Charlie T. at the Head of the Charles Regatta®

    On October 20th, Charlie T. represented Catholic High School on an international stage at the Head of the Charles Regatta® in Boston. Catholic High was one of 762 rowing teams, clubs, and organizations from around the world to participate in the ultimate two-day rowing extravaganza. Over 11,000 athletes competed in 66 different events. The course was a 5000 meter race down the Charles River, featuring seven major turns and six bridges. Charlie rowed as one of 41 entries in the Men's youth singles event that included the current US Rowing U19 national champion, the US Rowing  U17 national champion, and a rower from Ireland that recently finished 2nd in the World Rowing junior championships held in Japan. 

Charlie and his dad on the banks of the Charles River two days before the race

   

 The conditions were cool but with light winds. The head race format is for rowers to start sequentially with a 15 second interval between rowers. The total elapsed time from crossing the starting line to the finish line determines the winner. Because competitors move at different speeds, faster rowers can catch up with those who started before them and any rower can be passed by a faster rower that started behind him.  So Charlie had to negotiate the turns, the bridges, and the traffic - yielding to those that were coming up from behind and passing those he caught.

    Charlie finished 30th of 41, with a personal best time of 20:46, besting guys from Washington State, Detroit, California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, Seattle, Minnesota and Rhode Island. We're proud of you Charlie!

         The event was live streamed at two points along the course and Charlie appears at the 57:00 mark of this video and at 1:50:57 of this video. 

®Head Of The Charles is a registered trademark of the Cambridge Boat Club, Gerry’s Landing Road, Cambridge, MA. 

Scullers at Learn-to-Row

Saturday's calm conditions proved ideal for learning to scull. Sweep rowers Olivia, Eileen, Ashley and Christian took out singles under the watchful eye of Coach O'Brien. All stayed dry and might be racing in the M1X, M2X, W1X or W2X events in the spring sprint season. Maybe a quad is needed in the future?

Charlie T at the Head of the James

The venue at James River High School at dawn. This year they have new docks and two ramps! We should make a trip there in the spring.

Charlie at the finish.

Charlie T. made the trip to the Head of the James as a final prep before his trip to Boston and the Head of the Charles. He finished  3rd of 7, but that was after rowing nine miles. Great Bridge had asked him to fill a seat in their eight, so he rowed 3 miles to the start of the course, then raced three miles downstream in the eight, then rowed our single three miles back to the start before racing in his event. A little fatigue was evident as he took one of the final turns quite a bit wide (see below).

The results of his event are below. Of the 119 entries, he rowed the course faster than 74 of them.

Charlie T. wins event in the Oyster Reef Regatta

On Sunday October 6th, Charlie rowed in the Oyster Reef Regatta head race in preparation for his trip to the Head of the Charles River.

Charlie started behind the entry from Williamsburg Boat Club and handedly beat him. Enroute to his blue ribbon finish time of 25:13 for the 5000m course he passed a 1MX and four W4+ crews while negotiating the two bridges. Next up for Charlie is the Head of the James River the weekend of Oct 12/13.

Below are the times for the three racing sessions. In the second session (when Charlie rowed the course) the wind had picked up quite a bit as compared to the first session. During the second session his elapsed time was lower than all other entries except for the top two men's junior 8+s from WBC. Well done, Charlie!

Info on Learn-to-Row session on 5 October 2019

Thanks to all the students who expressed interest in rowing at yesterday's club fair. The Learn-to-Row session coming up this Saturday will give you a brief introduction to the sport. You'll get a chance to meet some team members, handle the equipment, and get out on the water pulling an oar.

Coach Bousquet will head the session. The time will be 9:00-11:00. The location is the Robertson Rowing Center at Lakewood Park in Norfolk (there is a link to a googlemap on the sidebar to the right.)



You should come with shorts and a tee-shirt and perhaps a water bottle since it will be warm tomorrow. A towel and some extra clothes are a good idea (in case you get wet.) We hope to see you there!

Info on Learn-to-Row for Saturday 28 September

Thanks to all the students who expressed interest in rowing at yesterday's club fair. Tomorrow's Learn-to-Row session will give you a brief introduction to the sport. You'll get a chance to meet some team members, handle the equipment, and get out on the water pulling an oar.

Coach O'Brien will head the session. The time will be 9:30-11:30. The location is the Robertson Rowing Center at Lakewood Park in Norfolk (there is a link to a googlemap on the sidebar to the right.)



You should come with shorts and a tee-shirt and perhaps a water bottle since it will be warm tomorrow. A towel and some extra clothes are a good idea (in case you get wet.) We hope to see you there!

