Senior Boats

Words from the Overall Captain

PCBC had a wonderful start to the term, thanks to the efforts of the committee members. We began with a training camp in Budapest where members of the club with all levels of experience were able to strengthen their technique and build their fitness in preparation for term. Aside from this, training camp was a wonderful time for all members of the club to set up a bond of friendship which lies at the heart of the club. A special thank you to Bálint Homonnay and his family for accommodating this training camp, we are extremely grateful for the wonderful experience.

We also welcomed a new Coach Coordinator this term- Chris Radbone, who has taken the role under his wing. Chris joined us on training camp and since then has committed to the rapid improvement of our rowers. His coaching and leadership skills have had an encouraging influence on the club already, and we look forward to having him lead us in the years ahead.  

The start of Michaelmas term saw great eagerness and excitement. Our LBCs successfully organised our annual Big Rowing Day which saw a fleet of fresh faces try out rowing and speak to members of the club. We recruited a very impressive intake of freshers who continued to show determination and devotion throughout the term.

Alongside our novices, our senior boats were as eager and committed as ever. We began the term focusing on rowing in 4+s in preparation for University Fours, before transitioning into the 8+s. Whilst we may not have come away with a host of victories, the effort and commitment to each and every training session and competition has been admirable, and there is no doubt that every one of our senior boats have given it their all.  

We feel very hopeful and strong as we look to Lent Term, and I hope to have more boats competing than ever before. I would like to thank all of our coaches and committee members who are the engine of PCBC, as well as Kevin Bowles, our boatman, who is always rooting for us and keeping our equipment up to scratch. I also want to thank Sir Richard Dearlove for his continual support, as well as all of our alumni for their involvement, encouragement, and support. I look forward to a Lent term full of rowing, Off-Cam races and hopefully the opportunity to meet more of our alumni community at the Pembroke Regatta Dinner.

Men's Side

Off the back of a fantastic training camp in Budapest, the Men’s First VIII hit the ground running in Michaelmas. The crew began term as two IVs. First up, Autumn Head provided a productive start to the term, but University IVs was where the fun began. The Second IV made it to the final against Emmanuel after a long bracket. Meanwhile, the First IV was knocked out  in the second round by the overall winners, a valiant effort no less. The crew then transferred into the VIII for Winter Head, for which they held together in the face of illness. Finally, the boys succeeded in beating their counterparts’ time from last year in The Fairbairn Cup, rounding off a successful term for the team.

M2 had a strong and seasoned crew, with experienced PCBC seniors alongside newly matriculated members with diverse sculling and rowing backgrounds. The boat came together quickly during the first few weeks of term, and were able to contribute to training up novice coxes for the rest of the club. During the latter parts of term the weather limited their water time, however, the crew carried the momentum with diligent land training, which contributed to their success in Winter Head, coming 3rd in the M2 division with a clean row and an impressive sprint. While the crew was not able to row Fairbairns due to external issues, they continued to train into the end of the term in high spirits, which was reflected in the quality of rowing.

Women's Side

University 4s was a trial by fire for W1, who’s novice cox had only had a week of outings prior to the race. Despite this, they pushed hard, losing to Homerton by 6 seconds. Their racing time would have won several other heats, and the crew came together wonderfully in such a short space of time. Then at Winter Head, W1 had a productive race, putting into practice the changes made since Uni 4s. They pushed hard and came 5th in their division, catching a crew several places ahead in the start order. 

Fairbairns was an excellent end to the term for W1. Finishing in a strong 5th, they beat both Sidney and Homerton whom they had lost to earlier in the term, evidencing their commitment and improvement. The race was a particular success for their cox Finlay, who having only started coxing in October, passed through the rite of passage to become a senior cox with flying colours.

W2 set a strong foundation for the year‘s rowing this Michaelmas. At the start of term, W2 brought together rowers from five former boats, yet quickly found a cohesive crew feel. Closely involved with cox training for the club, the crew gained one of the promising novice coxes in October and they helped each other improve as the term developed. The boat had a very successful Winter Head; despite being W2’s first race, they overtook crews at the Plough and Railway Bridge, finishing in the top half of their category, and kept them fiercely enthusiastic through to Fairbairns. For half the boat, it was their first Fairbairns Cup, but the whole crew took to the challenge with impressive grit, defending W2’s position from last year’s results and finishing fourth out of all the women’s Second VIIIs. This term has built up much momentum both with training and racing results, so their hard work should continue to pay off in future races and Lent Bumps.

PCBC Coxes

After losing a number of our ‘22-23 star coxes, the club has rebuilt wonderfully, recruiting 6 new coxes across men and women’s side, and with many of these new coxes going into senior boats they’ve progressed incredibly. We now have a strong coxing squad heading into 2024, and there will be plenty of competition for the top boats, preparing for bumps as well as some exciting races on the tideway.

Michaelmas Novices

Women's Side

We had a great term of Women Novices! We were able to set two full boats and have some regular subs, and this recruitment will surely benefit us going into Lents.

