By Peter A. Martin
The Head Of The Charles has something for everyone, from the most avid rowing fan down to someone who doesn’t know the difference between a shell and a blade. Not to mention admission is free and it gives Husky fans an opportunity to cheer on their teams.
This year, the event that draws almost 8,600 athletes from 18 countries as well as nearly 300,000 spectators is this Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is the world’s largest rowing regatta and a major part of the city’s social calendar.
“It’s a great social opportunity to hang out by the river on one of the last nice weather weekends in Boston,” said Bill Flemming, a spokesperson for the Cambridge Boat Club, the organization that manages the regatta.
One of the things that makes the regatta so great is the diversity among the spectators. Along the Charles this weekend, people will be decked out in everything from fur coats and Jimmy Chu’s to polar fleece and Nike Crosstrainers.
In 1965, members of the Cambridge Boat Club and Northeastern’s newly appointed men’s crew head coach Ernest Arlett founded the regatta. Arlett proposed that a “head of the river” race, similar in tradition to races held in his native England, be held on the Charles River. The name of the race came from the title bestowed upon the winners, The Head Of The Charles.
The regatta features 52 individual events ranging from singles to eight-oared shells. The racers are then further classified by sex, age, weight and experience to level the playing field.
Each event features at least 20 boats racing against each other – and the clock. The race begins near Boston University’s DeWolf Boathouse, and from there the crews race about three miles upstream, finishing at Herter Park in Brighton. This course is known for being one of the hardest in the sport due to narrow bridges and tight corners.
The crews leave the starting line in single file, staggered every 15 seconds. The time each crew starts and finishes is recorded, and through simple subtraction a total time for the course is calculated. The fastest crew in each event is named “Head Of The Charles.”
This year, Northeastern entered boats in four men’s and four women’s events to race this weekend. The highlight of the regatta, however, will be the Men’s and Women’s Championship Eights, starting at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The men’s draw features two boats from the United States National Team Development Camp, as well as traditional college powers including Harvard, Princeton, Brown and UC Berkley.
The Huskies have entered two boats in the Men’s Championship Eight category and although the team’s last success in this event came in 1968, it is an event they feel they have a shot at this year.
“The Head Of The Charles is something we want to give our best shot at so we know where we stand for the spring,” said crew team captain Bill Benjamin. “A win here says a lot about the depth of a program.”
Several of the teams in the race, including Harvard and Brown, are crews the Huskies will face once their spring sprint-racing season begins in March.
The women’s draw also features a crew from the National Team Development Camp and traditional Husky opponents including Dartmouth, the University of Massachusetts and Boston College.
The women’ s draw features one entry from Northeastern and although the ladies from Huntington Avenue have never won the event, they will certainly put their best foot forward.
For students planning to attend, there are many great places to take in races.
“The best spot to watch is from the Elliot Bridge. You can see the crews as they round the last corner and sprint to the finish,” Benjamin said.
Crowds also throng Memorial Drive in Cambridge, especially toward Harvard Square, on the day of the event. The area gives a great vantage point for taking in the first mile of the race.
The most famous spot to view the race, and consequently the most crowded, is the Weeks Footbridge in front of Harvard’s Weld Boathouse. It is the landmark for the most difficult part of the course.
Crews must pass under the Weeks Bridge, turn 90 degrees to their left, avoid the boat traffic leaving the Weld Boathouse and line up for a quick 90 degree turn to the right, underneath another bridge.
The course for the Head Of The Charles is one of the most narrow and winding in the world, so nearly every year some crew plows a $12,000 shell into a bridge abutment, to the delight and amusement of the crowds gathered on the bridge.
This spot is popular with crowds in the know, as the Weeks Bridge is low enough to clearly hear the crews going by. Finding a place on the bridge might give spectators the opportunity to get up close and personal with a wreck.
The regatta organizers also plan on-shore activities for the crowds. On both days of the regatta, a stage will be set up along the river on the Cambridge side of the Weeks Bridge, featuring musical acts performing all day. The first day will culminate in a performance by reggae pioneers Toots and the Maytals at 3:30 p.m. Tim Reynolds, a guitarist who often tours with the Dave Matthews Band, headlines the Sunday performance, also at 3:30 p.m.
The Boston side of the Weeks Bridge features a “Reunion Village,” where various schools, clubs and organizations involved in the regatta set up booths inside a large tent. This space is used as a gathering place for all associated with the team, including alumni, and will feature hot food and drinks, video screens, regatta announcers and more.
“There will be a ton of people who know and appreciate the sport of rowing; not to mention it is a great way of spending a Sunday afternoon,” Benjamin said.