Saturday 9/14 LTR session cancelled

We'll have to scrub the session due to all coaches being unavailable. You might enjoy some videos from prior posts:

http://catholiccrew.blogspot.com/2014/11/common-rowing-technique-errors.html

Dorian scrubs Saturday's Learn-to-Row

Saturday's Learn-to-Row has been cancelled. The docks may be severely compromised with the forecast tidal heights.

    With hurricane Dorian threatening, I've pulled the launches back to school, relocated the trailer from under the tree of death, and will be dropping masts and securing the sailing team's 420s out at the Naval Base.

    Note, by the way, the new logos on the wakeless launches.

Learn-to-Row session for Saturday 8/31 scheduled for 9:00-11:00

We're back to the morning session for this coming Saturday. Hope to see you from 9:00-11:00,

Learn-to-Row session for 24 August scheduled 1:00-3:00

Try a new sport! 

The CHS rowing team is recruiting new members

Rowing (aka crew) at Catholic High School is a varsity sport with competition among 17 area high school teams, both private and public, during the spring season. Because there is no organized “youth rowing” programs all high school students enter the sport as equals. If you’re intrigued with a new sport and you want to start even with everyone else, rowing may be the ticket.

To see if you might like the sport, Coaches Bousquet, O’Brien and Turner will offer free learn-to-row sessions. Our 2nd LTR session will be on Saturday August 24th from 1:00-3:00.  All LTR sessions will be held at the Robinson Rowing Center at Lakewood Park in Norfolk. Monitor the team blog: catholiccrew.blogspot.com for additional dates and times. Feel free to e-mail Coach Bousquet at bousquej@chsvb.org for more information or drop by room 205 and speak with him in person. Novices are welcome - both girls and boys for both a rowing position or for sitting in the coxswain's seat.

So what might being on the rowing team be like? Below are a few quotes from previous year’s novices.

This was my first year doing crew and I didn't know what to expect but I ended up finding a sport that I really like. I have learned what it's like to rely on teammates and how much my team mates rely on me. I really enjoyed being out on the water and becoming stronger at a new sport.          -Katie O'Brien

I enjoyed learning how to crew for my first year and work as a team with my fellow rowers. I attended "How to Crew" sessions over the summer and developed skills that I used on the racecourse. I have had so much fun this year, and I am planning to row again next season. Go Crusaders!      -Gabby Kayal

My experience on the crew team has been extremely memorable and exciting. I loved being out on the water in nature, being able to forget about the troubles and stresses of school, and row with kids. I formed a bond with everyone on the team, and that is what I enjoyed most about crew.       -Noah Lee

I had a great time this Crew season! The "Learn-How-to-Row" sessions this past summer really helped me prepare and develop the rowing skills needed for the upcoming season. Crew is a worthwhile experience where you can have fun working as a team, as well as developing great relationships and friendships with your teammates! Go Crew and CRU!       -Christy Kayal

During the fall session, it helped me prepare for the upcoming crew season. Once the crew season started, I already knew the basics of rowing and rigging and de-rigging a boat. Another plus was that I had established relationships with the some of the crew team. During the crew season, winning first place in the men's novice 4 boat at the end of the season made me realize that working together as a team was a great accomplishment. I built not only physical strength but also friendships.       -Rolando Banaag

I really enjoyed crew this year and look forward to next year! I met so many new friends and learned great rowing technique that I will be able to use for the crew seasons ahead of me. Go Crusaders!      -Hali Elliott

Charlie T. medals at States

Charlie T. won a bronze medal in the M-1X event at the State Championship at Occoquan on Saturday May 11th.  His accomplishment is the first time the school has placed at States since first participating in 2012. Well done Charlie!

VASRAResults @vasraresults . 17h

"Race 33: 12:12 PM M-1X

Final"

1st - Great Bridge     06:14.6

2nd - Hylton             06:33.1 (00:18.6)

3rd - Sullivan            06:39.4 (00:24.8)

4th - Great Bridge     06:46.0 (00:31.4)

5th - Stone Bridge     06:50.8 (00:36.2)

The conditions on the buoyed, measured 1500 m course were good. Charlie's time of 6:39.4 compares favorable with his 6:33.2 at the regional champs where the course is 150 meters shorter. A better gauge is the separation between the first place finisher, Ryan from Great Bridge who won the regional championships with a margin of  0:37 seconds and Charlie's third place finish. At States, Charlie had reduced it to less than 25 seconds and was moving on the sculler from Hylton who finished 2nd.

Independent Schools Championship

The team

Our seniors, after their last regatta

On Sunday, May 5th (Sink-o-de Mayo) we raced on Lake Whitehurst against the 4 TCIS schools that have rowing teams. In almost all events we finished 2nd behind NA and ahead of NCS and CHC. The forecast was dreadful but we ended up with only about 30 minutes of heavy rain with clearing conditions for most of the morning.

