The
Head of the
Charles remains one of my favorite races of all time to
coxswain. The course, starting at
Magazine Beach, twists and turns through
B.U. Bridge, past
Riverside boat club, through
Weeks bridge, past
Weld boathouse,
Newell boathouse, and
Cambridge boathouse. Weeks bridge is usually my favorite part, and requires the most skill on behalf of the
coxswain. If you go through
unscathed, it's always fun to act superiour to those who did not escape the
carnage. The spectators and announcers are usually at
Weld-- when you pass by, listen for the announcer to say something good about your boat-- most of the time you can feel your
rowers sitting
taller and catching
sharper. From
personal experience, it's probably a
bad thing if there is an
uncomfortable silence as you row by..
The nature of a
head race is mostly about racing against the clock rather than racing other crews, as each crew has its own start, which are staggered. However, everybody's favorite part of
head races is passing or "
walking on" crews which had started earlier.
A few years ago, a friend of mine was coxing the
Rutgers B Men's 8. They had an early
starting time, but had been passed by several other crews due to their inexperience, and basically had given up hope in placing. At Weeks bridge, he turned around, and saw Rutgers A coming around the turn, burning up the course, and walking through Penn on one side and
Georgetown on the other. As all three boats slowly approached
Rutgers B, the coxswain of
Rutgers A shouts, "Pick one-- Georgetown or Penn!"
"Huh?"
"PICK ONE!!!"
"ohhhhh.."
He then proceeded to steer the boat directly in the path of the
University of Pennsylvania A boat, causing a
Vespoli-wrecking
collision... which won
Rutgers the title. (for
We have lived to row another day).