The weather was spectacular compared to last year's nor'easter that caused many worries about hypothermia throughout the weekend. Saturday was a sunny day full with an estimated 173,000 spectators that formed along the Charles to watch teams from all over the world compete. Sunday started off a little overcast and began sprinkling for a little while but didn't affect the races much, if not, at all.
The executive director of the HOTC, Frederick V. Shoch, explained Saturday to a group of reporters that this year's weather was "a complete reverse of last year's weather" and that the Cambridge Boat Club had "a big sigh of relief for this weekend's weather" when they looked to see if Mother Nature would cooperate this year.
Next year, spectators can expect fierce competition once again as many course records were rehashed and many titles were taken. Crews will be looking to regain what was lost this year.
4:35 p.m.: As predicted, University of Wisconsin took the gold in the Lightweight Women's Eights, the last race of the weekend for the Head Of The Charles Regatta.
Their time (16:06.102) set the course record (16:14.82). Princeton University came in second with a time of 16:28.831 followed by Radcliffe crew and Georgetown University. The MIT Crew came in ninth out of 12.
4:22 p.m.: Princeton took the gold of the final men's race of the weekend, the Lightweight Eights.
With an impressive time of 14:09.921, they took the title from New York Athletic Club who finished fifth overall, and also set the course record which was 14:21.01. Cornell University came in second, taking the silver with a time of 14:22.836.
Harvard University took third and fourth place.
The Lightweight Women's Eights are wrapping up and looks to be a tight race. The last race of the weekend looks to be a hard fought battle for the gold.
4:11 p.m.: The Undine Barge Club of Philadelphia took the gold medal and set the course record for the Lightweight Women's Fours with a time of 17:54.864
The University of Toronto took silver, giving up their title as Head Of The Charles with a time of 18:00.219.
Don Rowing Club took the bronze medal despite coming in 26 seconds after Toronto.
The last two events of the Regatta weekend are the men's and women's Lightweight Eights. The men's race will feature 21 competitors while the women's race only has 12. New York Athletic Club will look to follow-up their gold-medal performance from last year with a victory in the Lightweight Men's Eights. Princeton, U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard University with be looking to steal the title away from the NY Athletic Club.
University of Wisconsin and Stanford University will be the powerhouses of the Lightweight Women's Eights.
4:05 p.m.: The gold and silver of the Lightweight Men's Fours were taken by Yale with McGill University close behind.
Don Rowing Club took fourth place ahead of Georgetown University and Riverside Boat Club. The Iraqi National Team placed 10th of 19 competitors.
University of Toronto look to follow-up their 2009 gold medal in the Lightweight Women's Fours, the third to last race of the HOTC for this year.
3:45 p.m.: Princeton University takes the gold in the Championship Women's Fours, ahead of University of Virginia and Brown University.
This race sure was a collegiate showdown as the top five were all college teams.
Yale came in fourth with Northeastern University close behind at fifth.
Up next is the Lightweight Men's Fours which will be a battle for gold with Don Rowing Club, Riverside Boat Club, New York Athletic Club and Yale. Also making their first appearance at the Head Of The Charles is the Iraqi National Team.
3:25 p.m.: University of Washington came close to making a huge mark in the history of the Head Of The Charles.
There has only been one row in the history of the HOTC that was under 14 minutes and the University of Washington came very close to that with a time of 14:00.402 in the Championship Men's Eight, taking the gold. The course record is 13:58.99, the fastest time ever recorded for the HOTC.
The spectator can tell by the results of the Championship Men's Eight that today's conditions are perfect for a good row. The top four teams had a time of 14:05 and under, a very impressive race to say the least.
Harvard University took the silver followed by University of California in third. USRowing came in a very close fourth.
The Championship Women's Eights looks to be a collegiate showdown since no international crews are taking part in this race. Expect strong performances from Yale, University of Washington and University of Virginia.
3:10 p.m.: Cornell University takes gold in the Championship Women's Fours, followed by Brown University.
Cornell's time was 17:48.071, impressive and almost record worthy. They missed it by a little under 10 seconds.
It was a close second place between Brown University, whose time was 17:58.303, and Riverside Boat Club, whose time was 17:58.347.
Up next is the Championship Men's Eights, which is going to be a definite close battle for this year's title. University of California, University of Washington, Germany's gold medal U23 boat, and Syracuse University who is back racing in the Head Of The Charles after a long absence. This is a race not to miss.
3:01 p.m.: USRowing takes the gold in the Championship Men's Fours with a time of 15:49.586.
Close behind them was the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University.