Results below. More to come.

Big Mathews regatta

The MV4+ crew - Evan, Charlie, Mark and Jake, with Olivia coxing

On Saturday May the fourth (be with you) we traveled to Mathews and raced on the North River. Highlights include the MV4+ crew taking first and Charlie T. and the two Charlies placing in their sculling events.

Charlie T. in the single

The two Charlies in the double finishing ahead of the Granby double.
 I'll process the video from the camera mast in the next few days

The weather was pretty benign - no strong winds, or current, or rain/storms - the best we've seen the the past few years at this venue. It was a long day with a departure at 5:15 A.M. and a return to school around 4:00 P.M. Thanks to Gary (our bus driver) and Mr. Bromley (who towed the trailer.)

The girls rowed well. Ashley and Aubrey in the double (their 2nd race and only their 6th time in the boat) and Ashley in the single (her first race.)

The four senior girls

The WV4+ crew - Hayley, Margaret, Delaney, and Aubrey - with JoMarie in the cox seat. 

Results below. More to come.

 

EVSRA Championship Regatta

The MV4+ crew after winning the petite finals

On the windy and cool Saturday (April 27th) we competed in the EVSRA Championship regatta. Due to the regatta rules prohibiting double rowing and the fact that some folks couldn't make it (it was the last Saturday of spring break), we entered some events that we normally wouldn't field. For scoring points on the men's side we entered the MV4+, the M2V4+, the MLt4+, the MJr4+, and the M1X events. On the women's side we could only enter the WV4+ event. The points accrued were: MV4+, 14 pts with a 1st in the petite final (6th overall);  M1X, 8 pts with a 3rd and a bronze medal; MJr4+, 7.8 pts with a 5th;  MLt4+, 7.2 points with a 6th; and WV4+, 3 pts with an 11th. Our M2V4+ had to row exhibition and did not score any points. At the end of the day we also rowed in the Mixed 8 event.

WV4 crew moving to the control commission before their race

And after their heat race

Mixed 8 at the finish

MLt4 crew coming from the recovery dock after their race

M2V4

For the Thomson Cup, the school finished with 40 points and 11th overall, ahead of Cox HS, Norfolk Collegiate, and Cape Henry Collegiate, and just behind Princess Anne HS.

Even with the strong head/cross winds (gusting at times to 25+ mph) we finished with some good times. The WV4 crew's heat time was 6:50.4, only 3 seconds off their best time during the season and 40 seconds slower than the fastest time (posted by Great Bridge.) The MV4 crew's heat time was 5:46.7, only 16 seconds slower than the fastest time (posted by River City). Charlie T.'s time in the M1X event of  6:33.2 was his season's best, bettering his time of 7:06 posted three weeks earlier. His bronze medal has earned him a trip to the State Championships in two weeks. Our MJr4 crew's heat time of 6:09.6 earned then a trip to the finals. There they finished 5th.

Complete results are below.

Spring Fling II Regatta

A & A after finishing their race

Our third regatta of the season was held on Saturday April 13th. The previous night's weather forecast called for thunderstorms all day but we ended up with just a slight drizzle for parts of the day. The breeze started light and faded away almost completely and we raced in the calmest conditions we'd seen all year.

Highlights include entering two events for the first time in the history of the program: the Mens Light 4+ and the Womens double.

Aubrey and Ashley's start in the double was recorded by Coach Paul from Granby. That video is below.

A & A finished with a time of 6:57.3, very respectable for their first time racing in the event. I captured their finish and that video is below.

 

Most of our crews improved from two weeks ago. The MV8 finished 2nd in their heat and rowed the course in 5:01.7, a drop of 4.4 seconds, even though Charlie T. wasn't in the boat (he was taking the ACT.) The M2V8 rowed the course in 5:41.2, a drop of 22.8 seconds from the first Spring Fling regatta. 

The WV4 crew after their race. We hot-seated the same hull for the MLt4 event.

The WV4 rowed the course in 6:47.7, a drop of 11.3 seconds from the previous regatta. The M2V4 contingent was a new combination (some of the crew composed our entry in the MLt4) and finished in 6:28.4.

The MLt4 crew launching with rain on the horizon.

Our entry in the MLt4, with Charlie S. in stroke and Mia as cox, finished 2nd in their heat with a time of 5:55.5. I haven't decide if we'll field an entry in this event at the championships in two weeks, a regatta where double rowing is not allowed.

The MV4 crew finished at 5:28.7, a drop of 26.3 seconds from their previous race on the lake. Their start was also captured by Coach Paul and is below.

I captured the finish and that video is below.

Here are the results: