Page 107 of Oar Than Friends

I chuckled lightly, ‘You could say that.’

‘Well, we’ve run into a slight issue. Do you know Mike Short?’

I nodded as my brows knotted, ‘Blue Boat cox? Yeah, sure.’

‘Good, well you might not have heard but he contracted mumps over Christmas, and he’s still in hospital.’

I gasped, ‘Oh, I hadn’t. That sucks, I hope he’s better soon.’

‘He’s out of the woods and they’re saying he’ll make a speedy recovery. But he won’t be fit enough by March for the Boat Race.’

My eyes widened as I realized why they’d called me and I breathed a sigh of relief; I felt kind of honoured about it. I wasn’t sure I was qualified to advise on the boys’ cox seeing as I hadn’t spent much time with them, but I’d still watched some of their training sessions and been impressed by a couple.

‘What about Rich Blackley? I saw him compete last week and his boat won by a length; they were behind until the last hundred meters. It was an awesome finish.’

Westcott nodded, ‘Yes, we’ve considered Blackley, but he’s not ready for Blue Boat.’

‘Could he take Goldie and you move up James Deyton to Blue Boat cox?’

Westcott leaned forward, steepling his fingers as he did so. ‘It was a possibility, but James has got the Goldie crew to an amazing place, they’re syncing perfectly in training and in races. We don’t want to risk the upset of two boats if we move him to start over when we’ll certainly win with Goldie if we leave him where he is.’

I sighed, sinking a little in my chair as I did, ‘I can have a think for you, and let you know if anyone comes to mind.’

‘Oh, we don’t need that.’ Coach Stephens shifted where his ass was sitting on the desk. ‘We’ve already got a solution.’

‘Oh,’ I replied, ‘well, let me know what I can help with.’

Coach Westcott smiled, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t ever really seen him smile. It was kind of nice, beat him shouting anyway.

‘You can help by coxing Blue Boat.’

He sat back and stared at me. I blinked, my head moving from Stephens, to Godwin and then to Thistleton. They were all wearing the same expressions of mild amusement while they waited for Westcott’s words to sink in.

‘Excuse me, could you repeat that?’

‘Yes, you’ve been promoted to Blue Boat coxswain. You’ll be training under me and Coach Thistleton moving forward.’

‘But … but …’ I stopped, unsure what I was trying to say. Or whether it was appropriate to refuse. But also, what the holy crap was going on? ‘Sorry, I don’t understand. How can I cox the men’s boat?’

‘The same way you cox the women’s boat, I’d hope.’

‘But Coach …’

‘There’s nothing in the rule book to say women can’t cox the men’s boat, or vice versa. I’ve checked with the rowing federation, and we’re good to go.’

‘Sir …’ I began again, but stopped because I really wasn’t sure what to say.

‘Kate, I’m announcing in today’s session that you’ll betraining as the new coxswain for Blue Boat. We’re impressed by your skill and motivation, and we want you on the blue team.’

‘But James Deyton, and what about Becka Jones or Morgan Wright?’

‘Morgan’s going to take Blondie. As I said, James is already settled well with Goldie and the same goes for Becka Jones in the women’s Blue Boat. It’s been discussed, and you in the men’s Blue Boat gives us the best chance at winning in a clean sweep.’

My mouth opened, then closed. Blue Boat. I was a first-year coxswain with no experience of rowing the Tideway, and I’d been put in charge of securing a victory for Cambridge in the Boat Race.

And it didn’t seem like I had a choice in the matter.

‘Wait behind after training tonight and we’ll go through your new schedule. I’ve already spoken to Will Norris about additional Tideway sessions so you can get up to speed with the boys. We think we’ve selected the final eight, so we should be good to go.’

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