Pembroke Boat Club burned their boat on Wednesday as part of the traditional celebrations for winning Torpids.
Pembroke’s first Men’s Eight bumped the Christchurch on the first day of Torpids and maintained headship throughout the four-day competition.
The captain of the Pembroke boat, Austin Elwood, commented that it had been an “exceptional effort by the team.” When asked about the tradition of the burning of the boat, he said that it was something that “could only happen in Oxford.”
The Pembroke men’s crew last got to the Head of the River in 2009, but they were bumped before the end of the competition. Several rowers from the 2009 crew came to watch this year’s men succeed. Both male and female Pembroke crews also qualified to represent Oxford at the Henley Boat Races where they will compete against the fastest college boats from Cambridge.
The burning of the boat took place at 6.30pm on Wednesday in Pembroke’s North Quad. Around 100-200 people turned up to watch the traditional ceremony with one Pembroke finalist commenting, “It was an incredible thing to watch. I felt so proud.”
