Row, Row, Row Your Boat

It's that time of year again. Wintery fairy lights are hung on and between shops, a giant Christmas tree is put up in the center of town, the temperature drops overnight, and at one point you find yourself in the library going, "My God, it's seventh week..." For rowers, this realization finishes with "...and I'm going to be on the river for 90% of the week..."

Yup, it's the week of Christ Church Regatta, a rowing competition for novices. Usually, in this regatta the boats race side by side, and the winner is whoever crosses the finish line first. This year though, because of all the lovely English weather we've been experiencing, the first few days of the regatta are a "heads" race, which is basically a time trial. Boats with certain times are then bumped up to the semi-finals and eventually finals, which are side-by-side races. I thought I'd vlog the experience this year for no good reason at all:

Day One




Day Two

Racing was cancelled for the day due to fast streams and a very high river. It was also violently windy. Seriously. The wind almost knocked me into a car while I was cycling home. Wind is evil...


Day Three

Racing was cancelled today as well. River conditions have been marked "red flag," the dangerous flag. Apparently, my housemate and I also received a flood warning for our house. Fun times in England, no?


Day Four

The final day of racing was cancelled too. The river had flooded and was considered waaaaay too dangerous to boat on. It was a bit of a let down, but the post-regatta celebrations went ahead anyway. On the plus side, everyone's now psyched and eager for next term's outings and racing.