Caius Boat Club

Caius Boat Club (CBC; Caius KEEZ) is the boat club for members of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. The club has rowed on the River Cam since its foundation in 1827 as the "Caius Wherry Club" and, like the other college boat clubs, competes to gain and hold the headships of the Lent Bumps and May Bumps, contested separately by men's and women's eights. As of 2026, the club's men hold the headship of the Lent Bumps. Since 1999, Caius has won more headships than any other Cambridge college in both men's bumps competitions. The men have taken 16 May Bumps headships in that period, including an unbroken reign from 2002 to 2007, one of the longest in the event's history, and 13 Lent Bumps headships, the most recent in 2026. In 2000, Caius became the first college to hold both the men's and women's May headships in the same year, part of a run in which the women held the May headship for three consecutive years (2000–2002), later adding a fourth in 2024. The club has won 21 men's May headships in total since 1827, the fourth-most of any college. History Early history From its inception in 1827 as the "Caius Wherry Club" the club has been active on the river, becoming properly established with the construction of its own boathouse. Success came quickly: Caius oarsmen appeared in the Boat Race as early as 1836, among them Thomas Selby Egan, who coxed Cambridge in four races between 1836 and 1840, and the club took the headship of the river in 1840, 1841 and twice in 1844 (when one single continuous bumps race existed, raced twice per year). The club also found early success away from the Cam, winning the Silver Wherries (pre-cursor to the Silver Goblets) at Henley Royal Regatta in 1845, followed in later generations by the Visitors' Challenge Cup in 1896 and the Thames Challenge Cup in 1904 and 1914. These early decades proved a high-water mark, however, and were followed by a long drought: the club would not hold a headship again until 1987. Notable achievements During the May bumps of 1998, the top 3 men's and women's crews all won Blades by bumping up on each of the 4 days of racing, with the Men's 1st VIII finishing Head of the River. This 'clean sweep' of the top 6 boats being awarded their "Blades" is believed to be unique, having not occurred previously or since. The following year, Caius took the headship of both the Lent Bumps and May Bumps — the first "double headship" in the club's history. In 2000, the club went one better, becoming the first college ever to hold both the men's and women's May headships in the same year; this was a first across any Bumps in both Oxford and Cambridge. They repeated the feat in 2002: these are the only 2 years of "double Mays headship" in Cambridge rowing history. Caius has since made the double men's headship its own: completing it 11 times in just 21 years (between 1999 and 2019), including five consecutive years from 2002 to 2006. Between the Lent Bumps 2002 and May Bumps 2006, Caius men became only the second club to take 10 consecutive Headships. According to the popular myth on the River Cam, this earnt CBC the right to erect a clock tower on their boathouse, made reality when the new boathouse was finished in 2017. The Men's crew of 2010/2011 remained 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 May Bumps. They also represented the Cambridge Colleges at the Henley Boat Races, defeating Christ Church, Oxford in a Collegiate Varsity Race. Caius Boat Club has developed athletes who have gone on to trial for the university boat club CUBC (and formerly CULRC and CUWBC). In 2014 there were Caians in both the men and women's Blue Boat, Goldie, the CUWBC Lightweight boat and the men's lightweight spare pair. This tradition has continued into the present day. In the Cambridge clean sweep of The Boat Race 2023, two members of the Goldie crew, one from Blondie, one from the men's spare pair, one from the women's spare pair, and one further openweight men's spare all learnt to row at CBC. During the May Bumps 2023, Caius came close to repeating the unique May Bumps Double: the men started Head, with the women bumping up to Head on the first night; the Women rowed over for 2 nights but lost the Headship on the final day. Current Bumps Positions As of the 2026 May Bumps, Caius Boat Club's crews hold the following positions (overall finishing position, followed by position within division) in the Cambridge Bumping Races: Honours Headships Caius Boat Club has held the headship (finishing first on the river) of the Lent Bumps and/or May Bumps, for men's and women's crews, in the following years. Headships held for five or more consecutive years are shown in bold. Henley Royal Regatta Committee The Captain of Boats leads Caius Boat Club for one year, from July to July, handing over at the conclusion of Henley Royal Regatta. Foundation years Modern era CUBC Representation The following members of Caius Boat Club are also members of the Cambridge University Boat Club. Crew and seat details for 1836–1927 from the Caius Boat Club history; venue and result for pre-1968 races from the official Boat Race results archive; 1968–2021 data from CUBC's official crew archive. CUBC Presidents Caius members who have served as President of CUBC or its predecessor clubs: Men's Blue Boat Women's Blue Boat 1968–2026 data. Men's Reserves (Goldie) 1979–2023 data. Women's Reserves (Blondie) 1982–2026 data. Men's Lightweights 1978–2025 data. Women's Lightweights 1987–2024 data. Gonville Boat Club There exists a club for members who have left the college called Gonville Boat Club. 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 reportedly took to the water with a combined total of 28 Cambridge headships between them. International medalists Alison Mowbray, Olympic silver medalist Sebastian Mayer, World silver medalist Sebastian Schulte, World champion Josh West, Olympic silver medalist References External links CUCBC at Cambridge University Combined Boat Club Caius Boat Club