History
The first boat to compete on the river Cam in the name of the St Radegund pub did so in 1998, when members of the Cantabrigensis HHH entered a boat in that year’s Town Bumps. Starting second from bottom in the lowest Men’s division, they exceeded their expectations, bumped four nights running and won blades. For the succeeding two years the St Radegund ‘River Rats’ rowed under the banner of the Free Press Boat Club, and began the new Millennium near the top of the Third Division.
The year 2001 saw a second St Radegund boat club row in Bumps. This was the infamous ‘Metric Tonne’ boat, formed one quiet Saturday lunchtime in May by some of the more heavyweight St Radegund drinkers (the combined weight of the eight rowers was in excess of 2,204 lbs, hence the name) and coached to near-competence by the Free Press’s John Whitney. In the 2002 competition, the men’s ‘River Rats’ and ‘Son of Tonne’ boats were joined by the St Radegund’s first ever women’s boat, and although none of the crews had a particularly successful week, a seed had been sown.
The St Radegund Boat Club was formed, with St Radegund landlord Terry Kavanagh as Commodore and John Whitney as Captain. The club became independent of the Free Press (by then the X-Press Boat Club) and joined the CRA in its own right. The club’s performance in the 2003 Bumps (1st Men’s VIII level, 2nd Men’s VIII +4, Women’s VIII +2 places) earned it the John Jenner Trophy for the best over all performance by a rowing club. The trophy was retained the following year with a similar aggregate performance.
John Whitney was succeeded as captain by Jon Dawson, who instigated an alternating, (male/female) captaincy and vice-captaincy that is still in force today. St Radegund boats continued to go from strength to strength, and featured in Winter Leagues, City Sprints, and most other races on the river Cam. The next few years’ Bumps races saw the club’s three boats build on the success of previous years and the latter year saw the realization of a cherished dream of John Whitney’s in the running of the first ever St Radegund Mile Race. This event, which is open to both Town and College crews alike, is unique in rewarding the crew which most accurately predicts its time over the mile course. A success first running makes it one of the more anticipated annual rowing events on the Cam.
The club bought its first boat from St Neot’s Rowing Club after the 2006 Bumps. The boat was re-named Vera after Dame Vera Lynn, in whose honour the St Radegund pub’s Friday night gin drinking society is named. Soon afterwards it purchased its first set of oars. They were painted in the distinctive club colours by Ollie Crabb.
After disappointing results in Bumps in 2007 and 2008, the club fought hard to consolidate its position the year after, and looks forward to a bright future. In 2007 a number of the St Radegund’s founding women rowers helped fill out a senior X-Press women’s boat, and began to row in competition under the name Free Radicals. This boat recently began to row under the St Radegund banner. Recently Vera was replaced by another boat bearing the same name. The club has also added another men’s and one women’s eight, and a four to its collection. For a large part of its existence the club used the facilities of Jesus College boathouse. As of the Spring of 2010 the club rows from Corpus Christi.
The smallest club on the river Cam is rightly proud of its roots within the community of the St Radegund pub, and reflects something of the pub’s ethos as it has developed under Terry Kavanagh and, latterly, James Hoskins: it provides an environment in which rowers of all abilities can perform to their potential, all the while enjoying the camaraderie and rivalry that Cambridge rowing has to offer.
Author: Steven Haslemere, 2010
