Just Around the Riverbend

Three miles of the Charles River. Less than 20 minutes on the water. In this race against the clock, every second counts. Winners will emerge unscathed from the many bridges littering the course. The rowers at the 40th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend will battle a winding, treacherous river path that challenges even the best of rowers.

Competing only indirectly against their opponents—shells begin the course every 10 seconds and are ranked by their final times—crews must minimize the damage incurred while navigating hairpin turns and skirting obstacles.

Unlike the spring season, when crews compete in sprint races on a straight 2000-meter course, competitors at the Head of the Charles traverse their way along a nearly three-mile course that takes them on a scenic waterfront tour of Cambridge. It’s a tour that they might enjoy a bit more if they weren’t drawing upon every ounce of strength in their bodies. The race begins in the Charles River Basin, between MIT and Boston University, and ends at a point in the river just past the Harvard University campus.

While the oarsmen’s job is to pull the hardest they can and make their boat slice through the water as quickly as possible, with a course as twisted and winding as the Head of the Charles, the role of the coxswain—who steers the racing shells and maps out the general race strategy—becomes as important as ever. A sharp turn taken too gradually and the boat loses a few seconds—precious seconds that no serious competitor can afford. Make that same mistake under a bridge and your day will be over.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY BRIDGE

The course begins in the Charles River Basin, where crews line up in preparation for their staggered start. An umpire in a launch calls each crew one-by-one to the starting line at 10-second intervals.

A crew’s first obstacle on the course is the Boston University (BU) Bridge, whose pilings allow for two lanes through which a boat can pass. However, the right-hand lane is considered out of bounds by race officials.

The left lane is slightly wider and deeper. It also presents the advantage of giving a crew a better point—that is, leaves the boat better oriented coming out from underneath the bridge—for the gradual turn around Magazine Beach.

"If you manage to maneuver into a left-hand lane, the turn through the BU Bridge as well as around Magazine Beach is a synch."—Kit Randolph, coxswain, men's heavyweight eight

RIVER ST. & WESTERN AVE. BRIDGES

Known also as the “Powerhouse Stretch,” ths portion of the river is the straightest part of the racecourse. A coxswain with good steering can give his or her crew up to 1,500 meters of straight rowing—a distinct advantage since applying the rudder creates drag and slows a boat down.

Smart crews take advantage of this portion of the course to step on the gas and attempt to pass slower opponents ahead of them. By custom, a passing crew must pass on the overtaken crew’s left (port) side, and if this occurs near or inside a bridge arch, boats may come too close together and oars may clash. A perfectly executed pass will take place between the two bridges in the Powerhouse, so a crew must time its acceleration perfectly.

"Unless everything goes perfectly, you’re going to lose some time on passes."—Nancy Brown, coxswain, women’s lightweight crew

WEEKS FOOTBRIDGE

Weeks Footbridge is widely regarded as one of the most treacherous portions of the racecourse. In order to be properly positioned for the most efficient path through the bridge on their way to Anderson Bridge, crews must swing wide to starboard while approaching the footbridge, then make a tight turn through the center arch.

It takes an experienced coxswain to execute the turn perfectly. More inexperienced crews may start the turn too soon, with the possible diastrous result of colliding with a boat that had planned the turn more judiciously. Oar clashes are common and provide blood-thirsty spectators, who line the bridge in droves, with plenty to “ooh” and “ahh” about.

"You get a lot of T-boning down there. If the outside crew is more experienced and already turning, they might get rammed by the inside crew."—Lacey Whitmire, coxswain, women’s heavyweight crew

ELIOT BRIDGE

The Eliot Bridge lies in the middle of a 180-degree hairpin turn near the end of the course—just when the crews are most tired. So close to the finish, the Eliot Bridge is the site where many boats attempt a desperate push for more speed or try to outmaneuver their final few opponents.

The turn itself is pretty tricky. Swinging too wide or going too far to starboard (toward the right-hand side) increases the length of the course, costing precious seconds. Collisions are common here, as they are at Weeks, as two or more boats often try to squeeze through the center arch at the same time.

"If people wish rowing was a contact sport, the places to be are the Weeks Footbridge and the Eliot Bridge."—Kit Randolph, coxswain, men's heavyweight eight