NW1 had a great time, with regular outings and ergs they developed their technique a lot! Some semester students from America also joined and overall they reached a good speed. They have built a solid foundation and passion for rowing which will be a great set-up for Lent Term, and I hope many of them push for the higher boats.

Given the considerable uptake of rowing on the women's side this Michaelmas, NW2 took the form of a 12-strong squad. Particularly impressive was their ability to come together as an 8; in one of their first sessions their switch from rowing in fours to all eight left their cox in shock (impressed shock, of course)! Moving forward to Clare Novice Regatta, NW2 had an eventful race against Homerton NW1, to whom they conceded despite glimpses of a comeback. This was their first race so provided plenty to celebrate and plenty to improve on. In all, it was a lively and productive term for NW2.

Men's Side

Once after an NM1 outing, I suggested that we cancel the outing planned for the next morning, since they had 6 outings planned for that week. They all immediately told me off. I believe this short anecdote perfectly reflects our novices astonishing eagerness.

In Emma sprints, we comfortably beat Emma and Caius’ top novice boats, and lost in the semi-finals to Selwyn NM1 who later went on to win overall. This was certainly a result to be proud of and despite not winning overall the novices are now hungry for victory and are an incredibly driven squad.

Pembroke Trialists

This year Pembroke has two trialists, Molly Foxell and Arden Berlinger. Both competed in the recent trial 8s race in some even-choppier-than-normal tideway water, with Arden’s boat ‘Nala’ winning their race. Molly is returning after stroking Blondie last year, and both of our trialists have just returned from the CUBC training camp in Italy and are awaiting the final selection. We’re certain they’ll make the club proud, and we’re eagerly awaiting their return to W1 in Mays.

Thoughts from the Head Coach

Although it has only been 4 short months, it has been great to get involved with and to be a part of PCBC and I hope to help build on the legacy that Seb had helped build in his time with the club. Our training camp in Budapest, courtesy of Bálint Homonnay, saw many returning athletes take to the Danube in the lovely September heat. Training camp was a great opportunity for both myself and the athletes to get to know each other as well as develop their skills and understanding prior to the start of term. When back in Cambridge, I was able to meet the wider members of the club and we got ourselves underway for the hectic Michaelmas term. It’s never an easy task for a club to adjust to a new coach and program, especially in the very short calendar of CUCBC. The club however, have approached changes with a good mentality and enthusiasm which ultimately led them to good performances in the events towards the end of term. I believe with this momentum, we can be looking at an exciting Lent Bumps for both our Senior and Novice VIIIs, of which I’m hoping to field 8 come term’s end. I would like to say thank you to the alumni that help make all this possible and I look forward to meeting those of you who have spared some time to help coach our crews this year!    

Lent Term Diary Dates

For anyone who lives in Cambridge or fancies making the trek on a weekend, we would love to have the support of PCBC members past and present on the bank at our upcoming races. Look out for emails about watching the boat race as we may try and organise somewhere for PCBC to watch from (perhaps a pub near furnival). N.B. Lent Bumps is very early this year, so account for this if you’d like to come watch.

February 3rd - Newnham Head

February 9th - Robinson Head 

February 17th – Pembroke Regatta

February 23th – Lent Bumps Getting on Race(To be confirmed by CUCBC)

February  27th -  March 2nd – Lent Bumps (To be confirmed by CUCBC)

March 9th – WEHoRR (London)

March 23rd– HoRR (London)

March 30th – The Boat Race (London)

Pembroke Regatta 2024

Planning for the Pembroke Regatta 2024 is now underway, with it taking place on Saturday, 17th February 2024. We’d love to see as many of you there as possible, both racing and at the dinner 

If you would like to take part, please get in contact at: regattasec@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com, 

or alternatively contact the alumni team at: sponsorshipalumni@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com.

Volunteering and Staying Connected

Alumni support is crucial when it comes to coaching of Pembroke crews - we can all think about the alums who sharpened our catches back in the day! If you would like to contribute to the ongoing success of PCBC through coaching, please get in touch with the Head Coach Chris Radbone, Overall Captain Esyllt Parry-Lowther, or the Sponsorship and Alumni Representatives. It would be fantastic to see our current crews inspired by previous successes.

On this point we are currently in the process of updating the PCBC contact page on the website, to make it easier than ever to message the club. We’ll email with details about this in the coming months, but we’re really keen to get you all more involved where possible, and potentially have an ‘alumni boatclub’ similar to Downing’s Segreants to help us organise alumni in races on (and beyond?!!) the cam.

In the meantime we’d love to include some photos/memories from alumni in these newsletters, so if you have recently found some old photos of you rowing, or any other memories from the club, we’d love to see/hear them at sponsorshipalumni@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com.

And, as always, follow our social media for the latest news!

Website: www.pembrokecollegeboatclub.com

IG: www.instagram.com/pcbccambridge

FB: www.facebook.com/PCBCCambridge

Twitter: twitter.com/pcbccambridge

Pembroke Regatta Twitter: twitter.com/pemregatta

If you are not already connected, we have a facebook group just for alumni, where we post news about races, events, and the club. Please visit us here to join in order to stay updated!

Row on PCBC!