CUWBC Convincingly Defeat Molesey

In a late start, CUWBC defeated Molesey in a fixture from Chiswick Steps to the Boat Race Start in their fixture on Sunday.

Due to the timing of the fixture, the tide had turned and was on its way out as CUWBC took on Molesey in a single piece from Chiswick Steps back towards The Boat Race start. Cambridge won the toss and chose Surrey, giving themselves the inside of the long first bend.

Cambridge took the better of the starts and had a handful of seats as the crews reached top speed, Molesey holding their progression briefly at about half a length. The gap began to extend as the fixture approached the end of the Eyot, with Cambridge moving out to a length as the crews settled down.

The strong wind that had impeded the earlier OUBC vs Oxford Brookes fixture was a tailwind for these crews, keeping the tempo of the race high between the Eyot and St Paul’s. Open water was achieved at St Paul’s before being extended to over a length at Hammersmith Bridge.

From here Cambridge piled on the pressure and continued to open up the gap. There were two lengths of open water by Harrods, and over three by the Milepost. Here the conditions had become a headwind, but it did nothing to halt Cambridge’s advances as three lengths became four by Fulham FC, five by the start of the Boathouses and six by the finish of the piece at The Boat Race Start.

Cambridge held their boat speed well into the headwind with an upbeat tempo that couldn’t be matched by Molesey. This was a strong win for CUWBC, however, they will be looking for tougher tests before taking on Oxford in The 2016 Cancer Research UK Boat Races on March 27th.