Yale v Brown regatta 26.3.11

BROWN WINS -Harry Simperingham was a late seat change for the Bears v Bulldogs 2000m race, taking 3 seat in his debut in the ‘varsity eight’. But nothing was going to take the lead from the home crew.

The Bears hit the ground racing from the start at 45 rating, Yale at 40-42.

Conditions were relatively good: 4V, 3V, Freshmen, JV raced against the incoming tide. Varsity raced at slack tide. 36 degrees, gusty cross/cross-tail (from WNW at 15-20 mph). Relatively flat water.

Yale sat at 34 to 35 rating from the 1st 100m to the last 50m, taking the  0.43 of a second win. The Bears maintained 36 and 37 for the entirety of the race. Brown won in a time of 5:45.54 

 Yale’s close second in Yale  5:45.97 

Brown’s use of their own water this year, does hold some advantage. "It does make a difference to be on your home course, said Head coach Paul Cooke. "Our river is different from others and the landmarks are well known. When you are going backwards down the river it helps to have a sense of where you are."

(The Yale varsity eight lost by a mere 1.8 seconds in 2010 to a Brown crew that would go on to take third at Eastern Sprints.)