Fun With Photons: Down By The River

Bah-dump-dum-dump....Dat-dah-daaaaahhhhh....

Down by the river....Down by the banks of the river Charles.....

The Head of the Charles is the largest rowing regatta in the world. Watching the race as a spectator and one of the team photographers for my wife Mary's Genesee Rowing Club, I could not get the song out of my head. Did you know the Standells were from LA?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First we had to get from Rochester, NY to Boston. And since we didn't want to get up before the crack of dawn and head east on Interstate 90 so that Mary could be there for Friday practice, we decided to go part way on Thursday night.

Oh, all right. I was the one who didn't want to get up before the crack of dawn and drive. For Mary and the rest of the rowers, it is no big deal. The rowers in her club, and rowers in general, are regularly on the water well before I realize it is time for coffee. They are all crazy.

The back entrance beckons.

The Red Lion Inn has been around in some form since 1773.
In those days, Americans could not abide by laws made without representation.
Today we realize we must be careful what we wish for.

The front entrance, nicely adorned by local mutant produce.

One of the attractive stone churches in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
I don't know if Norman Rockwell painted it while he lived here.

Another of the churches.

The front of the Inn. We occupied the Swan Room, which is the rightmost dormer.
What a magnificent front porch.

The porch is a great place to train for a regatta
by sipping a cocktail and watching the world go by.
I wonder if Arlo Guthrie ever sipped one here after dining at his favorite local restaurant.

It is OK for employees to end it all out this 4th floor opening,
but customers are not allowed.

Bah-dump-dum-dump....Dat-dah-daaaaahhhhh....

We arrived in Boston around noon. Plenty of time for Mary to get ready for practice.

It was a warm and beautiful autumn day.

Chaos on the water!
Actually, the organizers did a pretty good job keeping things in order
considering the number of watercraft.

With all the boats on the water, practice was more about getting familiarized
with the course than a workout.
Bad form to crash into the boat in front of you.

Trailer after trailer with boat after boat after boat.
This is just a very small portion of the the boats that were here.
Multiply each boat you see by a conservative average price of $20,000.
Even in the land of Paul Revere, rowing is not free.

Rowing past the Cambridge Boatclub Boathouse.

Rowing downstream toward the start, under the Eliot Bridge.
The person you can just see on the left yelled to the rowers to keep up the pace
and stay tight on the turn. A fine task for a control freak.

Always picturesque.
The boats on the left are heading to the start,
where they turn around and head back upstream on the right.
This goes on non-stop, all day long.

According to the organizer's website, three hundred thousand people participate and watch. I can't verify this, since I only counted 298,342. But I was distracted by the lovely foliage, so their number may be correct.

Race day was every bit as nice as practice.
Maybe nicer.

Two row past oars for eight.

The course starts at the Boston University boathouse and runs 3 miles upstream,
under numerous triple arch bridges.
It is a timed race with each boat starting 15 seconds after the last.
A passing boat has the right of way.

The Genesee Rowing Club Women's Master's 8 moving through the last turn.
Thanks to Russ for the fine still shots.

They're not in the woods, honest.
Teams in the top half of finishers are guaranteed an invitation for the following year.
The GRC ladies will be back for sure!

The Genesee Rowing Club Men's Master's 4
emerges from the last bridge and heads into the home stretch...

...and toward the finish line.

The happy men (and lovely coxswain)
of the Genesee Rowing Club after a good race.
Note the upward camera angle.
Attending rowing regattas is a lot like visiting the Land of the Giants.

A very nice boathouse for the Harvard women, eh?

The crowd at the reunion tent.
After Mary's race, we grabbed some available folding chairs and watched the boats row by.

People packed the bridges for a view.
Harvard's Dunster House Clock Tower watches over them.

To which boathouse do you think this crew is returning?

Gotta like the spirit.

It's hard to tell who you're shooting with a long lens across the water.
We realized later that his random shot happened to be Lisa, one of Mary' rowing buddies.