Hardy Cubasch

It?s 4:45am. The alarm sounds with its usual painful daily shock, but today there is a special feeling of anticipation. Bags are already packed and as I leave the room I see my house and crew mate Geoff Roth ensuring his sexy new hair do is manicured just as his stylist had it the day before. It was only last week that Catz fresher Josh Pendry knocked Casanova off his prized pedestal and became the CUBC?s new Most Eligible Bachelor, so Lonely Bear needs to ensure he uses today to maximum effect.

As we sneak downstairs, a collection of shoes greets us at the door. Do these belong to the feline KDR of C.am Girls fame and members of her Jezebel cohort? Lonely Bear whimpers- he has a soft spot for our Johnian neighbours. At least his dedication to the squad is never in question and thus his Michaelmas sharking days are now long gone. I assure him he is not as dated as some older and heavier members of the crew and he gives his trademark chopstick chuckle as we set off on our adventure to London…

Casanova back in his pre season glory days in New Zealand

Today is the official naming of the Boat Race crew and is the culmination of six months of work. 12 sessions a week training, testing and trialling. Although we have been a squad for the entire time, everyone has been competing against each other to achieve their dream of being selected. For some, today is the biggest achievement and proudest moment in their sporting careers.

Cambridge’s secret weapon: The Bow 3 Unit

It is a huge honour to be named in the crew to represent Cambridge in such an historic event, however, this is only the first step. Over the past six months each man has proven he is the best man for the job, now it is time to come together as a crew. The weeks ahead will be spent fine-tuning race specifics and as much time will be spent off the water preparing tactically and psychologically as spent on the water actually training.

What it’s all for

The crew announcement and subsequent weigh-in is the first time we line up and come face to face against our Oxford counterparts. The next time we see each other will be on the starting line. After the crews are named and each opposing man weighs off against the other, the afternoon is spent with the media. The first time you do this it really strikes home just how big the Boat Race is and how fortunate and privileged you are to be a part of it. There are representatives from all the major television and radio broadcasters and just as many from the print media.

The first time the crews face each other. Barely a word is exchanged

While everyone is interviewed, it doesn?t take long before they are all enthralled by our token red nut engineer George Nash. In his summers spent winning gold and silver medals all over the world with both the GB Under 19 and 23 teams he has come into the possession of quite an interesting array of knowledge, known in the club as ?Nash Facts?. Having jumped off the scales at just under 100kg, this 2012 Olympic hopeful soon had the media convinced that, amongst other things, London is the driest capital city per capita in the world, the measurement term horsepower actually originates from the time it took a donkey to pull a 40 litre bucket of water up a well and that Hillary Clinton is the world?s most famous lesbian. Later that day he declared that belly button lint only comes in red and blue.

The GLA: Obviously a non-believer of ‘Nash Facts’

Once we put young George back in his box, the two crews moved on to meet London Lord Mayor Boris Johnson before dolling ourselves up and getting in front of the cameras for the BBC pre-race coverage filming. The overall theme of the day is to enjoy the moment and have some fun, but all the while we are aware that this is simply step one of many that will be taken over the coming weeks to ensure we cross the line in front of Oxford. For as we all know, our year will be remembered simply with one of two words – Won or Lost.

Later this week we have our last day of practice races, return to Cambridge for final supervisions and dissertation presentations and then it?s back to London for the ten day lead up to the main event. The excitement and nerves are beginning to build, and with each passing day these will continue to grow at an ever increasing rate. The process, at times daunting, will not stop until the starter drops his flag at 17:00 on Saturday 26th March.

18 days to go…