Blog de Puree

This past Saturday was the 27th Annual Festival Regatta, hosted by my rowing club, the Merrimack River Rowing Association.

As a club member, my role this year was to drive one of the marshaling launches just upriver from the starting line. The regatta marshal and I zipped around our neck of the river coordinating the rowers and boats for each heat or final, got them lined up “above” the starting line, then escorted them down to the referees at the starting line.

Overall, the job was not too taxing, but for the sun beating down on us all day and the usual confusion of getting junior eights and junior fours untangled and in their correct lanes. The older masters singles were also slightly annoying as they tended to wanted to jump the gun and be at the start line early, at times getting in the way of other races. We had to lovingly swat them away as if they were water striders and send them packing a few hundred meters upriver to wait to be called for their race.

In the morning, the masters rowed 1,000 meter sprints. The start line was just downriver from the Bourke Bridge, so it was relatively easy to get the shells and skulls lined up using the arches from the bridge. Lining the boats up for the 2,000 meter races in the afternoon was more of a challenge because of a persistent wind at that section of the river and there were no lanes marked off. But by using the two star line buoys and getting the boats aligned and pointed to particular arches at the bridge, we were able to get everyone sorted out.

The races themselves were great to watch. Anyone who has been to both head races and sprint races will tell you that the sprints are more exciting, because rowers are competing side by side in designated lanes. As a spectator, you can watch the action unfold in front of you. Head races, on the other hand, have timed starts and it’s difficult to see how boats are faring against each other.

The weather cooperated all day and the regatta was a great success. For more information on the Festival Regatta and the Merrimack River Rowing Club, click here.