Head of the Charles Regatta 2012, Day 1

Arriving in mid-afternoon on Saturday to check the ambiance of the event, the skies begin to clear (10/19/12)

My wife, I and a dozen or so friends spent this past weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, attending the Head of the Charles Regatta 2012 with my stepson's high school crew team. This was the first year, of the last three he's rowed in, that I have been able to attend as the cross-country team I coach had a weekend free of an invitational of their own, so it was nice to get to go for what will be his final year rowing as a high school crewman. Time not spent at the Charles River was spent in Waltham, Ma, a suburb about 15 minutes from the location of the trailer.



The view of the Charles River from teh walkway behind our hotel in Waltham, Ma.

We spent three days at the site, the first of which was spent rigging the "eight boat" (a boat for competitors with eight rowers and one coxswain), as well as an opportunity to briefly get on the water and preview the course. The weather (and traffic) were very challenging that day, so my wife and I decided to drop of her son and wait until the following day to check out the site.

The boys get a quick warm-up in at the ERG tent.

The second "day" we were in town, but the first full day at the regatta, the student-athlete's warmed up in the ERG tent for about twenty minutes and then took advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with old classmates and new potential collegiate coaches. (What the newbie would call a "rowing" machine is really called and ERG. It's used fro training and warming-up prior to races, as a means of improving form and stroke rate--at least that's what I think.)

 

Even with no rooting interest in the races, it's fair to call the Charles "picturesque."

The Head of the Charles is a HUGE regatta drawing teams and fans and dogs from throughtout the state nation WORLD! While I had attended many smaller scale events, the HotC was incredible in its scope featuring rowers from young highschoolers to past Olympians to seniors who had been rowing for decades.

 

Club, high school and college teams are all represented in the competition at the Head of the Charles.

Following our brief visit to the regatta site, we (and the student-athletes) were more then ready to get to the business of competing, an opportunity which woudl need to wait until the next day...