Crowds Revel in Regatta Pageantry

With a shining sun, a cool breeze and a temperature hovering around 60 degrees as the backdrop, thousands flocked to the Charles River yesterday to take in the 35th rowing of the Head of the Charles Regatta.

The annual event drew crew enthusiasts and casual spectators alike. Some came from the spirit of competition and some were lured by the promise of free goodies.

"Look at the day," Radcliffe heavyweight crew coach Liz O'Leary said. "This is always a spectacle....The weather brings out the crowds."

And the crowds came from all over the continent.On the banks of the Charles, onlookers wearing sweatshirts emblazoned with the shields of the University of San Diego stood next to those with jackets from McGill University in Montreal. Every Ivy League university had fans in attendance, many of whom tailgated with fellow alumni.

"It's sort of the rowing version of the [Boston] Marathon," O'Leary said. "People who don't know anything about rowing come out and watch."

Kimberly Barry of Long Island came to the race with her husband and their four-year-old daughter Sarah.

Barry, whose husband rowed for the Cornell team "many years ago," said the family drove up just for the weekend and were staying with friends.

"This is our first time here," Barry said. "We've been enjoying ourselves tremendously."

Watching the races from the Allston side of the Charles, Sarah appeared to be having a good time, dangling her feet at the edge of the water.

Barry said the family has a rowing machine at home that Sarah often uses. A future regatta participant, perhaps?

"I think if she wants to do it, she can do it," Barry said.

Sarah could learn from Anne D. Browning '00, captain of the Radcliffe heavyweight crew, who strolled along the banks before her race, the last of the afternoon.

This was the first Head of the Charles for Browning. She was the starting goalie on the women's soccer team for the past three years before giving up the sport to concentrate on crew full-time.

"I'm pretty fired up," Browning said. "This will be the biggest crowd I've ever performed in front of."

Browning spent much of the weekend with her family, who traveled from Chapel Hill, N.C., for the regatta.

"I'm trying to enjoy the day while it lasts," she said as she headed toward Weld Boathouse, Radcliffe Crew's headquarters. "I didn't expect to have the good weather."

Sunday's balmy weather was warmly welcomed after the cold, wet morning the racers practiced with on Saturday.

The crowd on both days enjoyed free giveaways from such companies as Ford, Dunkin' Donuts and Propecia, which produces a hair-growth pill.

Michelle M. Echeverria '01 watched the regatta from a marketing point-of-view.

She was working at the Pets.com booth, one of the hottest booths on the banks, offering free frisbees and ultra-coveted large tennis balls to anxious spectators.

"We give out a box of [tennis balls] every 20 minutes," she said, watching the crowd in front of her stretch 20 deep. "They're supposed to be for their pets, but it's really for them."

Echeverria, who worked at the regatta last year, was contacted by a marketing firm to help this year. About a dozen worked at the booth, including students from Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University, among other Boston-area schools.

When the free samples from Dunkin' Donuts and Ben & Jerry's weren't enough to satisfy, crew fans were treated to a variety of foods, from Italian sausages to fried dough to clam chowder.

Stoneham resident Larry F. Bruno, a fried dough vendor, said sales were brisk on Sunday.

"Fried dough sales always go well in cool, crisp weather," said Bruno, who has been coming to the regatta for about 20 years.

Over the last two decades, "the crowd has gotten bigger and better," Bruno said.

The Bill Bradley campaign took advantage of the crowd to spread stickers and buttons among the spectators.

Atop a Humvee nearby, a group of loud-mouthed promoters from WBCN 104.1 FM hurled frisbees and CDs down to a crowd below.

A number of street magicians and bands moved their operations from Harvard Square to the Charles for the day, hoping the large crowds would bring a big payday.

Even a flock of Canadian geese didn't seem to mind the added traffic along the Charles--they floated peacefully on the water, staying out of the way of the passing shells.

And if the beautiful weather and athletic competition weren't enough, a group of enterprising tailgaters made it a complete afternoon.

They roped off a section of the lawn near the Weeks Footbridge, plopped down a few futons, started up a generator and tuned a television to the New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game.