At the Helm of the Charles

The Head of the Charles got its start because George Ernest Arlett wasn’t a gentleman.

Arlett was born in England and practically grew up in a boathouse. He was a promising young talent and his career could have taken off if he wasn’t considered a commoner. English boat clubs only extended membership to “gentlemen” who did not have to work to sustain themselves. Instead Arlett settled as the club’s boatman, sitting tantalizingly close to the boats he could never row while his career wasted away, unfounded.

Arlett then transitioned to coaching, which brought him to Boston where he was tasked with starting a rowing program at Northeastern. Before his time there, he was the boatman at the Cambridge Boat Club. He came up with the idea for the regatta on the Charles River and consulted co-founders D’Arcy MacMahon, Howard McIntyre, and Jack Vincent. The regatta was seen by these members as an opportunity to provide a break from fall training and spring season preparation.

Whether by direct motivation or by incredible circumstance, the Head of the Charles perfectly befits Arlett’s misgivings about English rowing culture that he escaped. The Head of the Charles has become a monster.

Annually, it attracts nearly 400,000 spectators to the Charles to take in the event, which happens to be the largest two-day regatta in the world. The Boston Marathon is the only event draws more people into Boston. The Head of the Charles now attracts fans and rowers from around the world. This year’s race will also include a slew of athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics this past summer.

“It’s really exciting to have all these people who might not be familiar with rowing, watching and cheering,” junior heavyweight rower Kelsey Barolak said. “It’s super exciting to row down the course for 15 minutes and have someone there every single step of the way, cheering you on.”

The Head of the Charles regatta, like most others, had humble beginnings. When the regatta started in 1965, most of the teams that participated were based in the Boston area. The inaugural regatta featured 268 rowers in 80 boats participating in 12 different events. Now, 51 years later, 2,257 boats, 821 teams, and 10,600 rowers are scheduled to race on the Charles this coming weekend. It is easy to be impressed at the numbers, but harder to understand their meaning.

Other world-class regattas, particularly in Europe, dwarf the Head of the Charles when it comes to history. The Chester Regatta first broke water in 1733, making it the oldest rowing regatta in the world. Comparatively, the quick growth of both its reputation and racing lineup is unprecedented in the world of rowing.

The regatta’s participation numbers have grown almost every single year, along with the inclusion of new rowers from around the world. The Head of the Charles is unique in its wide-ranging participation. Divisions of racing extend from the high school to Olympic club level. A complete novice can be rowing in his or her first regatta just before a world champion rows in their wake.

“It’s really sort of a cross-section of the sport, as well as a huge celebration,” senior heavyweight rower Abigail Parker said.

Other major regattas are smaller because they focus on a specific competition level, such as college teams. The Head of the Charles has a special spirit—one of inclusion. Even the first regatta in 1965 included junior and “veterans” races, along with the typical college racing. Since then, the racing has opened up to divisions of youth, masters, and even competitors with disabilities who will row out of boathouses along the length of the Charles.

“For [Harvard rowing], the Head of the Charles is exciting and important, but not our main competition,” Barolak said. “For me, what I find most exciting about the Head of the Charles is the opportunity to race these crews we might not have the opportunity to in the spring.”

The most significant change came in 1997, when the regatta expanded to a weekend-long affair. The primary motivation was not more racing, but increased logistical and financial security after the 1996 race was cancelled because of a ‘100-Year Storm.’ Nevertheless, the two-day regatta allows for a better spectator experience. There are more events over a longer timespan, incentivizing fans to fly into Boston in order to enjoy a weekends worth of festivities.

The Head of the Charles is as much of a regatta for rowers as it is a celebration of rowing. Many classes of rowers hold reunions and different rowing clubs network in order to bring as many members and alumni to Cambridge over the course of the weekend.

The allure of the banks and bridges of the Charles River combined with rowers of all ages and origins draw in even the most casual of spectators. The people and scenery aren’t the only things that pull people to the regatta. The racing is exciting.

“There are a lot of turns… and it can get pretty fun as somebody can come up from behind and pass a boat,” Parker said. “There will be three boats across trying to go through and a bridge and you end up getting crashes”

The weekend begins with master races and youth races. They look to navigate the windy rivers, and cheer their rowing heroes later in the afternoon. In recent years, there have been elite racers that combine to form Great Eights in champion events. Combining multiple Olympic medalists, world champions, and rowing legends into one boat can be quite exciting as they gracefully glide through the glistening water. But perhaps more exciting is watching the fight of elite collegiate programs such as Harvard’s men heavyweights, just six seconds behind a Great Eight team in 2014, as they try to pull off historic upsets.

For the Head of the Charles, it seems that bigger is, in fact, better. Despite financial challenges in the regatta’s resulting from rapid growth, strong leadership from organizers such as Treasurer and Race Organizer Ed Smith have allowed the regatta to flourish. Sponsors such as IBM, who Smith secured, and BNY Mellon have allowed for a larger operation than would just entry fees. As the years have passed, tha banks of the river have become more populated with company tents. Every October, rowers have a chance to love the sport of rowing and the Cambridge community has the opportunity to experience the traditional act of enjoying a regatta by the river.

As spectators and participants pile into Cambridge and Boston this weekend, the future of the Head of the Charles looks bright. To George Arlett, it must look even brighter. Rowing is not a gentlemen’s sport anymore— now everybody has the chance to row that dirty water.