Final Strokes

Our run at the Henley Royal Regatta ended at the hands of Upper Thames Rowing Club. Well rowed to the crew! As spectators, we thoroughly enjoyed the regatta and all of the experiences that it had to offer.

We want to sincerely thank all of our supports who helped us through the training, traveling, and racing.

Finally here

After months of training, millions of meters, cold weather, hot weather, erg workouts, weight workouts, steady state workouts, hard workouts, technique row, we are finally here. A year ago, I recall thinking that I would never have the chance to visit, let alone race at the prestigious regatta, but here we are: The Henley Royal Regatta. When the draw was released this past Saturday, I was extremely pleased to see that the Stewards seeded us as #2 for the event. We are slated to race the Upper Thames Rowing Club at 9:20 EST on the Bucks side of the course (Buckinghamshire, the other side being Berks, or Berkshire). Tomorrow's forecast at racetime on the Thames calls for cold, rain, and quite a bit of breeze. 

A great deal has gone into all of this; it is absolutely staggering to really think about all the man hours that have been committed by the five of us. Even as we got here there was more to do. In short order we started accomplishing tasks just as we always have done for the past several months. We found our boat we rented from Hudson; this boat alone is a marvel to behold. It is a brand new boat fresh off the line. I for one do not believe I have ever rowed a boat this new before. We have dubbed and christened the boat “Natty Goh”, combining a Baltimore classic, Natty Boh, with our fervent hope for the boat - that is that it goes like a bat out of hell. By all eyes and all minds that is precisely what it is doing as well. Not to sound as if hubris has taken control, but we are fast, we are rowing well, and perhaps most importantly we are having fun.

The guys are relaxed, feeling well, and eager to get on the course tomorrow. I kept thinking of a quote as I took another Advil, or put some Epson salts into the bath to try to relieve some of the ache as I slowly get older. “The pain that you hold is yours. There is not a single pain quite like it. Nobody else on God’s green earth can feel this pain, or have the indescribable feeling of pride you will have when you overcome it. This pain is not your curse this pain is your privilege.” One stroke at a time, long, strong, and fast.

Final Tune Ups

Our last full week before our departure was filled with firsts. Our Henley outfits and kits both came in and we had the opportunity to test drive them both, at different events. We held a fundraiser meet at greet at Plug Ugly in Baltimore, where we unveiled the blazers and bow ties. The temperature was ideal, the food was great, and the company was even better. We are grateful for the support of our friends, family, and the club, and it was a great opportunity for a send off. 

Event at Plug Ugly

On Saturday, June 18th, we drove up to Philadelphia for a 2,000 meter race on the Schuylkill in the Open 4+. The conditions were quite similar to what we expect across the pond: hot with a headwind. We donned our uniforms, launched next to the St. Joe's boathouse, and completed our warm up. The two races before us were 1X races, and so we had to carefully maneuver through the armada as we took our strokes. We had a good warm up which led to a decent piece. We managed to execute a clean start in the outside lane, establish a base pace, and push during moves. Without the mild sunburns, it would have been an ideal race. With a full 2,000 meter piece in a sanctioned race under our belt, we have a few final practices and tweaks before we depart.

Post Schuylkill Navy Regatta

And finally, some rowing from practice: 

Glory Shots

On Wednesday, June 8th, Greg McKay, one of Rob's fellow prospective MD/PhD candidates at Johns Hopkins braved the early morning to take photos of one of our practices. After quickly doing some push ups on the dock to stimulate blood in the biceps, we launched and ran a typical practice, with a photographer in tow. Here is a link to his Facebook page for more of his work: https://www.facebook.com/GregoryMcKayPhotography/

Here are some of the amazing photos that he took of us and the Baltimore Harbor:

 

Slop and Chop

On Sunday, June 5th, 2016, we raced at our first official regatta, The Stonewall Regatta at the Anacostia Boathouse in Washington, D.C., hosted by DC Strokes. This regatta is known for a few things, including bottles of wine for the winners, thumping house music during the day, and terrible racing conditions. This regatta did not deviate from the status quo.

The Anacostia Boathouse in Washington, D.C.

We arrived in D.C. early as we had one of the earlier races that day, streaming the IRA finals to our phones as we walked from the parking lot to the boat trailer. The IRA modified their race schedule so that the race day commenced with the finals, as looming thunderstorms threatened to cancel races in the late morning. We rooted for our respective squads and watched as the eventual winners for the heavyweight and lightweight 8+ built healthy margins by the 1,000 meter mark, the distance that we were to race that day.

