1st Men's IV - Fairbairns 2009

After our successes at the Winter Head, we were eager to avenge narrowly missing out on a 2008 Fairbairns victory. The weather in the days leading up to the race had been wet and windy, but in the event, fairly calm conditions prevailed. After some sitting around waiting for the First and Third IV to push off, we moved onto the start line. A big start took us to Downing boathouses as we moved into the rhythm that would carry us over the course. A well-controlled rate of 34 took us down past the wall, and, as we went under the Green Dragon Bridge in just under five minutes, a lift took us to 35. Coming under the Railway Bridge, another move took us up to 36. As we rounded Ditton, we summoned our last reserves for one last push. Unfortunately, a mistake by the Jesus marshals led to the finish line being slightly further than anticipated. Happily, we held it together over the new finish. An excellent time of just over 11 minutes over the longer course gave us some confidence, but it was still a tense time as we waited for the results. However, it turned out that we had done enough. A victory Fairbairns dinner for the first time in more than half a century was an excellent way to cap off a very satisfactory term. Bring on the Lents!