Tuesday - we rowed once in the morning versus Galway and rowed a Barrier piece with them where we lost by about a length. Again, equipment played a factor in that my rigger was making tremendous cracking noises and it distracted me to the point where our start and high strokes were clearly effected. After the business with Brunswick the day before we really didn't need this. Regardless we finished out the trip, checked over the boat, and did another trip continuing to work on good movement. Felt better and better...Tuesday night we did one more lap working on our race plan and by accident lined up next to the Brown Varsity crew (Ladies Plate entry) - they started first and then we did our start and ended up rowing steady state next to them down the course. I can just imagine how annoying we must have been sitting up 1/2 a length and rowing a couple of beats higher (but still making the boat feel good) all the way down the course. Best of luck to them as they start their campaign tomorrow against MIT.
Wednesday - we woke up early because our race time was 10:00 AM against Twickenham RC. It was simply a lot of fun to get anxious about racing again, to see other crews similarly prepared and ready to go, and then to put it on the line...okay limited preparation on the line. Starting on the Bucks station our high strokes were effective and then very quickly they drew back into us coming almost level. We were rowing 37 for the first 3 minutes of the race and finally touched 36 at Fawley and then began to creep out slowly. It was a slow extension of the lead to the line and while we maintained our speed and rating they dropped off a little more in the final 500. Fun note - we were the first US crew to race at the 2009 regatta!
So interesting to break down the race afterwards and hear the differences in opinion amongst the crew - it's good and perhaps even healthy that it happened. One, it means we were able to speak about and articulate what we felt and two, we felt confident, motivated, or angry enough to say something about it. Stern four felt pretty good about it and I may be generalizing but bow four felt like we were behind and having to overpull. We decided against a second row in the evening and had a quick bite at an italian restaurant near the Three Horseshoes. Travel note: Pasta Bolognese should not look like Chef Boyardee pasta from a can.
Thursday: We rowed even earlier meaning the stands were almost empty as we got to the line for our 9:30 AM race versus Marlow Rowing Club. Marlow had beaten Lea Rowing Club (containing a good high school friend of mine - Angus Laurie who was rowing in the 7 seat - the last time we had seen one another was at the 2005 regatta when I was coaching a Trinity Student 4+...Great to catch up with him!) Marlow had blitzed the start and were faster to the barrier and to Fawley than our times yesterday and that played out again...We were behind almost a length at the barrier and we started to relax into a more sustainable base at 36 and they stopped moving. I noticed their puddles looked the same size and stole a glance over and suddenly their coxswain was in view. Over the next two minutes we had draw level and then in the final two minutes of the race we moved a further 3/4 of a length...A rare come from behind victory! Bobby Kennedy, our two-seat and IRA Champion in 2005, pointed out that in 168 races run on Wednesday and Thursday only 3 crews had won after being behind at Fawley.
I'll have to write about how much damn fun it is to be rowing in a competent 8+ and being at Henley...the expectations, personalities, physiological concerns, and traditions have been really fascinating to note. It's also interesting to get to know some of the athletes that I had coached in 2003-2004 on a different level...
Other topics - Henley picnics, other Trinity alums racing at the regatta, US results, Leander's establishment, heat wave, classic board games, recruiting, and ideas for next fall.
