Bumps Day 1

Today was the first day of Bumps. For those who don't know, a bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file; each boat attempts to catch ("bump") the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind. The form is mainly used intramurally at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. It is particularly suited where the stretch of water available is long but narrow, precluding side-by-side racing. Bumps racing gives a sharper feel of immediate competition than a head race, where boats are simply timed over a fixed course.

Unfortunately, our boat was bumped, but we were bumped by Christ's which is probably the fastest boat on the river and we were able to hold them off for long time. Tomorrow we will be chasing Christ's and being followed by Cats. We probably will not be able to catch Christ's and Cats will probably not catch us, so we will have to row the entire 2.5 km course without Cats catching us. If we do, we should be able to bump on Friday and Saturday.