Tag: head race

HOCR: Steering through the bridges

By readyallrow October 11, 2012

Previously: Getting to the starting line

For those of you that row on the Charles you should already know most, if not all of this. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the river and it’s many twists and turns, pay attention. With the exception of this video you won’t hear much about the bridges, penalties, etc. since there’s no official coaches-and-coxswains meeting. Knowing what arches to go through, what penalties can be awarded, etc. is crucial to your crew’s overall time and experience at HOCR. I’ll discuss steering the course in another post – for right now I’m just going to talk about the bridges and penalties.

First, the penalties. Penalties can be issued for any of the following:

Safety violation – time at the discretion of the jury
Hull on the wrong side of the buoys – 10 seconds per buoy
Right hand arch of Anderson – 60 seconds
Failure to yield – 1st infraction, 60 seconds; 2nd infraction, 120 seconds; 3rd infraction, DQ
Severe collisions – 60 seconds if your crew causes the collision, plus additional safety violation penalties
Unsportsmanlike conduct – time at the discretion of the jury up to 60 seconds

On to the bridges – fast forward to 9:15, which is where we’ll begin.

Once you are staged and in the chute, the starting marshal will begin bringing you to the starting line. You should paddle up and try and maintain an equal distance between you and the crews in front of and behind you. As you near the start line, the official will tell you to build it up to full pressure. You want to be at full pressure BEFORE you row across the starting line. When your bow gets close in line with the BU launches at the top of the dock, you should begin your build. The middle of the dock is where the starting line is located, so you want to have already begun your start sequence by the time you get there. When you’ve crossed the starting line you’ll hear the announcer say “XYZ, you are on the course!” Sometimes they’ll say something nice, like “have a good row” or “welcome to Boston!” if you’re from out of town. They’re very friendly up there.

BU Bridge

Preferred arch:Left arch (second from the right), the one with “DEFY THE ODDS” written on it

Although the video here says that the right hand arch can be used with caution, the rule book states that you will incur a 60 second penalty if you go through here. Unless you are in an unavoidable situation (which is practically impossible to get into 200m from the starting line), there is no reason for you to need to go through this arch. Stick to the left hand arch and you’ll be good.

Passing is allowed prior to the bridge IF it can be done safely. If you try and overtake a crew and force them into one of the bridge piers, you will be the lucky recipient of a safety penalty. Safety penalties are mandated by the HOCR jury and can vary in length depending on the severity of the penalty. Disqualifications for unsafe maneuvers are not unheard of. Be smart. If you can see that your crew is going to overtake another crew, just wait until you get through the bridge. Don’t risk it and think you’ll be able to make it to the bridge first. That is a race you will never win. Have your crew back off and then as soon as the other crew is through the bridge, hammer it through and walk by them.

Post-BU Bridge

Once you’ve passed the BU Bridge, you’ll see the orange buoys on your port side and the green buoys on your starboard side. The first turn is a turn to starboard, so you’ll want to hug that buoy line as closely as you can during this straightaway. Doing so will save you a lot of time in the end. Remember, your oars can go over the buoys but at no point can the hull itself cross over. If it does you’ll receive a 10 second penalty for every buoy you’re over. For a single or double, this isn’t a big deal, but in an eight or four you will surely go over at least three or four buoys before you can make it back onto the course. The buoys are there for safety purposes – it’s extremely shallow right there and there may be tree limbs or rocks under the surface that could take your fin off if you get to far to starboard. Respect the buoys..

Magazine Beach

I’m just going to go ahead and call this area “Clusterfuck Central”. As you begin coming around this turn, you’ll see the Singles and Doubles Launch Area on the beach. There will be a course marshal here directing them across the course into the travel lane so that they don’t interfere with anyone’s race, but as most scullers are apt to do, there will be those few that don’t listen and DO get in the way. Despite it clearly being their fault, they’ll probably yell at you and tell you you’re an idiot. They’ll be disqualified, but that doesn’t do much for your time. Stay composed coming through here but be alert to your surroundings. Know where the scullers are and be ready to steer off course if necessary.

Powerhouse Stretch

Hopefully you’ve made it through the stretch without incurring any loss of sanity due to erratic scullers. The Powerhouse stretch is a straight 1200ish meter-long stretch of course so this is a good spot to shave seconds off your time. If you end up being passed though, make sure you yield to the overtaking crew. If you do not yield, a) that’s just poor sportsmanship and b) you’ll be given a 60 second penalty. Make sure you’re still watching the buoy line and keeping an eye out for any crews launching or returning to the Riverside boathouse.

