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Race Reports

Two Cities Boat Race 2015

Saturday 25th April saw the Two Cities Boat Race take place, an annual 650m event held at Salford Quays where past and present MUBC rowers take on those from Salford University Boat Club. In true Manchester style, conditions were wet and windy, but MUBC powered through to secure victories in 7 out of the 7 races entered.

Hattie West claimed the first win of the day for MUBC in the women’s single. The race had the potential to be a close one as Hattie has rowed GB and SUBC’s representative, Frankie Sinnott, has raced for England. However, West proved to be the stronger candidate as she powered through the course, looking much more relaxed in the choppy conditions than her opposition. Sam Thornton quickly followed suit in the men’s single, winning the event for MUBC for the 5th year in a row by a comfortable margin. In his words, a spotless record!

Next up was all of the 8+ races, namely the alumni 8+, providing the closest race of the day with a win by only 1.5 seconds. Up until half-way it looked as though SUBC may have clinched the lead with this one, but Manchester produced an impressive finish and edged in front at just the right moment. The fresher women’s and fresher men’s eights shortly followed with another 2 strong wins for MUBC. Both eights handled their first regatta extremely well, nailing the start and keeping composed and tidy despite the high rate, we are all very proud of them!

Following the freshers down the short course was the senior women. After struggling to perfect the racing start all week, their hard work paid off and they were a length up on SUBC after the first 20 strokes. After a couple of crabs being caught by one of the Salford women, Manchester crossed the line 22 seconds ahead of their opposition, an impressive win. The senior men were next to race and  Manchester were confident that they would succeed. Both teams put on a strong performance and blade work was tidy, however it was MUBC who won by a margin of 6 seconds, a result that SUBC were pleased with considering their odds. While our men did win their race, they were disappointed with the lack of cohesiveness in the crew as they commented on their lack of rhythm, something that needs to be worked upon in the run up to BUCS this coming weekend.