Bowdoin Rowing

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The Quinsigamond Snake Regatta 2015

Saturday was one of those race days when every crew steps off the water with a big smile on their face. We enjoyed the crisp fall air, plenty of warm sun, and a whole bunch of medals to take home with us!

The women’s side performed very well, with varsity boats coming in third and fifth in their event, and the novice boats coming in third and fourth in theirs!

The men’s side put on a pretty good show, too, with golds in the varsity, novice, and alumni fours events! The three varsity boats came in first, sixth, and eighth; the novice boats came in first and fifth; and our alumni men came in first. What a day!

The Head of the Charles is no longer on the distant horizon but next weekend, and we couldn’t be more excited. This season has gone by so fast – the whole kit and caboodle will be over before we know it! Until then, we’re crossing our fingers for just a couple more mornings of agreeable water.

A big thank you to all of the families and friends who have been supporting us. Your cheers (and homemade snacks) get us to the finish line that much faster. Looking forward to sharing some more victories together. See you in Boston!

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The Textile River Regatta 2015

The leaves have barely started turning and we’ve already got our first race under our belts… sort of. The Textile this year was one unlike any other in recent history.

For the Bowdoin Navy, it included just as many non-races as it did races. The gentle breeze that kicked us into gear early Sunday morning ended up kicking us off the water by early afternoon.

Our novices, scullers, and club fours returned from mighty voyages down the Merrimack River with stories of being “slaughtered” by the waves and trying to dodge buoys that had drifted all around the course, yet all crews pulled through with remarkable spirit.

Our first novice men’s boat came in fifth in their event with a time of 25:30, with the second novice men’s boat following closely behind with 28:36. The first novice women earned second place with an impressive 28:36!

Next up was the men’s recreational single sculling event, which was demolished by our very own Lucian Black with a time of 28:25.

In the men’s club fours event, our third varsity boat came in eighth with a time of 23:32 after a penalty. Several course marker buoys had moved around in the tumultuous waves, so many crews were getting penalized left and right for “skipping” them. A similar thing happened to our women’s third varsity boat. Despite the odds, they had a great race with an adjusted time of 28:44!

By the time 1 pm rolled around, three more men’s boats and two more women’s boats were sitting pretty at the start line, ready to take a stab at it. 

The Merrimack had other plans…

Several boats had already flipped downriver due to the nasty conditions, and race officials deemed the whole project unsafe for the rest of us. In an exciting and thoroughly unsystematic manner, about thirty boats of all different sizes made a beeline (“paddling”) back to the dock.

Thankfully, all our rowers, coxswains, and equipment made it back safe and sound, albeit damp. Land ho!

This weekend, we take on the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta and, after that, the Chahhhles River! Stay tuned with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@bowdoinrowing).

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Head of The Charles Medals!

At The 50th Head of the Charles, Bowdoin earned third place medals in the Men’s College Four and Women’s College Four, while the Men’s Second Boat zoomed to 13/44 in the same event as the first boat.

The fall rowing extravaganza capped a speedy season for the whole Navy. Opening at the Textile River Regatta, Bowdoin’s men took 2, 5, 6, and 11 in a field of 25. The Novice Men were 3/5 for the first medals of their Bowdoin careers. On the women’s side, we came 1st and 9th in a 24 boat event, while the Novice Women were 4,5, and 7. Nora Hefner ’16 won the Women’s Club 1x.

The next weekend at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta, the varsity men were 2, 5, and 8th and the novice men were 3rd. The varsity women were 1st and 8th, and the novice women finished 3, 4, and 5! After a solid start to the racing season, the crews were excited to finally head to Boston.

The capstone of fall rowing, the Head of the Charles, attracts thousands of the best collegiate rowers in the country, as well as former and current National team members from over a dozen countries. The Collegiate Fours events included the usual powerhouse programs, but this year Bowdoin proved itself among them. In the men’s event, The Bears finished ahead of Michigan, UNC, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, and Georgia Tech to name a few.  Likewise, the women topped Brock, Clemson, FIT, Georgia Tech,  and Purdue among others.  Pretty good company for a small liberal arts college on the coast of Maine!

