This past Saturday, the rowing team travelled to Boston to compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta. After winning the Regatta last year, the women’s varsity four beat the previous course record by five seconds, but had to settle for fifth place. In the men’s division, Bowdoin took home sixth place in a particularly fast field. This is the third consecutive year that both men’s and women’s teams have placed in the top 10 at this particular event.
The Head of the Charles is the largest two-day regatta in the world. It began in 1965, when Boston invited crew teams from all over the globe to gather on the shores of the Charles River and compete in an intense series of races.
“The river has such a rich rowing history,” said captain Katie Ross ’14. “The race itself is unlike anything else you can experience as a rower.”
Over the years, the Regatta has grown to host 9,000 athletes annually, including both Olympians and national rowers from around the national and international circuit. Upwards of 300,000 spectators attend the event, validating the title it has earned over the years as America’s Fall Festival of Rowing.
“It’s pretty much the only place in the United States where people get pumped about rowing,” said Trevor McDonald ’15. “Lots of people who know nothing about the sport just come to watch for the crashes or the excitement.”
The Head of the Charles is known as a coxswain’s race because of its many twists and curves. In crew, the coxswain directs the rowers to steer the boat.
“The line the coxswain decides to take can either deduct or add seconds to your time,” said Jennifer Helble ’14, who has coxswained the race for the past four years. She described the race as nerve-wracking, saying that spectators and many other variables can add or drop valuable seconds from individual boat times.
The Regatta is also a head race, meaning it is a time trial with staggered starts. Boats begin the race individually, and, according to Helble, “essentially have to chase each other down the course.” This type of racing has the potential to create some mishaps, however. If one team catches up to another that refuses to yield, collisions become inevitable.
“Because the [Regatta] is an extremely winding course, complete with seven bridges, the possibility for collision is actually pretty high,” added Helble.
Bowdoin sent three teams to compete in the regatta this year: two college fours—one men’s, one women’s—and a lightweight four in the men’s division. The women’s four was beat out in its race by Barry University, McGill University, Georgia Tech and Trinity College, but still managed to break a 49-year course record before the record was again broken in the same race by the four other boats. The team was comprised of coxswain Sophie Berube ’16, Ross, Amy Spens ’15, Courtney Payne ’15, and Nora Hefner ’16. The men’s four (coxswain Helble, captain McDonald, Mark Endrizzi ’15, Nathan Post ’15 and Joe Lake ’15) managed a sixth place finish among a very difficult field of 38 other teams. The men’s lightweight event took place on Sunday, and Bowdoin placed 14th among 17 teams, beating University of Connecticut, Harvard University and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Coach Gil Birney said he was pleased with the weekend’s results.
“All three crews went in well prepared and eager to race, and went as fast as they were capable of going,” he said. “Each boat went to a new level in this race and I could not be more pleased with the efforts and results.”
The team has one final scrimmage against Colby and Bates this coming Saturday. The event will take place at the Colby-Hume Center, and the teams will compete in eight-person boats instead of Bowdoin’s usual fours.
With the fall season now drawing to a close, Birney is pleased with the advances the team has made this fall.
“The Bowdoin navy has had an outstanding fall season,” he said. “Our first women’s boat won each of its two regattas coming into Boston, and the men were second in both regattas.”
Despite these triumphs, Birney has some pointers for his rowers who hope to return in the spring.
“To gain more speed for spring racing, the crews will be working to improve the mechanics of the stroke on and off the water to increase strength and conditioning,” Birney said.
Rowers also highly anticipate the spring season and look forward to a new round of competition.
“We’re hoping to send the women’s side of the program to the Henley Women’s Regatta in England this summer and are very excited for fast boats in both the men’s and women’s programs,” said Ross. “It’s going to be an exciting spring.”