{italic}Bumped Downing II{enditalic}
Once again, we were chasing Downing II, and we were hoping to make it a tougher day for them. Ahead of them, Homerton were likely to bump New Hall, and with clear river ahead of them and us pushing behind, we hoped we\\’d finally be able to crack Downing.
We got off to a good start, with a strong push under the motorway bridge, and by the time we reached the Gut we were just inside station. Coming around Grassy, Homerton and New Hall bumped out, and with Downing aware that a bump for them was now out of the question we made our move. As we came out of Grassy, we heard our first whistle. Everyone responded well to Owen\\’s calls for a big push, and as we approached Ditton corner we began to edge closer and closer to Downing II.
Encouraged by the crowds and the increasing noise of whistles (and a hooter) from our bank party, we pushed hard into Ditton. Owen\\’s kill call increased the boat speed further as we reached overlap, and just as we came into the reach we were told to hold it up.
This was the furthest any of us had ever had to row for a bump, which made it all the more satisfying as we knew we\\’d really earnt it, capping off an excellent term for W1 with a fantastic result.
Thanks to everyone who has coached, bank partied or supported us this term!
