Head of the Potomac 2007

Well, here we are. It’s fall, and that means it’s head racing season. I’m still pretty new to the whole “sign yourself up for regattas” thing, since I’ve always just been told to show up somewhere and race without having to do any leg work. I’ve never taken it upon myself to organize entry in any races until this past weekend, when a group of us from PTC packed our bags and made the trip down to DC for this year’s Head of the Potomac regatta.

The original plan was for the fearsome foursome to row two doubles (myself and Stesha Carle, as well as Ellen Tomek and Christen Brown) but those plans fell through, and Stesha ended up rowing the single (bless her heart), while Ellen and Christen held down the double. We joined forces with fellow PTC athletes Sam Stitt, Warren Anderson and Brett Sickler (all in singles) to caravan boats down to DC on the USRowing truck. The weekend got off to an early start on Saturday morning for practice at 5:30 a.m. due to a triathlon that was happening locally and which restricted use of the river during mid-morning and afternoon hours. I can’t say that the girls were too happy about being at the boathouse that early after arriving in DC late the night before, but after getting a chance to row the course they were able to relax and visit with friends on Saturday afternoon in order to get ready for racing on Sunday.

Sunday morning proved to be a beautiful day for a head race. Cool morning weather made way for a beautiful, sunny—slightly breezy—autumn afternoon. Since I ended up not racing at the regatta, I tried to make myself useful by volunteering to be an official on staff with the organized and friendly Potomac Boat Club group. I got a t-shirt and my own walkie-talkie which I thought was pretty neat. I got assigned to a very nice rock on the Virginia side of the river watching the Three Sisters buoy to make sure no one cheated the course, and more importantly (as it turned out) to make sure no one steered into the shore. Much to my disappointment, no one did end up earning course violations at my buoy so my duty as an official was rather uneventful, save for issuing a few friendly reminders for rowers to check their courses. Unfortunately I even missed out on the (racy?) unsportsmanlike conduct that earned my friends in the Potomac open men’s 8+ a thirty-second penalty (which cost them the race) – though from what I hear it is perhaps better I missed it so I didn’t end up bleeding from the ears.
But all in all the regatta ran smoothly and everyone had a good time. I also say bravo to the Potomac openweight women for each racing a single, double and quad on Sunday. After I’d finished my duty on the rock, I called it a day and spent the afternoon catching up with friends in DC and enjoying barbeque from Rockland’s at the Potomac boathouse before making the trek back to Princeton.

With one fall race taken care of, we at PTC are looking ahead to the Head of the Charles coming up in just a few short weeks. I was lucky enough to secure an entry in the women’s championship double with Stesha, which I am very excited about. I’m bowing and it will be my first time ever rowing on the Charles, so who knows what adventures lie ahead. There is also chatter—more hushed whispers, perhaps—of competitive elite entries for the mixed double event at this year’s Head of the Schuykill. Reportedly Sam Stitt and Jen Kaido are the double to beat (according to Sam)… do you have a partner yet?

See you out there,

--MK