Bumps Reports 2026 - Monday

Mixed fortunes for City on the opening day of bumps. Chaos in the lower divisions caused a few problems with navigation with both Masters Men A (O11) and Masters Women A (W9) being impeded by pile-ups cutting off their routes and ending chances early. But with 2 Masters crews in sandwich positions and the top boats yet to fly, anything could happen in the Jenner!

Div 1 not racing today so the battle to retain the double headship starts on Tuesday 🚀

O7 (Core Men A)

📉 Bumped down 😞  ·  Steve

On the cannon we started strong, possibly our fastest and strongest start yet and we could see our competitors closing the gap quickly. By the time we were up to full speed they gradually inched closer and closer until we were bumped on Grassy. We faced a very strong crew but a solid effort from our guys who gave it absolutely everything to hold them off as long as we did. Onwards!

O8 (HWC)

📉 Bumped down 😞  ·  Ollie - bank party

If 2 weeks is a long time in politics, then 10 years in rowing is approaching geological. Hold that in your mind dear reader as I avoid spinning a rowing tale of a bunch of old fossils. 10 years ago the Thin White Duke himself shuffled of this mortal plane, and while I could quote lyrics ad infinitum, i will instead draw a tenuous link, as mid career he indulged in the less than stellar Tin Machine project. Years later he returned in his 50's and 60's to deliver some of his most vital work (Heathen, Brand New Day, Black Star... even Earthlings!). Today was HWC's Tin Machine. The keen reader will note that 10 years of marriage is the Tin aniversary. Coincidence? Never! kismet darling. 10 years ago HWC first raced bumps, and we've had some Heroes along the way, and the odd bit of (Ziggy) Stardust. There is life in the old dog yet.

O10 (City of Clare)

📈 Bumped up 😃  ·  Phil - 2 seat

Day 1 of bumps and City of Clare started with a bang bumping Tabs O9 before First Post! After a rapid start we moved in on the crew ahead, gaining our first whistle. Surfing the waves through the A14 bridge (aka just about holding it together through the chop) we got our second whistle, and before we knew it we had three whistles then overlap then the bump! A great start to the week!

O12 (Core Men B)

➡️ Rowed over 😮‍💨  ·  George Aylard - 3 Seat

Herein lies the pride and arrogance of youth, shattered upon the weed-covered bed of our beloved river Cam. The lads rowed up to the start (well technically we walked half the distance) brimming with confidence. The full crew for the first time, a working boat and cox box, an actual bank party, never before has Core B been blessed with all of these boons. Our opponents, the men of Xpress O5. Youth and vitality were on our side, grit and experience on theirs. Starting in Pos 7 meant the under the bridge, the pirate bellows his 'ARGH!" and unleashes a depth charge to shatter our spines and eardrums. Nevertheless, we persisted. Off goes the start, a record pace for our crew driven by the adrenaline and a desire for victory. A whistle pierces the air, gaining we were. Down and down and down rode the men of Core B. But alas, the whistle fell silent. Only the wheezes and grunts of our labouring bodies filled our ears. A whistle came, and a whistle went. Twice more, thrice more, until finally the finish line put an end to the ordeal. A draw, and a humbling reminder of the nature of bumps. Until tomorrow Xpress. We shall meet again.

O13 (Masters Men B)

📉 Bumped down 😞  ·  Lisl Tudor-Lawrence (coach) (cox today)

Off to a solid start to the week, we managed to creep up onto Cantabs Past Masters slowly but surely, but unfortunately for us they secured their easy bump ahead before our creeping succeeded. Cantabs Poachers behind, despite a valiant fight, bumped us on Grassy. But living up to their name, tried to take out our crew by continuing to pursue us mercilessly for a fair while after our loud and clear concession. We look forward to showing them how one bumps safely and correctly when we revenge bump this week.

O15 (CRE)

📉 Bumped down 😞  ·  Omar Terywall, coach

It was an exciting row up to the start for our novice crew. Our starting position was… ambitious, to say the least. Station 5 seemed a little optimistic considering some of these water babies had only discovered which way round a blade goes about four weeks ago! Still, we accepted our fate, smiled bravely, and resolved to give it everything we had.