Boston's Northeastern took fourth place in the race with a time of 16:11.911.
Camp Randall (bow 1) came in 14th overall today, unlike last year when they took the silver medal.
The Championship Women's Fours looks to be a strong race, featuring local favorite Boston University, Cornell (bow 2) and Brown University (bow 3) along with the sole international entry for this race, Don Rowing Club of Cananda.
2:55 p.m.: Williams College takes the gold in the Collegiate Women's Eights, setting the course record.
Williams College's time was 16:24.219 and the old record was 16:47.34. The closest team behind Williams College was Ithaca College followed by Bates College.
The next race up is the Championship Men's Fours where Camp Randall will lead the way since they won the silver medal last year and the gold medalist will not be returning. Harvard University, USRowing and the University of California Berkeley will look to keep Camp Randallaway from the gold.
2:33 p.m.: The Collegiate Men's Eights was won by Florida Institute of Technology, knocking Williams College down to second and taking their title.
The Florida Institute of Technology also set the course record with their performance today. Their time was 14:43.373 and the course record was 14:58.705 set in 2007 by Trinity College, who placed third today.
University of Virginia Rowing Association took fourth place followed by Notre Dame at fifth.
The Collegiate Women's Eights should be interesting with Williams College holding the 2nd and 3rd bow positions. Bates College could pose a threat at bow 9.
1:45 p.m.: The rain is starting to fall as the Collegiate Men's Eights begin their race down the Charles River.
Community Rowing Inc. broke the course record for the Youth Women's Eights by 13 seconds. Marin Rowing came in just a neck ahead of Saratoga Rowing.
Mount St. Joseph Academy followed, coming in fourth, New Trier High School Rowing in at fifth.
The rain won't stop the Collegiate Men's Eights the battle for the title that 2009 gold medalists Williams College hold. Last Year's runners up, Trinity College, finished less than 2 seconds behind Williams so expect this to tight race.
1:17 p.m.: Eton College loses their title as Marin Rowing Association breaks the course record for the Youth Men's Eights with a time of 14:50.246, an impressive row.
Marin broke the record by eight seconds, giving them the title of Head Of The Charles. Everett Rowing Association took second place, Eton took third and Chaminade High School following in at fourth.
The crowd is cheering as the Youth Women's Eights rowers flow down the Charles. Although the sun is not shining bright like yesterday, fans have gathered to be a part of the Head Of The Charles. Look for 2009 winner Maritime Rowing Club to make a follow-up performance.
1:05 p.m.: The Lightweight Women's Singles was won by Amber Cuthbertson of St. Catharines Rowing Club, who was the fifth overall last year.
Catherine Infantino of Union Boat Club took second place, giving her the silver medal, with Potomac Boat Club's Lissa Krawczyk coming in at third.
The Youth Men's Eights is finishing up now and the results will be up shortly. 75 competitors will challenge Eton College of the UK's title. Their rivals Abingdon School Boat Club will join Northampton School for Boys along with Grange School to knock Eton out of the top spot. This is a race not to miss.
12:40 p.m.: Christopher Storm of Union Boat Club takes the gold, as expected, in the Lightweight Men's Singles with a time of 18:06.285.
Robert Meenk of Lake Washington Rowing Club takes silver, coming in seven seconds after Storm. Richard Montgomery of New York Athletic Club gets bronze, coming in only two seconds after Meenk.
The Lightweight Women's Singles looks to be wide open as the top four competitors from last year's race will not be racing this year. 5th place finished amber Cuthbertson will be starting the race off with local sculler Catherine Infantino close behind at Bow 2. Riverside scullers Claire Wallace and Cary Connell look to challenge the 5th place finisher from last year for the title of Head Of The Charles.
12:30 p.m.: The Youth Women's Doubles course record is beat by two minutes by the Y Quad Cities.
Elizabeth Saris and Beth Baustian of Y Quad came in first by just an inch. Their time was 18:59.400 and Saugatuck Rowing Club's time was 18:59.435. Saugatuck would have broken the record and well as many other pairs in this race.
The old course record was 22:00:22.
Lausanne-Sports Aviron take the bronze as Connecticut Boat Club fall in fourth place in this race.
The Lightweight Men's Singles looks to be a challenging group of competitors with 2009 Club Single winner Christopher Storm of Union Boat Club leading the pack. Rich Montgomery, Rob Zechmann and Tim Larsen all look to challenge Storm on the Charles.
11:50 a.m.: The Youth Men's Doubles course record was beat by over two minutes by Brentwood College School's Ruben Steinhardt and Martin Barakso.
