Blame it on the weather
In fact the coach even tried to blame the crew's shortcomings on the weather! '3rd day. We started well, but our old enemy the following wind was again in evidence and considerably interfered with the steadiness of the crew and boat' and 'The first day of the races was the beginning of the hottest spell of weather in an English Summer, that I (coach) for one have ever experienced in this frigid country'. I assume from the above that Mr P A Doria Pamphili was of Italian extraction and therefore used to warmer climes.
In 1912, things looked to be on the up, for Secretary AE Collier inform us 'The term started in a very promising manner, most of the freshmen evincing a desire toward the river - (in some cases encouraged by judicious bursal persuasion) Eventually there were about 20 men tubbed fairly regularly, excluding those who, on to the charms of the 'muddy' game (rugby), were rather compelled to neglect rowing' - Even though he remarks on the eternal problems beset between Rowing versus Rugby allegiances. - as well as 'horsemen', for there was also a strong element of 'riding' or 'hunting' men at the college who would have nothing to do with the Boat Club. It used to be rumoured that if a Magdalene man put in an appearance in College during a horse race meeting at Newmarket he feared being gated or even fined!
Again they under-achieved at the Lents, 'We started off fairly fast but again became paralytic, and succumbed to Hall', and by the Mays of 1912 they had serous moral problems for, ' a member of the boat of found that the call of, 'Work!' was too incessant to be neglected, and so retired from the rowing world'. This seems to have had a knock-on effect - 'Unfortunately the rest of the boat showed on the whole they were a faint-hearted lot and coaches exhortations to them after half a minutes rowing were pitiful to hear'.
After the Great War, the Captain of Boats made the point of 'practice makes perfect' and during the Lent term of 1919 reiterated his sentiments thus, 'it is impossible to deny that rowing demands a very stern apprenticeship which it is impossible to carry out except [on] a crew [that] is out together every day? there is no solution in the 3-days-a-week scheme. (I suppose one could argue that they needed all the practice they could get!)
By the Lents of 1921 recruitment was again a major problem, for Mr Page-Phillips the Secretary records that 'The two gentlemen took great trouble with their eights, and spent almost every afternoon bicycling up and down the tow path, endeavouring to explain the art of rowing to them. There task was not easy, for several oarsmen suffered at intervals from some malady or other, in fact at one time it was feared one eight would fade away altogether, but some noble second and third year men kindly came forward and offered themselves up to be slaughtered'. However, a solution was affected the following years for 'After much canvassing and conference with the Captain of 'Rugger' we managed to get enough men'.
Mr Page-Phillips again uses his acid pen a year later to inform us of the 1922 Lents - 'To make matters worse, only a few days before the races, a certain individual was found to be utterly and entirely devoid of 'guts'. Not only was he a useless passenger when rowing, but what is more unique, he stopped when paddling. So a change had to be made in the crew. The second boat was [also] a decidedly ugly crew.
Again, the Secretary the following year was obviously not easily enthused for he tells us that during October 1923 -'Nothing exciting happened except one of the cox fell in owing to 2 and 4 catching a crab. Next day the Secretary took the boat out, but unfortunately at the Railway bridge fell in himself'!
During the Lent Term of 1924 the Boat Club seem to have had the most appalling bad luck (and health) for we are notified that, 'this (training) was interrupted, as 7 had a bicycle accident, 5 shed pints of brood from the nose, and 6 on the Monday and Tuesday before the Races developed and had to have lanced a boil on a certain part of the human anatomy which most oarsmen find somewhat delicate after rowing on a fixed seat'. Who said rowing was a safe sport!