More than 8,000 athletes and 300,000 spectators gatherer at the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass., over the weekend for the 46th Head of the Charles Regatta the largest and one of the most prestigious crew regattas in the world. Amidst the thousands competing, Dartmouth was heavily represented in each classification. While current varsity men's heavyweight and lightweight crew teams began their season with the event, Dartmouth crew alumni also had a chance to reunite and compete.
Lightweight crew entered a varsity four and varsity eight boat. The varsity four finished 13th out of 19 boats, with Yale University capturing first place. The varsity eight also finished 13th, this time out of 21 boats, with Princeton University claiming the top spot.
Heavyweight crew entered a varsity eight boat and finished in 30th place, with the University of Washington taking first in nearly 14 minutes flat.
Heavyweight captain Alex Pujol '11 said that although the race did not go as planned, he remains very optimistic for the spring.
"We have a very deep, talented team," Pujol said. "We did great last year, and hopefully we will win some medals this year."
In addition to the three varsity boats, three alumni boats also raced to represent Dartmouth at the regatta. One boat in particular was a reunion 18 years in the making.
"We are a group of guys who last rowed in 1992," Phil Kerr '92 said. "A year ago via e-mail we decided to get together and train."
The group, self-nicknamed the Ever Green Boat Club,' recreated the actual crew from the victorious 1992 boat. The historic boat included Kerr, Dave Dragseth '93, Jeremy Howick '92, Sohier Hall '92, Jon Paine '94, Ted Murphy '94, Nick Lowell '93, Fred Malloy '94 and Mark Hirschey '93.
With their lives a bit different at age 40, the group had to train individually and did not get a chance to practice as a group until the Thursday before the regatta, and then once again with the current varsity crew on Friday.
"Rowing on the Connecticut was magic." Kerr said. "It was amazing that it was as if no time had passed."
For the varsity rowers, it was an inspiring moment to see their predecessors get back in a boat, according to Pujol.
"[The alumni] are a testament to the team-nature of rowing more so than any other sport," he said. "Obviously rowing has had such a big impact on their lives, I hope my class can do that one day."
In 1992, Dartmouth made history, becoming the most accomplished Big Green crew in school history. The team won the Eastern Sprints crown for the only time in school history, was part of a three-way tie at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta, and lost by a stroke to Harvard at the National Championship.
Dartmouth went on to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta on the Thames River in England, which was the last time the crew was in a boat together until this month.
"We have all changed in some ways, and stayed the same in others." Kerr said, "It was special in 1992, and it was special now."
The famed '92 boat finished in second place at the Head of the Charles, just three seconds behind Northeastern University.
Of the other two boats, one was a "Roll-A-Dex crew" composed of a variety of alumni classes, according to Kerr. Among the mixed crew was Dominic Seiterle '98, who won Olympic gold in Beijing in the men's eight in 2008.
Daniel Perkins '97 was on the mixed-crew boat with Seiterle, and the objective was always to compete to win, according to Perkins.
"In the back of the pack the course becomes a bathtub of wakes and trying to pass boats, weaving through the procession, is very difficult," Perkins said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
The mixed-class boat finished in third with an unofficial time of 15:47.063 and the Ever Green boat from '92 finished unofficially in 15:46.693. The times were adjusted for the average age of the crew, with the average ages being 39 and 34, respectively.
"We may be older and living far from the Connecticut River, but the intensity is still burning and the will to win remains," Perkins said the e-mail.
