trials and tribulations on the tideway

Oxford and Cambridge Boat Clubs stepped up their preparation with Trial VIIIs this afternoon and in a dramatic reminder of last year’s Boat Race the two Oxford crews were involved in a mid-race collision.

The event, held over the full Boat Race course, sees the squads each split into two crews which then race themselves.

Oxford crews ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Spitfire’ go hard off the start

First up were Oxford with ‘Hurricane’ taking on ‘Spitfire’ in what Martin Gough, former Assistant Editor of the BBC Sport website, described as “one of [the] best trials I’ve ever seen”.

OUBC go in for some unconventional weight training

Spitfire, starting on the Middlesex station, claimed the win by just 1/4 length despite their opponents featuring last year’s President Karl Hudspith and Olympic bronze medalist Constantine Louloudis.

But it appears that OUBC still haven’t learnt their lesson after a clash with the Tabs snapped one of their oars back in April.

The two crews tangled blades late in the race and caused Dr. Alex Woods – familiar to most Tab readers for collapsing from exhaustion the last time he raced the course – to catch a crab.

A crab, caused when the oar gets stuck under the water, is usually only seen in the lower echelons of college rowing and qualifies as a disaster in a race of this calibre.

Dr. Woods remained upbeat about the incident

The CUBC race, between ‘Bangers’ and ‘Mash’, was a relatively uneventful affair.

Bangers, featuring three Blues and the Czech Olympian Milan Bruncvik, ran out easy winners by 4 lengths after starting on the Surrey station.

‘Bangers’ banish ‘Mash’

The Tab will be back on Sunday 31 March for the big day as Oxford look to avenge last year’s heartbreaking defeat.