The men’s boat which won third was coxed by Claire Velez ’16, stroked by Cal Brooks ’15 and powered up by Mark Endrizzi ’15, Nathan Post ’15, and Joe Lake ’15.  In thirteenth place, Maddy Livingston ’16 coxed while Trevor McDonald ’15 stroked for Harris Fisher ’17, Phillip Maier ’18, and Arman Ashrafi ’17. In the women’s boat, Sophie Berube ’16 had the helm for stroke Mary Bryan Barksdale ’15, Emily Martin ’15, Courtney Payne ’15, and Liza Tarbell ’17.  Both men’s and women’s boats have finished in the top ten since 2011, and each side has earned two medals at HOCR in those years, including a gold by the women in 2012.

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Fall Fun

Fall Season is underway with a great squad of returning rowers and a full group of novices. The weather on the coast of Maine has been spectacular and crews are taking advantage of it mornings and afternoons.

Racing begins with the Textile River Regatta on Oct. 5 in Lowell, MA, followed by the Quinsigamond Snake on Oct. 11. We have 3 crews in the College Four and 2 alumni boats racing in the Club Four at the Head of The Charles on Oct. 18. Come join us at the water!

Family Weekend begins Oct. 31 and we will have an event at the Boathouse to introduce parents and siblings to the boats and oars. Stay tuned for details!

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Henley In the Wake

After an undefeated regular season and open water wins at New England’s and Dad Vail, Bowdoin’s top four advanced to the quarter finals of Henley Women’s Regatta. In the single elimination knockout format, or “side by side,” Bowdoin found itself in the harder bracket and drew Yale for the quarter final. Yale’s four was second in the Ivy League Championship and raced a close race with Oxford Brookes University on Saturday to advance to the “elite eight.” Bowdoin jumped out to the lead with a perfect start, but Yale drew even and the two crews raced level through the body of the race. As they approached the line, Yale was slightly ahead, but Bowdoin began its final push and started to surge on the Eli. Sadly, a missed stroke caused a crab and stopped the boat dead in the water just as we were moving up, and Yale was able to pull away to win.

It was a great race! Two evenly matched crews dueling up the course would not yield a stroke to the other. The Yale women were gracious and complimentary as they greeted our crew, and our women knew they had raced with a top flight competitor. It was the fastest heat of the round, and we were right in it to the end. So close!

While the dream of winning at Henley was lost, we had the victory in the Elite Four against prestigious Thames Rowing Club and Boston’s premier Riverside Boat Club at Reading Amateur to give us the elusive win on the Thames to add to gold on the Charles and the Schuylkill. Riverside advanced to the final at HWR from the other bracket only to lose to University of East London, who defeated Yale in the semi-final in another blazing fast round.

Our top boat rowed with grace and determination in every outing. Senior Capt. Katie Ross leaves a legacy of willfulness and intentionality that will serve her boat mates Emily Martin ’15, Courtney Payne ’15, Capt.Elect Mary Bryan Barksdale ’15, and coxswain Sophie Berube ’16 in campaigns next season. Katie’s contribution to rowing at Bowdoin cannot be measured. Our Second Boat, stroked by Nora Hefner ’15 and with Maddy Livingston ’16 at the helm, was powered by Erica Hummel ’15, Amy Spens ’15, and Audrey DeFusco ’16 in the body of the boat. They earned the respect of the regatta in their best row of the season for their “tenacity, grit, and no nonsense racing” in spite of an opening day loss to Henley Rowing Club. Our spare, Liza Tarbell ’17, captured and inspired the hearts of her team mates with her irrepressible humor and energy and gutsy performance in the single at Reading.

Our trip to the Mother River draws to a close with the whole squad grateful for the support from home. Hearing from parents, alumni, and friends in the college and town has meant the world to the team. Thank you all! We return to the New Meadows more seasoned as athletes and people. We have raced, and won, and lost in the highest level available to us, on a river of historic racing and beauty. We have been a part of the pageant of international competition, and with Kipling have met with “Triumph and Disaster” and are learning to “treat those two imposters just the same.” Above all we have learned to respect, trust, and even love one another through the gift of racing boats. Thank you all for helping make it possible.