In late September CUWBC was invited to attend the 150th Anniversary Livingstone Regatta, to compete against Oxford and the winners of the South African boat races on a 2km course on the River Zambezi. The crew spent several weeks preparing in Cambridge before flying to Zambia and training for a further week there. Despite the distractions of over 40 degree heat and hippos disturbing the race course, the crew, stroked by former Blue and current GB squad sculler Annie Vernon, performed excellently to win the race with clear water. Oxford came second, about 2 and half boat lengths behind, while the two South African crews, Rhodes University and University of Cape Town, came in considerably further behind, despite finishing their race season only a few weeks previously.
From cox to bow: Rebecca Dowbiggin (cox), Annie Vernon (S), Kat Graham (7), Ali Alexander (6), Kate Hillier (5), Laura Massey (4), Jo Robinson (3), Grace Neal (2), Mary Twitchett (B),
Photographs courtesy of Peter Twitchett