days left until the Charles Party!

Saturday, April 30, 2016


Todd says it's summer. No shirts, no hot water.

Despite various other forms of wildlife, Harvard are still the top dog on the Charles, having bested BU, MIT and NU(today).

Though the 6:04 posted by the MIT 1V in a 2 second loss to Wisco is the second most excited I've been about a race result all year. No bias here. Nope.

Friday, April 29, 2016


Steve and Eric in early April.

The basin is my oyster. And it's happy hour.

Thursday, April 28, 2016


The Charles is starting to be nice to us again.

Something skinny with two oars just went past here...

Wednesday, April 27, 2016


I was in NYC and missed the beanpot, but congrats to the BU CXXX for winning the beanpot, very impressive for a very new program.

Sun behind bars.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016


Nice catch, if I do say myself. :)

Head for the sun.

Monday, April 25, 2016


Tina, rowing by in early April.

Guessed correctly where the full moon would show up. A bit more to the left, and it would have been hiding behind the Hancock tower.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Trials edition of the blog.

While it was hardly unexpected, it's still awesome that it's official. Gevvie earned the spot for the US with a 4th place finish at Worlds last year, and I certainly couldn't picture anyone else sitting at the starting line in Rio in the W1x. And while you obviously have to be very tough and work very hard to accomplish something this big, not everyone does it with as much genuine enjoyment of the journey. Well earned, and well deserved, Dr. Stone!

One's been a (rowing) household name since he was in high school, the other one didn't really become known until after he graduated from Dartmouth, but together Andrew and Josh have, for the first time in 16 years, qualified the LM2x for the Olympics at the World Championships. So once again, it's fitting that these guys will get to take the spot they earned on the starting line. Having come so close in 2012, I am sure Andrew is excited about Lucerne as only a World Cup destination.

This photo of Steve and Willy was actually taken at the 2012 Olympic Trials in Chula Vista. They came in second to a training center double (Stitt/Anderson), which chose to try to qualify the boat, instead of staying in the quad. So four years later, it's pretty awesome to see the same guys get the win that they have worked so hard to get. Lucerne is going to be tough, but they get to race for a spot on the line in Rio, and I hope that they get it. (Not pictured)Also congratulations to Meghan O'Leary and Ellen Tomek for winning the open double. They've taken ownership of the boat, and have been the double every year in this quadrennium. It's great to see that commitment pay off. Kate Bertko won trials in 2012, but declined a spot in the open double to focus on the quad camp, which she ultimately didn't make. Four years and three medals later, now racing as a lightweight with Devery Karz, she got to control her own destiny and will race at the Olympics. Two time Olympian in the single, Ken Jurkowski won the right to try to qualify the men's single for Rio in Lucerne. He did it once before in 2008, and I would never bet against him. Go get them, Ken! Finally, congratulations to the Craftsbury quad of John and Peter Graves, and Bens Dann and Davison. They too will make the trip to Lucerne, and once again, I hope that is not their final destination. And finally, finally, congratulations to Blake Haxton and Jacqui Kapinowski for their wins in arms and shoulders singles. Best of luck to all of you on your road to Rio.

Not everyone wins at trials. And coming in second at Olympic Trials is as much a testament to your determination as those who win. Unfortunately, with a lot less recognition. Hillary's been there twice, this time with Erin. She's been all over the country and all over the world trying to chase that seat in the double, and unfortunately, it's eluded her so far. But you don't have as many worlds medals as she does without being an amazing athlete.

Likewise, Nick and Austin have been amongst the top few lightweight scullers in the country this whole quadrennium. And they gave Josh and Andrew a damn good run for their money, but in the end, only one boat gets to go to Rio. For Austin, like Hillary, it's the second time he's been second at trials.

Finally, I first raced Tom(and Peter) Graves in 2002, in the double. That's a long time ago. Granted, Tom was in high school at the time, but still. We've know each other for a while. So even though I do have a great amount of respect for Ken, I was definitely rooting for Tom to win the final. Well rowed, Tom. And well rowed to everyone else who raced at these trials. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to get there, so cheer.

Saturday, April 23, 2016


Skipped Saturday's racing for family time in NYC. Pictured--V4B from the BU, Dartmouth, NU, UMass race last weekend.

Moon vs. clouds.

Friday, April 22, 2016


Sweep women getting some wisdom from Nik.

Who knew that British Airways had a BOS-Moon flight???

Thursday, April 21, 2016


And then all of BC Men's crews decided to pose with the CITGO sign.

Good night.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016


Gevvie, getting ready for trials last Saturday. Fast racing to all competing, but especially all locals and those guys from the North. It's go time!

Keep on sleeping, little sailboats. Don't stray on the race course. Don't have your teams leave giant launch wakes during racing. Sleep.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016


NU women looked pretty solid on Sunday.

Long exposure of the heats of the 1V at the Lightweight Invitational. Eights produce a very different pattern from singles.

Monday, April 18, 2016


Dartmouth's Varsity Four racing yesterday.

And their very impressive cheering section, including future Drs Daniell and Grisdela.

Also, don't mess with their coaching staff. That assistant coach is feisty. And she's packing heat.

Sunday, April 17, 2016


Fear the Tree. The Stanford Lightweight 1V firmly planted themselves in the favorites seat for yet another IRA title.

Every race morning should look like this. It was the first truly gorgeous racing day of the year. Hopefully with many more to follow.

Saturday, April 16, 2016


It was windy day on the Charles, but for once, it was a tailwind, which these Tigers took full advantage of. 5:41 on the Charles 2K course is pretty damn fast. I am sure that beating Harvard was also a valued bonus.

Earlier that day, the HPG made thorough sweep of the basin to ensure that it was safe for rowing.

Friday, April 15, 2016


Did you tell your bow-loaded coxswain that you would buy them beer (when they turned 21, of course)? Well, you probably should. With the spring we've been having, they could use some appreciation.

Another look at Hash and Niles, but this time, with a minute long exposure, instead of 1/200 second. Pretty good lines going into the bridge.

Thursday, April 14, 2016


Hash and Niles making fresh tracks at dawn.

Meanwhile, President Farry headed for the State House.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016


A gentleman and a sculler, Aleks, mid-wave. No strokes were missed.

Sun dropping just below the blanket of clouds last night.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016


Northeastern 1V leading Columbia at around the 1500M. The nice thing about a 600mm telephoto lens is that if you run up (or down) the bridge fast enough, you can get some cool angles on the racing.

Harvard Heavyweights finishing their practice into the sunset. When you can't take a DSLR and the telephoto for a 7 mile run, the point and shoot can also do quite well.

Monday, April 11, 2016


Solid blade work from RBC HPG.

Slow cooked sunrise on Saturday morning.

Sunday, April 10, 2016


Nik's wife and son Andrew at the re-dedication of the Nikolay Kurmakov.

Sarah, Rob, Jamie, Tristan, Tess and Mike.. The actual boat to be named after Sarah will eventually get here(or so I've heard).

Winning mixed eight on the prowl

And celebrating

Second place mixed eight led to the stake.

Third place eight requested a handicap review. Results to be updated. At CC2017

Mike won the men's single

Ilana won the women's

And since Joe was the only other person to race (and was only 7 seconds behind Mike), he deserves to be recognized.

Trophy presentation.