River Street Bridge

Preferred arch: Center arch

As you come fully around the turn and past Riverside, you should be able to see straight down the stretch if you’ve set yourself up properly. You want to begin aiming for the center arch on the River Street bridge. The right hand arch is open as well but you shouldn’t take this arch unless you are trying to avoid a collision or a cluster of boats.

There’s a lot of debate over the center arch vs. right hand arch line, so it will be up to you and your coach to determine what line to take coming through the stretch. Be aware though that that plan could change during the race. Some coaches think that you should take the right hand arches because it sets you up wider for Weeks and limits the amount of swing coming out of Magazine Beach while other coaches think that you should stick to the middle. The middle is the “true” course, so ideally that is the course you should take. Officially though, if you steered a perfect course then going through the right hand arches would only add one extra meter to your course according to HOCR officials.

Western Avenue Bridge

Preferred Arch: Center

Western Avenue is exactly the same as River Street – both the center and right hand arches are open, but the center arch is the preferred course.

Weeks Footbridge

Preferred arch: Center

You want to be aiming for the middle of the center arch coming into Weeks. The right hand arch is available but should only be used as a last ditch effort if you’re trying to avoid a collision. It swings you incredibly wide and will add many additional meters and seconds to your overall time. Keep in mind that coming out of Weeks you have a 90 degree turn to port, so you want to already be turning by the time you get to the bridge. If you wait until you get there, it will swing you around wide and make it hard to get a good line coming into Anderson.

Anderson Memorial Bridge

Preferred arch: Center

Coming out of Weeks, you want to line yourself up with the abutment between the left and center arch . The only available arch through this bridge is the center one. Going through the right hand arch will tack on 60 seconds to your final time, so be sure that you have a good line coming into the center arch.

Post-Anderson Bridge

Once you’ve come through the bridge, look ahead for the white apartment tower . Instead of following the buoy line, which pulls you into the Newell “cove”, aim instead for those apartments. This will be another semi-high traffic area due to traffic coming and going from Newell, but since there is no need for anyone to cross over, you shouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting in your way.

Eliot Bridge

Preferred Arch: Center

This is it – the big one. In order to execute this turn properly, safely, cleanly, and quickly, you need to correctly set yourself up for it well before you go into it. How you execute this turn will ultimately be dictated to you by the race – how many crews are around you being the most obvious detriment to getting a good line. The far arch is available but shouldn’t be used unless you’re trying to avoid a collision. This is the only TRULY likely spot where it is conceivable for you to need to use the non-preferred arch and that’s only because of how tricky this bridge is to navigate.

Once you’re through Eliot, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve conquered all the bridges. All that’s left is the final turn to starboard and you’re in the home stretch.

Next up: Landmarks along the course

Coxing Racing

HOCR: Getting to the starting line

By readyallrow October 10, 2012

This will be my first time racing at HOCR so lately I’ve been spending some time doing research on the course and trying to find out as much information as possible. Over the next week I’ll do a series of posts tackling all the different parts of the regatta, how to handle the course, what my race plan will be, etc.

At FALS (Finish Area Launching Site)

Listen to the dock master. If he/she tells you to jump, you say how high – whatever they say goes. In large races like this safety is paramount so don’t take it personally if they snap at you or seem angry. They’re just trying to keep things moving and the crews safe. Make sure you know your event and bow number, as they will more than likely ask you for that information when you get down to the dock so that they know who has arrived and who they’re still waiting on.

Heading towards Eliot Bridge

Stay inside the orange buoys.These buoys indicate the travel lane and are the only place you’re allowed to be when making your way to the starting line.

Pay attention at Eliot. This turn is TIGHT so you need to be rowing continuously through the bridge so as to not impede other crews. No drilling, no stopping. Just like the dock master, the marshals may yell at you to keep moving – just do what they say and don’t take their irritated tones personally. As you come through the arch, have your starboards take it down to zero pressure so your ports can drive it around. Trust me on this – zero pressure from the starboards. Once you’ve got a straight line you can even it back up.

If you sense that you might hit another crew or it’s just getting to close for comfort in one spot, add in a pause at hands away until you’re clear of any situations. This should only be done in certain cases – you should not be doing pause drills or anything else. This is only to keep your crew out of harm’s way. Use your judgment to determine if adding one in is necessary. Tell your crew WHY you’re adding the pause – “Guys, it’s getting a little hectic up here, let’s add in a pause at hands away to let it clear out before we pick it up again.”

