stories / head of the charles 2021: Men’s Veteran 8+
Crew: Cox: Becca Marcus, 8: Gerry Friel 7: Matt Broder 6: Andy Jackson 5: Charlie Gamble 4: Joe Scanio 3: Kirk Knudsen 2: Dave Thomas B: Dave Vogel
Result: 5th Place
Oct 23, 2021
by Becca Marcus
NHRC sent a number of boats to the 2021 Head of the Charles including 1xs Julie Brown (who finished 8th), Casey Fuller (who took the silver!), Jeff Brock, Mitz Carr (9th), and Mark Schofield, the 2x of Jeff Brock and Sarah Cussler, the 4+ of Rebecca Hatcher, Jen Boland, Laura Nowacki, Ann Panagulias and their Guest Cox, Katherine, and the Men’s Veteran 8+, consisting of the above listed members. (Heather Friel also represented the club in a Chinook composite 8+, and she took home the gold!)
The Men’s Veteran 8+ managed a nothing-short-of hellish practice row on Friday before their event on Saturday, dodging junior crews and slow boats of every stripe. However, as discordant and unsettling as the practice row on Friday was, the race on Saturday was one of the best in the club’s history, resulting in a third best time the last 1k, four passes, and a fifth place finish.
On an overcast and somewhat chilly morning, the Men’s Vet 8+ launched in a quiet and calm fashion, minds fully in the boat despite the many shouts of recognition from neighboring crews, mainly directed at Dave V. The row up was solid and uneventful. Conditions were almost unbelievably cooperative, even in the basin; minimal wind and calm water set a beautiful stage for the row to come.
NHRC was seeded in the middle of the pack, first of the lottery entrants, behind the slowest qualifier from the last HOCR, Nonesuch, a crew consisting of mostly ex-Harvard lightweights. As NHRC approached the line, they did so with caution, unfortunately having to hold back a more aggressive start because of Nonesuch’s lack of speed. Hesitancy to incur a penalty by creating an unsafe condition before the BU bridge meant that they had gas in the tank to blow by Nonesuch almost immediately before the Magazine Beach turn, well before the first 500 had elapsed.
Then began a battle with Northeastern Alumni through the Powerhouse Stretch. Though NHRC walked on NE Alums inch by painful inch, coming within a boat length of them by Weeks, the NE Alum coxswain refused to yield properly, forcing the NHRC crew to take a wide line out through the bridge. Though not ideal, the rudeness reinvigorated them to take NE back after regaining their line. Satisfyingly, NHRC crawled right back up on the NE Alums, and their overtake echoed through Anderson as the Green and Navy from New Haven cut them off for the better line coming around the big curve to Eliot.
Hugging the Port buoys, NHRC held consistent and strong at a 31 through the Eliot curve, though starboards certainly had their limits tested. As they cruised through the second half of the turn, they closely passed Kent Mitchell, whose bow seat screamed to pass more safely on the inside. Undeterred by this (wrong) and annoying advice, NHRC powered through Kent Mitchell to Eliot, cutting to the Cambridge shore buoys.
Inspired by the fierce passing that occurred, Andy Jackson hollered to “DROP THE SPLITS” about one second before Becca did, and thus began the fastest leg of their race. With hearts pumping, all 8 managed to cut the splits as they came through on the Winsor-Belmont Hill docks. Gerry and Matt brought the rate up to a 33, and the boat connected all the way through Vogel. In the last 250, NHRC emptied the tank, finding run and free speed all the way through the line due to the emphasis on back-end stability. Consistency and repetition in practices made the difference, and the crew compensated at least slightly for the less-than-amazing start.
NHRC beat 6th place San Diego Alumni by tenths of a second, thanks to the lightning sprint, and they have a taste for the podium for next year (only 4 seconds off of Catawba in 4th), when they will hopefully not be hindered by slower crews or cutoff coxswains.
Each member of the men’s Vet 8+ rowed their guts out, and it showed. Until the next one—!
