11,000 selective rowers from around the world — including four Lick-Wilmerding students — took to the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts to compete in the annual Head of the Charles Regatta. The race was held from October 22 to 24 and included 55 different events.
Kate Peterson ’22, Sedi-Anne Blachford ’22, Sheelyn Pharr ’23 and Zoë Holmes ’24 row at the Pacific Rowing Club, which is based at Lake Merced. Unlike LWHS sports, their season lasts the entire school year and includes morning practices which requires them to wake up before the sun rises to get onto the water.
“It’s a lot of commitment and dedication. But it creates very strong habits from a young age,” said Holmes.
Their diligence to the sport pays off, though. Only 12 members from the Pacific Rowing Club Women’s Varsity Team were allowed to attend this year’s race. After a tedious process where rowers were timed and evaluated by their coach, all four of the LWHS rowers made the cut to qualify for The Head of the Charles Regatta.
For two weeks, these 12 rowers practiced at Lake Merced in preparation for the race.
They were split into an eight-person boat and a four-person boat. Each boat also had a coxswain, whose job was to steer and navigate the boat.
The Charles River is notorious for its seven bridges, difficult turns and windy conditions, which make the coxswain’s job of navigating the boat imperative. The team has to train to communicate with each other and study the course to avoid crashes.
“The great thing about the sport is how every aspect is collaborative. You really can’t move the boat without other people, so you really have to be in tune with each other and committed and trusting that everyone is giving it their all,” Blachford said. She was placed in the four alongside Peterson and Holmes. Pharr sat in the eight.
Finally, the team was prepared to race. Their boats were driven across the country, so they were ready to line up in the water while the team flew to Boston.
Originating in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta is known as the world’s largest two-day rowing event. Inspired by similar regattas in England, the race was brought to the Charles River where participants compete on a three mile stretch of water.
In the race, high school students, college students and masters (who are adults) compete in different races depending on their age category and the number of people in their boat. In addition to the four LWHS students, Stagecraft Teacher & Technical Director Kate Boyd competed in the master’s category. Boyd joined the Marin Rowing association in 1987 and has been rowing on and off ever since.
“The venue is really fun. It’s a very crazy, twisty river. And it’s exciting. There are people cheering you on the whole way and we rarely get that in rowing,” said Boyd.
When the Varsity Women arrived in Boston, the team was given a day to practice on the Charles River. On Sunday morning, Peterson, Blachford, Pharr and Holmes lined up for their race.
photo courtesy of Kate Peterson
As the Varsity Women rowed, they passed by collegiate boathouses from colleges that practice on the Charles River, such as Harvard and Boston University.
“It’s a showcase because it’s watched by recruiters from college rowing programs. Lots of people are trying to get recruited for college rowing and obviously any race is a really good opportunity for that, but especially Head of the Charles,” Pharr said. “But it’s also a social event and a great environment.”
After the regatta was canceled last year due to the pandemic, Peterson was excited to race.
“I was able to experience what it was like to be a collegiate rower,” she said. “We missed the Head of the Charles last year, which sucked, but it was great rowing with thousands of other people.”
Overall, the team simply enjoyed being on the water.
“It’s so beautiful,” Blachford said. “Our race was really early on Sunday morning so the water was super flat. You could see the reflection of the fall foliage on the banks of the river, and it was such a beautiful environment. You feel the privilege of being able to row in this environment. I couldn’t believe I had the ability to go there and row.”
