The end of racing

As most of you know at this point, we did not win our first race, and as such do not move on in the regatta. What’s unique about this regatta is that it’s do or die racing: win you move on, lose you’re done. Upper Thames R.C. beat us fair and square.

Regarding the race itself, it was truly one of the best races any of us have been a part of. In the week leading up to the race, the rowing felt really good, probably the best it’s felt all year. Our preparation for the race was totally on point. We knew all we needed to do was trust in our training and our preparation and do exactly what we’ve done all week and all year.

We had been told British crews typically go out very hard to try and establish a lead early in the race, so our race plan had been to start high and stay high through the end of the island, or about 40 strokes, at which point we’d settle to a high base to the barrier (about 630 meters in), where we would really settle to our base stroke rate (36 strokes per minute). When the umpire yelled “Attention…. GO!” we were off! We had the best start we’ve had as a boat, as well as the best first 1000 meters. We went out very aggressively, quickly taking a length on the Upper Thames R.C. boat. Once we settled to our base rate after the Barrier, we sat about a length and half up on them. At around the  3/4 mile mark, they made their move to row through us. Evan made a call to respond, but we were already pretty maxed out. Reacting appropriately, Evan called our sprint early to make a last ditch effort to try and win, but UTRC had too much of a lead at this point and we had nothing left to throw at them.

When we finally crossed the finish line, the four of us were deep in the pain cave. Never have any of us been that destroyed from a race. We rowed back to the dock in near silence, saving for heaving breathes. We were all really bummed that we lost and that the race was over for us, but to a man we knew we’d given truly everything we had. We had gotten beaten by a better crew. We posted strong times to the Barrier and Fawley, and the winning time of Upper Thames R.C. ‘B’ was the third fastest of the day. We can hang our hats on the fact that we put a great race together for our boat. From here on out, we’ll be rooting for UTRC ‘B’ to continue on for as long as they can!

I was able to get tickets for my parents to follow along in the Umpire Launch following our race. My Dad got video of our whole race, which i’ll try and post at some point (probably when we get back state-side).

After the race, we slowly got cleaned up and met up with my parents for drinks and dinner. It’s been great having them experience the Henley, the racing, and all the pomp and circumstance associated with the regatta.

Now that racing is over, it’s time for us to experience the other side of the regatta. Ladies and gentlemen, here come the blazers…

Fair warning: this blog will likely now be focusing more on the social scene and night life aspects of the regatta. It’ll be taking on more of a PG-13 rating.