The Bowdoin Rowing Club dominated the racing at the Riverhawk Racing Series hosted by UMASS Lowell on Sat. April 20. Bowdoin won in the Varsity events for Men and Women with decisive open water gaps. In the JV races Polar A and B crews placed first and second in both the Men’s and Women’s events. The Novice Women won by lengths of open water and the Novice Men crossed the line first and third, but a penalty for lane violation cost the first boat its win and backed it down to 4th. The Navy races 4/21 at The President’s Cup with Bates and Colby in Greene, ME. Complete results at row2k.com.
News
Spring Speed!
After a terrific training trip to good old Camp Bob Cooper, The Navy is off to a speedy beginning to spring season.
At The Big Three with Amherst and Middlebury on April 13, Bowdoin won 4 of the 8 events for fours, and was second in the remaining 4. In the Eights, Bowdoin finished just a length behind Midlebury in hard fought rows up the Connecticut.
The Varsity Women, Varsity Men, Lightweight Men, and Novice Men all posted victories while the Second and Third Women, Novice Women and Second Men raced hard to claim second in thier events. Bowdoin’s Second Novice Men finished third in the Novice Men’s race, fast enough to beat Amherst’s First Novice entry.
Next weekend the Navy travels to Lowell, MA to the Riverhawk Racing Series with UMASS and others, and on Sunday contests the President’s Cup with Colby and Bates at Greene, ME.
Guts, Glory, and Gold!
At The Head of The Charles on Oct. 20th 2012, Bowdoin crews made Navy history as both the women and the men earned medals in this classic fall festival of rowing. Racing in the College Fours event, both crews pulled with enormous determination and just plain guts as they attacked the course from beginning to end. When results were posted, the men repeated a medal winning row from 2011, and the women won Bowdoin’s first gold at The Charles. It was glorious.
Starting with bow #4, the men were on track to challenge for the gold themselves. They won the Snake the week before and were the first college crew by over a minute in their silver medal row at the Textile. They took to the Charles rowing really strongly to Cambridge Boat Club but there they snagged a branch on the skeg which caused a brush with Fordham’s stern and forced the Bears to stop briefly and move to the outside of the slower crew. Coxswain Jen Helble ‘14 quickly brought her boat to speed, but the pause cost them valuable time. The University of Virginia repeated as winner, and Bowdoin came 5th with Michigan, Michigan State, and Milwaukee School of Engineering ahead of them. It takes an extraordinary effort to regain racing speed after a stop that late in the race, but these men had a gutsy recovery that earned them a medal for a second consecutive year.
And the women won the Gold for Bowdoin’s first trip to the Awards Ceremony! After winning both the Textile and the Snake earlier in the season, these women were convinced they could take the Charles. Senior coxswain Bonnie Cao called and steered an aggressive race for her ambitious crew. Starting with bow #5, the Bears left #6 Penn State in their wake early while passing Wheaton, U. of Chicago, and Middlebury before rounding through Eliot St. and closing on bow #1 Hamilton. Guts to glory: Bowdoin won by 5 seconds over Grand Valley State with Clemson and Trinity in 3rd and 4th.
Both these men’s and women’s crews set a standard of commitment and determination that carried over to Sunday’s racing. In another milestone for the Navy, Bowdoin entered both men and women in the College Eights on Oct. 21. Racing at the Charles has a way of transforming crews, and both these boats had their best races of the season as they mirrored the spirit and intensity of the fours.
Our alumni men were racing as Polar Rowing in the Club Four on Sat. and were sadly afflicted by The Curse of The Skeg, which seems to have found a home with us! Rowing to the start, they struck something lurking below the surface and sheared off the skeg and rudder, in an uncanny repeat of the 2010 men’s four at the Charles, and the 2012 incident at Dad Vail. They docked at MIT where a boatman was able to supply a new skeg, but did not have time to replace the rudder, so these guys gamely cast off and rowed the course without steerage beyond what they could provide by pulling. They finished with 4 penalties on the buoys, worth 90 seconds, but still beat one crew!
The Charles offered up its usual surprises, dramas, and this year, a victory for the Navy. Thanks to all the alums and families and friends who joined the racers for 2 days of historic proportions in the world’s most famous fall regatta. Soon enough it’s into the gym with anticipation of spring’s sprints, but for now, it’s time to enjoy the glories of this fall’s golden season.
Through The Snake; On To The Charles!
We had a great day of racing at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester on 10/13.
Both men and women repeated last year’s gold medal sweep in the fours events; the men beat 2nd place Vt. by :32 and the women zoomed to a :52 win over Amherst in 2nd. The novice men and women came in first among the novice entries, with the Novice Women stealing the show with a 6th place finish among all crews! In the eights, the men were 20th and the women 23rd. Complete results are at snake.qra.org.
Now it’s on to the Charles on Oct. 20-21. We’re racing both men and women in the College Fours on Sat. and the College Eights on Sun.
An alumni boat of men will race in the Club Four on Sat as Polar Rowing. And our own Molly Taft ‘11 is bow seat in the Riverside crew in the Club Eight, and John and Christine Haines have a spot in the Director’s Challenge Mixed Double, all on Sat.
The trailer will most likely be parked at the FALS lot, and we hope you’ll swing by to say hello and greet the team. Sat. night’s alumni gathering will be at Asgard Pub and Restaurant at 350 Mass Ave in Cambridge starting at 7:15.
Based on our results in the fours this fall we should be competing for top spots in those events, so be sure to come out and holler for the Bears!
Let’s Go Black!
Fall Opener
The Fall Racing Season opened with The Textile River Regatta on Sunday 9/30, during Bowdoin’s Family Weekend.
On Sat. we welcomed rowing families at the Boathouse where we dedicated the Tafts’ gift of our new Pocock K4, announced a major gift to the endowment, and gave folks a chance to try a hand at the oar in the eights. Then we loaded the trailer to head to Lowell for the annual opener on the Merrimack River.
Many families made their way to the river and the great spirit of Sat.’s fesitivites made its way with them. And the crews were fast!
The Varsity Women won the Open 4 by :29 with an agressive row over the top of the course and impressive finish below the bridge.
The Varsity Men in the Open 4 zoomed to silver with a similar race plan, only :11 behind home course powerhouse Merrimack and :12 ahead of Riverside. WPI was the closest collegiate crew over a minute behind the Bears.
The Novice Men opened the medal run in the morning in the 4 with a silver, and two Novice Women’s 4’s dashed to bronze and a 5th.
Scott Mitchell powered his way to a bronze in the Club 1x, just 2 seconds out of silver.
In the eights, the both WN8 and MN8 were 4th, and the VM8 came 11th while the WV8 was 12th.
And a four full of alumni men prepping for the Charles came 11th in the Open 4!
All around, it was a wonderful fall weekend, and thanks go out to rowing families and the rowers themselves for making it so fun to race boats!