Saugatuck Rowing Club (17:02.709) came in second, behind Brentwood (16:58.864) by only four seconds. St. Catharines Rowing Club came through with the bronze coming in six seconds after Saugatuck. Narragansett Boat Club took the fourth spot.
The Youth Women's Doubles will have 42 competitors, with Detroit Boat Club returning to hold onto their title. Watch out for Connecticut Boat Club, Lucy Ginalds from the 2009 Jr. National Team and Y Quad Cities from the middle of the pack.
11:40 a.m.: South Niagara Rowing Club took the title away from the Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing team in the Youth Women's Fours.
South Niagara came in first by 16 seconds. Connecticut Boat Club took bronze as Marina received the silver medal.
The Peddie School followed in fourth, Merion Mercy Academy High School followed as well as Greenwich County.
The Youth Men's Doubles are up next with Detroit Boat Club looking to keep their title this year in a race of 42 competitors, it won't be easy but let's see if they can do it.
10:50 a.m.: The Youth Men's Fours was the tightest race so far of this weekend, with the second, third, and fourth place all coming in within one second.
South Niagra Rowing Club took the gold with a time of 16:34.871, followed by Sarasota Crew, Saratoga Rowing Association, and Upper Canada College.
St. Catherines Rowing Club took fifth followed by Northfield Mt. Hermon School and Belmont Hill School.
The Marina Aquatic Center Junior Rowing will look to hold onto their title of Head Of The Charles as they take on 75 other competitors in this year's race.
10:30 a.m.: B. Anders Holmberg holds on to his title of Head Of The Charles with his great performance in the Master Men's Singles.
Green Mountain Rowing's Erik Breiland followed close behind with a time of 18:45.795.
The Master Women's Singles was a tight race between Potomac Boat Club's Olwen Huxley, Lansing Rowing Club's Lisa Weise, Riverside Boat Club's Sarah White, and Julie Dykema. Huxley gets the gold this year as Weise receives the silver and White the bronze.
9:26 a.m.: Richard Kendall of College Boat Club shattered his old record with a time of 19:50.376 in the Senior-Veteran Men's Singles.
There were 28 competitors, all over the age of 70, who tried to take the title from the 9 time Senior Veteran Champion.
Christopher Collins of Rivanna Rowing Club followed in second place, getting the silver medal. Carlo Zezza and Bennett Jones of Cambridge Boat Club followed in third and fourth.
Jan Stone of Pocock Rowing Center broke the course record also of the Senior-Veteran Women's Singles with a time of 24:45.236. Eve Green of Saugatuck Rowing Club and Laurette Rindlaub of V-Sculls follwed in third and fourth.
The Veteran Men's Singles, competitors 60 years old and up to 70, was a tight race between the top five rowers, all finishing within 20 seconds of one another. Richard Anderson of Rockford Crew took the title of Head Of The Charles as Jack Meyer of Maine Rowing Association settled for silver, coming in behind Anderson by just one second. Henry Hamilton of Cambridge Boat Club followed close behind, grabbing the bronze. Anderson missed the course record by two seconds.
Catherine Kemper of San Diego Rowing Club, 65, took the course record of the Veteran Women's Singles, finishing over 30 seconds ahead of the old record. Harriet Cuyler of Berkshire Rowing and Sculling Society came in second, getting the silver medal, just 15 seconds behind Kemper. Susan Kinne of Lake Washington Rowing Club came in third. Kinne held the record until today when Kemper broke it.
9 a.m.: The second day of races began with the new event Legs/Trunk/Arms, a mixed-gender race with only 3 competitors.
Capitol Rowing took first place with a time of 21:44.431, followed by Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing and Community Rowing Inc.
8 a.m.: Day two of the Head of the Charles is now underway starting with Legs/Trunk/Arms race, Senior-Veteran Men’s Singles, Senior-Veteran Women’s Singles, Veteran Men’s Singles, and Veteran Women’s Singles.
Today’s races begin with the older groups, the rowers who have been paddling for years and years. the men’s and women’s Senior-Veteran Singles features 28 rowers who are all over 70 years old. The Veteran Singles features rowers who are at least 60 years old. Spectators will also enjoy Youth races today which feature rowers enrolled in high school. Today should make for an interesting day of races considering the wide range of age groups featured.
The weather is looking overcast but it is not supposed to rain today until around 2 p.m. when there is a 45 percent chance of rain showers. Nothing will stop today’s races from taken place however, as there are many individuals gathering along the Charles River already. Yesterday we heard from the State Police that they estimate over 173,000 people came out to watch the races from the banks of the Charles. Let’s see if that number is matched today.
