992	-40 mm	Normal
1991	-11 mm	Normal
1990	+77 mm	2-day Torpids, Men's 1st and 2nd Divisions only.
1989	-4 mm	Normal
1988	+41 mm	Normal
1987	-50 mm	Normal

Anu Dudhia