Head of Charles 2022

Ahhh, Boston!  Beantown, The Cradle of Liberty, The Olde Town, The Athens of America, The Hub of the Universe!  Whatever you call it, you’ve just got to go there.  This was Alex’s and my (Robert here) second time going to Boston, again for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s LARGEST 3-day rowing competition.  According to HOCR.org this regatta attracts “400,000 spectators, 11,000 competitors  and 2400 volunteers.”  So yeah, not a small event. And Alex got to compete in it for the second year in a row!!  

Okay, so here we go.  First, gotta fly there.  Not too eventful thankfully, not that I remember at least.  Some folks’ flights were delayed or cancelled, but everyone eventually made it in time.  Our flight was fine though.  First day of the event (Friday) basically everyone gets to do a test run of the course.  It’s mostly relaxed, but very important for everyone to be comfortable with the several turns and bridges on the river.  Speaking of bridges, this is the best way to view the race, so the bridges are packed with spectators.  Here’s a quick view from my perch. 

So basically that was Friday.  Alex is on the water and I’m left to my own devices, wandering around the area.  Watching the river or exploring Harvard campus (next door). On Saturday we had all day to explore the city.  One thing we did this year was the famous Duck Boat tour.  Yay, more time on the water for Alex!  It was actually a lot of fun, though the time on the water is actually quite short compared to what one would expect from the name of the tour.  We drove around the city, mostly while we looked at lots of old buildings (yeah, that’s about all I can rememberr).  Once on the water they let passengers who wanted to come up and sit in the driver’s seat and “drive” the boat (aka steer around in open water) while we took photos of them.  Kinda fun.  We happened to be on tour with some other folks from the team. This is Alex with his teammates Annalise and Sofia (who raced in the women’s U19 4+) and Nate (who raced in the men’s U17 4+). Alex raced in the U19 4+.

This was Alex walking back from driving the boat.  Notice all the signatures on the roof?  Later in the tour they asked if anyone was a military veteran.  I was the only one on the boat.  They gave me a sharpie and I got to sign my name on the ceiling.

Rigging the boats takes time and precision.  The kids do ALL the work themselves. 

Alex and Charlie, his pair partner (the guy who sits behind him in the boat).

Just Alex.  You can see the lot full of boats and trailers in the background.  SOOOO many boats and trailers.

This is a view of the main boathouse on the river.  There are several boathouses similar to this on the river (Harvard, MIT, Boston University, etc.). A lot different than what we’re used to with our tiny Lake Wheeler and small fenced in lot for boat storage. 

We saw several Ukrainian flags there, flying in support. I stopped the Ukraine women’s team and took a photo with them.

Sunday was the day of Alex’s event. He was in the (4+) which means 4 rowers, one oar each person (sweeping) with a coxswain (a fifth person).  I think this is Alex’s boat in the pic.  Can’t always tell for sure from a distance.  I do know for sure it is Triangle Rowing Club because the oars of every team all over the world have a unique, registered design.  This is often the only way to tell for sure the boat is from our team when watching some races.  Even some other teams have orange uniforms but the oars are always unique to your team.

I zoomed in, as they went just under the bridge I was on, so I know for SURE this is Alex’s boat now. 

And there they go.  They did very well, placing 30th out of 91 teams.  But if you ask anyone who was here at the race, they will tell that just being invited and to be in the race is totally worth it.  I am going to miss having a child race in the Head of the Charles, and I am so glad I was able to witness this twice!  If you are ever in Boston during this regatta it is a MUST SEE event.  

And that is our trip to Boston in a nutshell.  I mean we did lots of other things.  We ate tons of good food, especially loved Pinnochio’s pizza near Harvard square.  I spent lots of down time, while Alex was busy with his team, wandering around the area.  I especially enjoyed sitting and relaxing in Harvard’s football stadium which is open to the public.  Quick travel tip: if you’re in the area and need a good, clean restroom go to the stadium.  On one of the evenings we met up with a high school classmate of mine who lives in Boston.  We went to dinner at a small Italian place and I really enjoyed catching up with her.  I hadn’t seen her since 1997!! Yikes!  Oh, and just like last year, on one of the evenings several of the parents got together and went to a tiny Polish restaurant for dinner and just talked and enjoyed the evening.  And the subway is not as bad as everyone says it is.  :)

Anyway, there really is so much to see in Boston.  I want to go back and revisit some places but also there is so much more that we didn’t have time to explore.  

Robert