Several Cantabs members recently travelled to Massachusetts to race in the Head of the Charles Regatta, held on the penultimate weekend of October.
David Richardson reports on how he and Cécile Jacklin fared:
“We had planned a trip to the Head of the Charles (HOCR) as one of our key objectives for the year, alongside the British and the World Masters. Too much work (always a nuisance!) had meant that we hadn’t got on the water as often as we wanted but we decided to go ahead for the experience, and we were not disappointed.
“We hired boats from Fluidesign (i.e. the same 2x as we normally scull) and blades from Concept 2. All the kit was brand new, and a pleasure to scull with, but the £/$ exchange rate was painful. We flew out on Wednesday so as to practice on the course Thursday and Friday – there is no practising over the race weekend. We’d also booked a coach to show us the river, and (especially) the lines to take through the 7 bridges, three of which are somewhat tricky – imagine a 5k Tideway with sharper bends, add bridges like Bedford and several thousand spectators, and you have the picture!
“The format of the weekend is a series of about 30 races over two days, for all types of boat and age groups. We raced “Grand Master Singles” on Saturday and were pleased with our rows – good lines, and a position “in the pack”. There were some seriously good scullers at the front, including ex-Olympic Champions, and many regular scullers on the Charles River, so our results of 17th out of 31 (Cecile) and 36th out of 56 (David) were respectable. Conditions were good, although they deteriorated later in the day with heavy rain.
“Sunday was our ‘Directors Mixed Doubles’ event (handicapped), but conditions had seriously deteriorated, and there was even some suggestion that the course might be shortened. The marshalling area resembled the North Sea at times, and just turning was ‘challenging’. We had a good start (helped by the crew behind us sculling straight into a bridge), and held off the opposition for the first third of the course in incredibly difficult conditions – strong headwind and significant waves. We were passed by a very strong double at halfway, but passed 4 or 5 crews ourselves in what was, at times, something of a struggle for survival.
“We ended up 25th out of 37 crews, a result that disappointed us, although OK in the context of unfamiliar water and conditions that didn’t suit us. We made up a small amount of time on the Upton crew who had beaten us the previous weekend at the Pairs Head on the Thames, so all in all, not too bad.
“It was good to be able to cheer on crews from X-Press, who were also racing (as were a number of Thames based crews, and also the British squad). The standard at HOCR is very high, but we would recommend the trip to anyone – nearly 12,000 people racing over two days, a beautiful course (when it isn’t blowing a gale!) and with a level of organisation that is simply superb. We had a fantastic welcome from all the rowers we met, and enjoyed every minute of it.”
Other Cantabs members taking part in this years Head of the Charles included Ro Thompson, who coxed in the Women’s Master Fours [40+] for a crew racing as XPress, and Sue Hackenbeck, who is currently on sabbatical in Princeton and rowed in the Women’s Club Fours with the Carnegie Lake Rowing Association.
