[CUCBC Captains] Coxing the Tideway Racing Line - Monday 6th March

[Robert Nimmo]

Dear Captains,

The following message has been passed round the college coxes list, but I
figured I'd copy you in as well.

CUCBC have managed to persuade Ro to give a talk on the racing line for
Tideway (see, we're good for stuff other than spoiling your fun!), which
I'd recommend very highly to any cox planning to compete at WEHoRR or
ManHORR. I've raced on Tideway somewhere upwards of 20 times, and I'll
still be taking notes. Ro has stayed current on the racing line (which
keeps changing as the bottom of the river changes shape), so I think almost
any cox would benefit from attendance, either as a refresher for knowledge
not used for a year, or to prepare them for their first trip.

(For those who've not been on the course before, it's complex and quite
intimidating for anyone experiencing it for the first time as a cox. If
that applies to your cox, I'd very very strongly urge them to come along.
I'm incredibly glad someone talked me through it ahead of my first WEHoRR.)

All the best next week, and beyond,

Robert

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robert Nimmo <robert at cucbc.org>
Date: 24 February 2017 at 19:15
Subject: Coxing the Tideway Racing Line - Monday 6th March
To: coxes at lists.cucbc.org


Dear college coxes,

While I know most of you are obsessively focussed on Lents, and will remain
so for at least the next week, a number of you will be entering either
WEHoRR on the 11th of March or ManHORR on the 25th.

Ro Thompson has very kindly agreed to give a talk to any competing college
cox to discuss the racing line for these races on Monday the 6th at
7:30pm*. Ro has been coxing for 13 years, including three years training on
the Tideway with Vesta Rowing Club based in Putney. She has four Tideway
pennants, three from WeHORR and one from HORR. Whilst as Vesta she coxed
the top womens crew to 3rd and 4th place in WeHORR and raced twice in the
elite womens 8s event at Henley Royal Regatta. She is a Level 2 British
Rowing coach and until retiring in 2015 was the M1 cox at Cantabs Rowing
Club, winning two headships. Outside of the UK she has raced at Ghent
Regatta, Basel Head and twice at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston,
MA.

For those who have yet to experience Tideway, the complexities cannot be
compared with the Cam**. The difference between a good and bad racing line
can be measured in 10s of seconds, while even a few seconds margin can cost
you upwards of 25 places in the finish order. On a purely personal note,
I've gained enormously from hearing Ro speak in the past both in terms of
Tideway results, but also in terms of feeling confident navigating on a
river which is much busier and more dangerous than the Cam.

I would very strongly urge any of you planning to compete in WEHoRR or
ManHORR this year to pop this in your diary, to be remembered after the
haze of BCD fades.

All the best for next week,

Robert

* The observant amongst you will note I haven't said where... This will be
confirmed shortly, but will be a lecture room in a college somewhere near
the centre.

** Yes fine, oh pedants of the coxing mailing list. They can be compared,
but only in terms of 'one is much bigger than the other!'
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.cucbc.org/pipermail/captains_lists.cucbc.org/attachments/20170224/921c02d6/attachment.htm>