Newell Boathouse

Coming out of the Eliot turn and heading towards Anderson is a good spot to throw in a power 20 if you have room to do so. Be mindful of other crews, especially ones launching from Newell. If there’s room to do a 10 or 20 and you’re a little close to other crews, yell over to their coxswain and alert them that you’re about to do a short burst. As long as you communicate they should give you space. Make sure you do the same for anyone who is also trying to get in some hard strokes while warming up.

Anderson

This is another good spot to take a 10 if you’re able and there’s no one coming down the course. Remember the turn out of Weeks is an abrupt 90 degree turn to starboard so you’ll need to properly set yourself up for that coming out of Anderson. Be aware of the orange buoys and make sure you don’t drift over them.

Weeks

Have your starboards power down and ports power up to get you around the turn. Don’t rush it – take your time and be mindful of other crews who have slightly spastic coxswains. Inevitably there will be some out there with you. Always have an eye on what other boats are doing so that you can avoid dangerous situations.

Powerhouse stretch

This is another good spot to get some hard strokes in if it’s clear. Keep an eye out for traffic.

Riverside/SADL (Singles and Doubles Launch)

Scullers are awful and nowhere is that more apparent than right here. I blame it on the fact that they don’t have a coxswain to tell them they’re idiots, thus they are oblivious to the fact that they’re rowing right in your way half the time.

“But they’re looking RIGHT at me, surely I don’t need to tell them to look out or move since they are STARING at my boat?”

Wrong. So wrong. Scullers will be launching from SADL and, with the assistance of a course marshal, will be crossing over the course and into the far travel lane. Sure, if they simply look to their right they will see you coming towards them, but that NEVER happens. Now is not the time to be doing any bursts or power strokes. You need to navigate this area as quickly, calmly, and safely as possible. Be aware that there will be that ONE sculler that doesn’t pay attention, cuts you off, and then yells at you for it like it’s your fault. Ignore them and don’t let it rattle you.

BU Bridge

As you come down to the BU bridge, make sure you don’t go through the arch closest to shore. There’s a bike path that juts out over the water and makes that arch too narrow to travel through. Stick to the middle and left-most downstream arches. Coming down towards the bridge there is PLENTY of room to sort out where to go so set yourself up for it early.

Warm-up Area (Charles River Basin)

As you come into the basin, stick close to the Boston side of the river. Eventually you will see giant yellow buoys that are right in line with MIT’s boathouse. Row past them until just before you get to the Mass Ave. bridge, at which point you can turn to port, row it across, and come back down the other side. If you have time to continue the warmup, proceed around the buoys again before making your way back down towards the queuing area.

When you’re up here, you will be in a fairly large pack of boats. Keep your eyes and ears open – listen for other coxswains or marshals and keep an eye on what’s going on. Be aware of other crews that might not know or be following the traffic patterns.

Queuing Zone

Know what time your race begins and what time you need to enter the staging area. You have to get in numerical order by your bow numbers, so find the people before and after you and squeeze in near them. Try and stick close to them while you’re waiting to get called up. You must be lined up 5 minutes prior to the start of your race. Make sure you are aware of the time and when you should be moving. Do. Not. Be. Late.

Your bow number will indicate where you should begin lining up. Odd numbered crews should line up on the left side between the red and yellow buoys. Even numbered crews should line up on the right side between the yellow and green buoys.

From here, it’s a simple, painless process. The starting marshals will bring the crews up in groups of 10. As you come into the chute, you’ll need to alternate who goes so that you stay in numerical order.

Starting Line

As you come up to the starting line, begin to build into full pressure. If you take five to build, a good spot to begin your build is right before the start of the docks, that way when you row through the starting line, you’ll be at full pressure and already a few strokes into your starting sequence. Remember, you want to be at your fastest coming across the line, not still building into it. You’ll hear the announcers in the BU boathouse say “You’re ON” when you cross the starting line.

As you approach the line, make sure you’re paying attention to the crews in front of you and to what the marshal is saying. If you get to close or too far away from the crew ahead of you, they’ll tell you to either power up or power down. This is done to keep the spacing between crews as steady as possible coming across the line.

If you don’t hear the race announce say you’re on the course, just look for the giant yellow buoys.