This was the Open category, and we lined up with a true mixed crew of four women and four men. As always, I gave the pre-race briefing: stay calm, brace for the final cannon, and whatever happens, don’t panic.

The blades were buried, hearts were racing, and then… BANG!

Unfortunately, just a few strokes later, Champs appeared to have mistaken us for the finish line. They exploded off the start, the bank party’s whistles began almost immediately, and before we’d really settled into our rhythm, they were right on our stern.

To be fair, they looked incredibly strong. With seven men and one woman aboard, they perhaps stretched the spirit of an “Open” crew a little more than we did—but who’s counting?

Our bumps campaign may have been short-lived, but our novices handled themselves brilliantly. They kept their composure, experienced the unique thrill of being bumped in Cambridge Town Bumps, and now have a story they’ll be dining out on for years. Next year, perhaps we’ll start a little further back where the rest of the novices are… and let someone else provide the entertainment at Station 5!

O16 (Coxes)

📉 Bumped down 😞  ·  Sarah Newell- 2 seat

The mighty coxes boat set out after their year long taper with one aim: not to still be racing past first post corner. After a slightly dodgy start caused by being on the outflow station we were closing on the crew infront, however they managed to get the bump first. The Cantabs crew behind us were very strong and whilst we were dealing with all the chaos in front front crews not clearing, they decided to break their bowball by ramming into us. Overall a successful day despite being bumped as we didn’t have to race further than first post!

W6 (Core Women B)

➡️ Rowed over 😮‍💨  ·  Jess Halliday (7), Liv Hutson (S), Holly Parkes (C)

After a pleasant evening’s stroll down to Stourbridge to collect our boat, and some rapid assessment of the competition as they rowed past, W6 managed to extract ourselves from entanglement with a tree and sat ready on the start line. The cannon fired, and we were off, making a remarkably tidy beginning for only the second start (and first outing) as a full crew. Cantabs W7 behind were so terrified by our speed that they almost immediately succumbed to a speedy champs bump, and we were left to make our relaxed way down the course at the top of the division, progressively dropping the rate as we went. The commitment in the crew was so great that our cox Holly even drank some Cam water to refresh her dry mouth, risking multiple diseases in pursuit of the perfect row over. ‘The best I’ve ever seen this crew row’ was the coach’s conclusion. Bring on W1 division tomorrow.

W9 (Masters Women A)

🥪 Double sandwich-y row-over 🥵 ·  Kimmy, Bow

Back to the Row-ture

Great Scott! This year threw Masters Women A into a temporal anomaly: Sandwich Boat. One race at the top of Division 3, followed immediately by a jump to the bottom of Division 2. Was the race timetable designed by Doc Brown?

Our first mission was simple: row over at the top of Div 3 and leave Tabs XI in the past. The DeRowrean accelerated cleanly off the start, and before long Tabs had vanished from our timeline altogether, courtesy of Express III. Roads? Where we’re rowing, we don’t need roads. Row-over plan executed with temporal precision.

Back at the P&E, awaiting our next race, we tackled the really important issue: if you’re Sandwich Boat, where are the sandwiches? Despite an exhaustive search of the space-time continuum, none were discovered. The DeRowrean would run on Candy Kittens and Bow’s flapjack. Who needs Plutonium?

Back on the water, at the bottom of division 2, our target was St Mary’s A. The temporal strategy was simple: hit 88 GIGASTROKES a minute (give or take 50), catch them off the start and rewrite history.Sadly, St Mary’s caught Tabs X before we could catch them and the resulting bump created a temporal anomaly its own. The resulting three boat entanglement folding space and time together before the DeRowrean could extract itself and continue its backup mission to overbump Rad I. By the time causality has been untangled Rad I had escaped into the future.

Temporal Status: Flux Capacitor: Operational / Sandwiches located: 0 / Temporal knots: 1 / Row Overs: 2

W13 (Dev Women)

➡️ Rowed over 😮‍💨  ·  Hannah - stroke

Note: these are just the reports from crews that submitted them, not the full results for the day. Full results are maintained by CRA here: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/jess.upton/viz/CRATownBumps2026/Results-OpenDivisions

Place score for City after Monday: -2.