Our first race of the AM was in the Open 4+, a full race with six boats across. There was a Potomac Boat Club (PBC) boat of guys that Alex knew quite well, who was itching at the opportunity to beat their old teammate. Due to deteriorating conditions, the race officials told us that there would be a countdown start. Once our boat reached the starting line however, we found out that it was actually a quicker start than a traditional one, without the race official lining up or polling the crews, nor even having an actual countdown. This resulted in the crews starting more than a full boatlength apart without straight points, complicating the already windy conditions.

We managed to rip off a clean start, however our coxbox ran out of battery on the warm up, resulting in the bownman (Josh Ruck), calling the race from his seat. It took the crew a bit longer to collect but managed to find a base and sprint, albeit a bit later than we would have liked. The PBC boat did a great job managing the conditions and had built a sizeable margin early in the race so we spent the second half trying to eat into their margin. We managed to reduce it to just over one second at the 1,000 meter mark, when the race ended. 

We quickly hopped off the water and rigged our pairs, which was going to be our second and final race of the day. We broke into heavy and lightweight pairs, for eternal bragging rights as to who truly pulls whom down the course. Conditions were even worse for this race with the same starting conditions. The cross wind pushed the pairs into each other at the start, resulting in quite a few clashes. The lightweight pair clashed with the PBC pair within a few strokes, however the race officials did not call the race for breakage. Both pairs struggled to maintain their point through the race, with the lightweight pair once again clashing with the PBC boat, this time requiring the boat to stop and realign. I believe they disqualified a few boats from the race, which did not truly matter in the end due to the devolving conditions. 

It was definitely a memorable, albeit not hugely successful race. Thanks to PBC for great racing and DC Strokes for throwing a high energy regatta.

An example of the conditions on race day

Familiar Foes

We have been fortunate enough to piece with Loyola for the past two weekends. They are putting together a 4+ to race at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRAs) at Mercer on June 3-5, and so they were more than willing to race us for the past two weekends. 

The distance of the pieces varied but the intensity did not - the competition was always fierce. We raced 2,000 meter pieces all the way down to 500 meter blasters, trying to produce as much speed as possible. We were joined by a Loyola spare pair and a women's double, who started in front of us, adding to the fun. Ian Schmertzler, our coxswain, managed the conditions and the other boats masterfully, dodging them when necessary to minimize the wake that we rowed in. Other distractions were present, as during our first piece we were followed by multiple launches with one even trying to coach us during the piece. There is nothing like focusing on technique to distract you from rowing at race pressure. 

The multiple pieces over the two weekends allowed us to practice starts, sprints, moves, and rowing at base. Conditions were beautiful as a whole, but we managed to even practice in winds and currents thanks to the ever varying Baltimore Harbor. 

We were grateful for the chance to row next to a crew as it will only help us for the dual races. Good luck to Loyola when they compete this upcoming weekend at the IRA! 

Bonus clip: Rowing at base during a 1500 meter piece. We borrowed a boat from Loyola for that practice. Notice the water's movement on the boat's bow - hull design has come a long way.

Final Days - Learning a Lesson

I am the only member of the boat that has competed at Henley. The event - Thames Challenge Cup in 2012 with Potomac Boat Club.

The experience changed my life forever. I sometimes talk about it with the guys in the boat. I remember one particular moment that changed my attitude on rowing and competition  - it goes back to May 8th, 2012.

I had already bought the ticket (flights) for the regatta and worked my butt off to make the boat. My erg scores and rowing ability were good enough for the boat. But on May 8th my coach pulled me aside after practice and said "someone in the Open Four wants your seat and has demanded that he seat races you again for a position in the boat. Given that he has been around the club for years and is a very talented rower, I feel obligated to give him a race. You will seat race him several times tomorrow morning."

Can you believe that? About 45 days from the event I am being seat raced! Well, I had encouragement from everyone in the boat and the team. But at the end of the day....that was just words. I had to race a very skilled oarsman for a seat in a boat that would change my life.

The next morning I came prepared. We were doing a series of 5 minute pieces in fours. I didn't speak to anyone. My first line up had beaten his boat by more than a length. We took an early lead and held. On the switch, the coach didn't say a word...she knew I needed no encouragement. After a minute on the second piece I had a 2 length lead. Following the next 4 minutes I took a seat every 3 strokes. I solidified myself as the best rower. The entire team saw it. The coach made the switch several more times and each time I was victorious.

We were less than 45 days from competing in the hardest regatta of our lives and we were STILL seat racing.

I look at BRC and this boat. We have had ZERO seat races but have had the same line up since October 2015. We don't have distractions like we did in 2012. We don't have a set of rowers demanding they get a seat race because they "deserve it".

This boat is far more prepared than I was in 2012.

Although I felt as if I earned my seat (a feeling many rowers have and a feeling that propels them to victory), the distraction in 2012 shook my nerves and hurt my energy for the race.

I look forward to what we are doing in 2016. It is an honor to row with these boys.