Next up: Steering through the bridges, covering what bridge arches to use and the various penalties you can be assessed.

Image via // Boston Magazine

Novice Q&A Racing Rowing

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 9, 2012

I’m a novice rower and I’m racing in my 1st head race this weekend, any tips? I’m freaking out!

Don’t freak out … that’s tip #1.

Get some sleep

It is CRUCIAL that you get an adequate amount of sleep the night before your race. You can’t expect to be prepared to row your hardest if you only get 3-4 hours of sleep. Aim for at least eight.

Eat a good breakfast

If your race is in the morning, this can be tricky because you want to give your body enough fuel but you also don’t want to eat too much too soon before your race. If you eat a big meal too close to race time, all the blood that should be going to your muscles will instead be going to your stomach to help digest all that food. 2-3 hours before race time eat a small meal, such as a bowl of oatmeal, a slice of toast, a handful of strawberries, and some OJ. If you can’t eat that far ahead, try to eat something like a bagel and cream cheese an hour or two beforehand. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water too.

Relax

Save your energy. Don’t be walking around a lot before your race. An hour or so before you’re supposed to meet at your boat, find a quiet spot near your trailer/tent and just chill. Throw in some headphones and relax.

Check your seat

Are your shoes tied in? Are the nuts and bolts on your rigger tightened? What about the seat tracks? Are they clean? (If not, the seat won’t slide smoothly and you can jump the tracks). Your coach or coxswain will go through and do a once over before the boat launches, but if you’ve already looked at your seat and know something needs adjusted, it will get done that much faster.

Remember your technique

The more tired you get, the better your technique needs to be. The more tired you get, the more focused you need to become. That’s when injuries happen, when rowers start rowing with poor technique. When you feel like slouching, sit up a little taller. When you feel like hunching over, push your shoulders back. One of my favorite things to tell my 8+ is to not let your brain defeat your body. Your body is capable of SO much more than we think it is and you are hardly ever as tired as you think you are.

Let your coxswain do her thing

Head races are for coxswains. It’s basically like Mario Kart come to life. It’s going to be hectic, crowded, frantic, confusing, and at times a total clusterfuck. If she knows the cardinal rule of coxing (don’t let ‘em see you sweat), you won’t know when she’s freaking because the eight in front of her isn’t yielding or because she’s totally confused by the warm-up area and the horde of boats clogging the traffic lane. Don’t try and tell her what to do or how to do her job. When you’re done racing, make sure you tell her she did a good job too and you appreciate her getting you from point A to point B.

Good luck!

Coxing Racing Recordings

Coxswain Recordings, pt. 1

By readyallrow October 8, 2012

My suggestions for listening to these is to have a pen and piece of paper with you so you can write down good calls you hear, try and figure out why the coxswain made those calls, and then find a way to implement them with your own crew. Don’t take any call and use it if you don’t know why the previous coxswain said it. Part of making good calls is knowing WHY those calls are good. How to they help your crew? Are they motivational or technical? What part of the stroke does the call apply to?

If you can answer all those questions, then take that call and try it out with your crew. Not every call is going to work with every crew so it’s up to you to discuss after practice with your coach and rowers whether or not they responded to that call or not. Don’t be offended if they say it didn’t do anything for them. Ask them why and then tweak it a little. Fine tune it and eventually you’ll find the combination of words that really gets in your rowers heads.

Pete Cipollone 1997 Head of the Charles men’s Champ 8+

Above is a 15 minute clip that starts about 30 seconds before the start of the race and ends just after they cross the finish line. If you want to listen to the whole 27 minute recording that includes getting to the starting area, staging, etc., as well as read along with a transcript of the race, you can check that out over on row2k.

This recording is basically the gold standard when it comes to … pretty much everything. Calls, tone, execution, engaging individual rowers throughout the piece, it’s all on point here.

Because there are so many turns on the Charles you can go from having a headwind on one part of the course to a crosswind on another, so it’s good to know what the wind is doing and where those trouble spots are so you can prepare the crew for it before you get hit with any gusts. Watching for the ripples on the water is a good indication of when the wind is coming but sometimes that’s tough to do with everything else that’s going on so knowing ahead of time where you might get encounter it will make it easy for you to incorporate the applicable technical calls (i.e. sit up into a head wind, hold the finishes in a tailwind, etc.) into your race plan. You can hear Pete do this at 15:53 where he says “here comes a headwind, sit up and drive…”.

