Caius Boat Club (CBC; ''Caius'' pronounced ''keys'') is the boat club for members of

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. The Club has rowed on the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

since 1827, and like the other college boat clubs its aim is to gain and hold the headship of the Lent Bumps and

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of M ...

, now held in eight-oared boats, separately for men and women. The club had a golden era from 1998 to 2007, finding itself in the top echelons of college rowing on both the men's and women's sides. From the

May Bumps 1998 The May Bumps 1998 were a set of rowing races held at Cambridge University from Wednesday 10 June 1998 to Saturday 13 June 1998. The event was run as a bumps race and was the 107th set of races in the series of May Bumps that have been held ann ...

until the May Bumps 2007 Caius took 19 headships, 15 of these by the men. In 2000 they became the first college to take a double headship on both the men's and women's side in the May Bumps. In the 2019 Lent Bumps, CBC regained men's headship, after having lost it in 2017.

History

From its inception in 1827 as "Caius Wherry Club" the club has been active on the river, and became properly established by the construction of its own boat house. The Club saw some prominence in its early years, holding the headship in 1840, 1841 and 1844 (when only a singular bumps order existed, and there were no women at the university), but this was followed by a long drought. In 1987 The Men regained the Mays Headship but lost it the following year.Durack, John; Gilbert, George; Marks, Dr. John (2000). ''The Bumps: An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827-1999''

Recent times

During the golden era from 1998 to 2007, Caius took 5 consecutive Lent Headships (19 days at the top) and so claim to have earned the right to erect a clock tower on their boathouse, a popular myth on the River Cam, that may be made reality when the plans for the college's new boathouse are approved. After another brief period in the doldrums, the Men's crew of 2010/2011 achieved the unlikely feat of remaining unbeaten on the river Cam in eights for an entire year. This run saw them bump up 4 times to the headship of the Lent Bumps (the first time this had been achieved in either bumps since 1962, and in the Lents since before WW2) and up 2 times to the headship of the

. They also represented the Cambridge Colleges against

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in a collegiate varsity race at the Henley Boat Races, becoming the only Cambridge men's crew to be successful against their dark blue opponents that year. The men's crew continue to be successful, retaining both the

Lents The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south (whichever is farther south), SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly S ...

and Mays Headship in 2012 and maintained their winning streak in side by side racing by beating Pembroke College, Oxford at the Henley Boat Races. During the May bumps of 1998, the top 3 men's crews and the top 3 women's crews all secured the awarding of ''Blades'' by bumping up on each of the 4 days with the men's 1st VIII finishing ''Head of the River''. This 'clean sweep' of the top 6 boats being awarded their "Blades" has not happened previously, or since. The men's first boat lost the Mays headship in 2016 to Maggie, and the Lents in 2017, also to Maggie. The women's first boat is currently second in Mays and thirteenth in Lents. Caius Boat Club has a strong tradition of encouraging its athletes to trial for the university boat clubs;

CUBC The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

CULRC Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) was the University rowing club for lightweight male oarsmen at the University of Cambridge, principally to race against Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) annually in the Lightw ...

, and

CUWBC Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the W ...

. In 2014 there were Caians in both the men and women's

Blue Boat The Blue Boat is the highest level boat representing the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge in the universities' annual rowing races on the River Thames, The Boat Race and Women's Boat Race. As of 2016, the women's first VIII ...

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in th ...

, the

CUWBC Lightweight Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the W ...

boat and the men's lightweight spare pair.

Notable alumni

Josh West A. Joshua West (born 25 March 1977) is a dual citizen British-American Olympic rower and Earth Sciences professor. He is a two-time World Championship silver medalist, a World Championship bronze medalist, and a four-time Cambridge Blue, and r ...

, Olympic silver medalist *

Alison Mowbray Alison Mowbray (born 1 February 1971) is a British former rower who won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics competing in the women's quadruple scull. Rowing career Mowbray rowed for the Liverpool University and Polytechnic Boat ClubMowb ...

, Olympic silver medalist * Melissa Wilson, Current GB rower

Alumni club

There exists a club for members who have left the college called

Gonville Boat Club Gonville may refer to: * Gonville, New Zealand, suburb of Whanganui * Gonville Bromhead (1845–1891), British Army officer awarded the Victoria Cross * Gonville ffrench-Beytagh (1912–1991), Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist * Edmund Go ...

. Although GBC is primarily a recreational club, it occasionally enters regattas and sometimes races the current CBC 1st men's VIII. In 2008 a GBC crew took to the water with a total of 28 Cambridge headships between them.

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

References

External links

* CUCBC a
Cambridge University Combined Boat Club

Caius Boat Club
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge Organisations of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Sports clubs established in the 1820s 1827 establishments in England Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam