The Head Of The Charles is the biggest regatta in the world, and it is an event to behold. Having never attended a regatta, I had no idea what to expect, but I was ready to see people rowing down the Charles in shells. This year was the 61st year of this event, with 32 countries and 800 rowing clubs competing from Friday to Sunday. A rowing club is an organization that facilitates rowing activities along the water and is not always associated with a school, although many are. High schools and colleges across the country have rowing teams, and it’s known to be a very difficult sport to master. This year, more than 12,000 people competed, according to the Harvard Crimson. They started racing at the early time of 7:30 a.m. and continued until almost sunset with a variety of different events.
The race itself is three miles long and begins at Boston University’s DeWolfe Boathouse and finishes at Herter Park. All along the river and over various different bridges, people gathered to watch, and all through the city, vendors were selling merch and food to the spectators. The concept of the regatta is also inspiring—a bunch of older people, young people, Olympians, all together in the spirit of athleticism and humanity.
I sat on a bench at Riverbend Park in Cambridge and watched as boats of people passed by, with a decently sized crowd all around and on the other side of the river. I spoke with a volunteer of the event and learned that whenever they spot a shell, they note the number on the side of the boat and the time it passed to be reported back to the heads of the event. Being the non-sporty person I am, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was watching for, but I made conversation with a number of strangers and learned that multiple different races happen at the same time, so knowing what to look for would probably have helped. The weather outside was pleasant and I enjoyed getting to test out a new camera I rented from SIMS to photograph the event.
Since I had never been to the regatta and I’m now a junior, I felt like it was time to finally experience a quintessential part of the Boston experience, especially because of how maritime culture is stepped into New England. Rowing is also such a unique sport, especially in that the athleticism it requires is nothing like what most other sports require. To row well, you need to be able to generate a lot of power through your body, but you don’t need to be agile or fast. I think that’s part of the beauty of it: that anyone can lock in, train hard, and have a chance to become pretty good.