Around 17:37 as they’re coming under River St. in the Powerhouse Stretch he calls for them to make their first commitment under the bridge. I’m a big fan of this move (I’ve appropriated it in some way into nearly every race plan I’ve had throughout my career), not just because I think it’s more effective than a power ten but because of the way he calls it. I usually save this call (if I can) for when we’re under a bridge because I think hearing a guttural, drawn out call like that echo around you just reiterates the importance of the commitment. It’s a great call but one to be used sparingly during a race if you want to maintain its effectiveness.

At 19:19 he says “we’re in the quiet, good time to walk away”, which is another call I’ll use from time to time during head races if we’re in a relatively straight stretch without a lot of people or other crews nearby. It’s a good opportunity to refocus everyone and take advantage of the clean water to make up a few seconds or continue building your lead.

As they’re weaving through the Weeks – Anderson stretch you’ll hear him prep the crew by saying which side the turn is to and who’s driving that turn, i.e. next turn to port, starboards drive it around. This is a good habit to get into so the crew knows what’s coming and can make the adjustment for the set as you go on the rudder around the turn.

Another thing he does throughout (but especially in the last 1000 meters) is telling the crew where they are on the course. In the last thousand meters he points out 1000 to go, 500, 350, 250, last 20, and last 5. You must be able to do this, regardless of whether this is your first time on the course or your seventeenth. Use a map, pay attention to the markers and landmarks when you’re out practicing, etc. so the crew isn’t going through the entire race wondering how much is down and how much is left.

Other calls I liked:

“One part drive, attack…”

“Take that handle with you and attack it…”

“Now is where you fucking hang tough…”

“Do not sit, do not quit…”

“I got the course…”

(After they’ve crossed the finish line) “Good piece, keep fuckin’ rowing…”

Upper Thames Rowing Club 2011 Head of the River

One of the standout things from this recording was how he worked his tone throughout the piece. Tonal changes can make a huge difference and you can kinda see that when he says “walk away NOW”, the crew responds and the intensity heightens.

“Speed the hands up, don’t panic on it, relax” is a great call because when you tell the rowers to speed something up or do something quicker, there’s always that tendency or possibility that they will lose some slide or body control, so throwing in “don’t panic, relax” is a great way to remind them to keep the bodies controlled.

Alongside him pointing out the distance to the next crew in front of him, another thing to take note of is how he navigates through the crews they’re passing. There’s no unnecessary shouting at other coxswains or panic in his voice – he stays pretty calm and communicates exactly what needs to be said in a way that lets the crew know that he’s still in control of their race and his course.

Towards the end he says “Do you wanna beat the first eight or not?”, which I liked but it’s a call that has to be used with caution because it can easily come out wrong and make you look like a huge dick. Tone is key here and said any other way it would just come out as you whining or being antagonistic but the way he says it is perfect. You can tell he’s saying it with the goal of igniting that last little bit of fire in them as they close in on the finish line.

Other calls I liked:

“Hang it through…”

“Bodies over, hold the knees…“

“Legs sit back…“

“Each man commit to the catch now…”

You can find and listen to more recordings by checking out the “Coxswain Recordings” page.

Q&A

Question of the Day

By readyallrow October 3, 2012

Hey, I row in NZ and I see everyone talking about the Head of the Charles and I was wondering what exactly is it? And why is it such a big deal?

Head of the Charles is the largest rowing regatta in the world. It takes place over the course of two days in October on the Charles River in Boston, MA. There are over 400,000 spectators and 10,000+ rowers from all over the world competing in singles, doubles, pairs, quads, fours, and eights. (In comparison, there were about 10,000 athletes in 26 different sports at the Olympics this year.)

To the right is an aerial view of what the river/course looks like.

Related: Head of the Charles

HOCR itself is considered one of, if not THE hardest head race due to the complexity of the turns along the course. It can be a total mindfuck for coxswains because if you don’t get a good line on the bridges, it will cost you a lot of time and potentially the race. Weeks Footbridge and Eliot Bridge are the two most (in)famous turns. Weeks is a 90 degree turn to port, leading you past Weld, Harvard’s women’s boathouse and into Anderson Bridge. The Eliot turn is a half mile U-turn to port that takes forever to get around, particularly if you’re not hugging the buoy line. If you take it wide, you’re adding a lot of meters and seconds to the race. If you don’t yield to a faster crew or have a bad line coming into the bridge, there will be collisions with other crews or the bridge piers. YouTube it and you’ll see.