[[CW: Swearing]]

"Oh Jesus!" he shouted when even the last boat passed them, and they were now behind all other teams. He had been on the rowing team in school! How were they losing!?

It was probably because Angus was barely paying attention to what he was doing. His eyes were scanning the bridge and harbour side for his runaway wife. The fact that he could barely be called sober probably didn't help either. "You got to do better than that!" he shouted at that and he himself began to put in more effort, only to stop and sit up straight when he thought he saw Ruth's form somewhere at the harbourside.

#1: The Good Buoys

The Good Buoys [26]
(17 + 1 + 3 + 4 + 1)
Total progress: 81 [#1]

The Locomotive [12]
(4 + 2 + 4 + 2)
Total progress: 59

The Sirens [22]
(9 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 3)
Total progress: 57

Ketch of the Day [19]
(6 + 4 + 1 + 4 + 4)
Total progress: 51

The Nessie Rowers [13]
(3 + 1 + 4 + 3 + 2)
Total progress: 49

Ruthless [17]
(14 + 1 + 2 )
Total progress: 41

Constable Coburn moan-grunted behind Wesley as ‘he’ rowed hard.

When they cleared the finish line, she pulled the oar in, grinned, and slapped him hard on the shoulder … right at the base of his neck, glancing briefly to Crane with feral glee.

Whew! His arms were still burning from last race, but he could spend the rest of his life on a boat! So nice to inhale through both nostrils.

Mehmet kept on, slow but steady and keeping his mind determinedly off last race’s fiasco. Surely all those fops and Scots got it out of their systems last round, right?

Wesley felt the sharp slap and gasped, almost dropping his oars and looked over his shoulder to glare at the constable. The FEMALE constable. He rubbed at the spot. "What was that for?!"

The constable in the back watched Francis' terrifying look and then towards Wesley and shrugged helplessly.

Murphy strained against the oars, when was the last time he'd rowed? It was good hard exercise though. "Your a.. good rower.." he said towards Mehmet. He wanted to compliment the man and let him know, even if they didn't win, he'd done a great job. He focused on where they were going and hummed to himself to keep in rhythm as he kept going.

Fanny’s only answer was a crinkle of the nose and a smug look.

Aww. He kind of wanted to send this guy flowers – but then British flower language was not, uh, what he was used to, and he’d never been good at flower language anyway.

“You’re a good captain,” he said.

… Could he really go wrong with bluebells?

Murphy turned his head to galnce at the other. "And it's a lovely sunny day. I'm glad we are out enjoying the water! Thank you for joining me." He said in a voice that seemed cheerful though not emotional.

#1: The Good Buoys
#2: The Sirens

The Sirens [32]
(20 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 4)
Total progress: 89 [#2]

The Locomotive [12]
(5 + 3 + 2 + 2)
Total progress: 71

Ketch of the Day [11]
(2 + 1 + 2 + 4 + 2)
Total progress: 62

The Nessie Rowers [13]
(2 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 1)
Total progress: 62

Ruthless [11]
(7 + 1 + 3)
Total progress: 52