Rowers compete at 53rd HOCR and prep for Schuylkill

Last Updated: 24.Oct.2017

This past weekend 13 COC affiliated athletes competed in The 53rd Annual Head of the Charles Regatta. The athletes enjoyed great weather with temperatures reaching the mid-seventies and manageable winds for the majority of the weekend. 

The Head of the Charles is a 4800 meter race in Boston, MA that requires athletes to safely travel under six bridges, make three turns to port, and two turns to starboard. Racers must balance their hardest rowing piece against steering the fastest course in order to perform well. Collisions with other crews, skipping buoys, going through the incorrect arches, and violating the traffic pattern all result in time penalties; it's incumbent upon the athletes to know the course well.  

Green Racing Project athletes: John Graves, Wes Vear, Nathan Lado, Jen Forbes, and Jenny McIlvane saw favorable results in their singles this past weekend, and are currently  preparing for their next race (Head of the Schuylkill Regatta) that will take place this weekend in Philadelphia, PA.

Graves, Lado, and Vear are in the running for the The Lotman Challenge - a Triple Crown for Rowing - that awards cash prizes to the top three male and female scullers who have accrued the highest collection of points based on their performance at three previously-selected regattas in 2017.  

Scullers must compete in the USRowing Club National Championships, Head of the Charles, and Head of the Schuylkill in order to be eligible for this award. 

With two-thirds of the races now completed, John Graves is the Lotman Challenge leader with 26 points; his brother Tom (New York AC) with 24; and, Wes Vear, at a close third, with 22 points. Nathan Lado holds the fifth place slot with 16 points. 

Detailed results from The Head of the Charles Regatta are below:

Men's Grand Masters 1x - 51 entries

Bow #9: Troy Howell (6th)

(19:12.113)

Winning time: Gregory Benning, Cambridge Boat Club (18:26.751)

Men's Senior Masters 8+ - 57 entries

Bow #27 : Motley Crew (38th)

*this year marked the Motley Crew’s 39th consecutive race together*

Dick Dreissigacker (7 seat)

Peter Dreissigacker (6 seat)

Larry Gluckman (5 seat)

(17:34.299)

Winning time: Marin (15:28.144)

Women's Senior Masters 8+ - 36 entries

Bow #14 : 1980 Rowing Club (15th)

Judy Geer (3 seat)

Carlie Geer (bow)

(18:57.744)

Winning time: Chinook (17:22.899)

Women’s Alumni 8+ - 43 entries

Bow #28: Middlebury Alums (37th)

Erika Sloan (stroke)

(19:40.16)

 Winning time: UVA Alumni (15:48.524)

Men's Alumni 8+ - 50 entries

Bow #29: Messalonskee Rowing Club (28th)

Steve Whelpley (7 seat)

(16:18.819)

Winning time: BMA Boat Club (14:42.019)

Men's Champ 1x - 22 entries

Bow #1: John Graves (2nd)

(17:59.696)

Bow #15: Wes Vear (9th)

(18:34.275)

Bow #14: Nathan Lado (14th)

(18:53.939)

Winning time: Michael Schmid, See-Club Luzern (17:56.416)

Women's Champ 1x - 23 entries

Bow #18: Jen Forbes (13th)

(19:49.341)

Winning time: Gevvie Stone, Cambridge Boat Club (18:44.210)

Women's Lightweight 1x - 15 entries

Bow #4 Jenny McIlvane (6th)

(20:26.380)

Winning time: Juliane Rasmussen, Odder Roklub (19:18.091)

--

To see more results from Head of the Charles, go to Regatta Central 

Photo coverage of the regatta can be found at Row2k , Sculling Fool, and Sport Graphics

--

Article contributor:

Jenifer Forbes