Bruins Race Admirably at Henley

At the Henley Royal Regatta — a major international regatta in Henley-on-Thames, UK — Brunswick’s Varsity Eight raced admirably before falling to Hampton School (London) in the quarterfinal round. The Bruins were one of 32 teams to qualify for the “Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup,” and were “selected” (seeded) for the first time in school history. 

On the opening day of racing, Brunswick beat Westminster School (London) by 3 lengths. They went on to defeat Latymer Upper School (London) by 3.5 lengths on the following day to become the only American schoolboy crew remaining at Henley.

The Bruins lost an intense, down-to-the-wire race to Hampton to fall short of their best finish ever — a semi-final appearance in 2009.

Tuesday, June 24 — from Emmett ’17

The first day of our Henley experience was an eventful one. This was my first time on the Thames, but I was lucky to have Coach Falco, who is well experienced in the art of Henley, to guide me through it all. As a coxswain, I was lucky enough to be able to look outside the boat every now and then, and take in some of the awesome views around me. I’m looking forward to gaining a lot of experience as a coxswain here, as well as expanding my rowing experience and knowledge.

Wednesday, June 25 — from Alex and Max ’14

After a great day of practice, all of the rowers were looking forward to heading back to the river for day two. The boats looked strong on the water, and with many more crews arriving to Henley, it was a great way to show off what ‘Wick rowing has to offer. The Varsity Eight got in a couple of short pieces, racing to the famed Barrier and Fawley markers of the course.

The afternoon practice began with some hushed voices saying, “I think I just saw Abingdon arrive!” They are most certainly the team to beat for the Princess Elizabeth event. We took quick rows this session, and then took a nice, long cool-down jog alongside the entire course. It’s a surreal experience watching these world-class crews rowing down this famous course, and having the chance to stop and admire the whole experience made the jog a pleasing change of pace.

Thursday, June 26 — from Conor ’15

Today the eight had one extended practice. It was an awesome day of rowing for both boats, especially for the Varsity Four. From the glimpses I caught of their boat, it seemed set, synced up, and fast. The eight had a good and focused technical day filled with stroke rate builds, stroke rate settles, and racing starts. We definitely cleaned up our stroke and improved our starts, builds, settles, and overall boat speed. The highlight for us, though, was a mock start against a massive and bearded University of Exeter Eight, organized on the fly by Mr. Falco and Mr. Martin.

Friday, June 27, 2014 — from Thomas ’16

After a quick warm-up, we had our last practice before the Henley time trial. It was a quick one — about 45 minutes — because Coach Costas wanted to save our energy for the time trial in the afternoon. The man giving the start signal moved so fast that before I knew it, we had already started. Pry, quick, quick, full, full was our starting sequence followed by a power 20 and a stride. My legs and upper body quickly began to burn. Our only task was to try and hold off the Bucknell Four, which started about 20 seconds behind us. When we reached the red flag (our signal to start the sprint), we held a slight lead on their crew. From this point on, I don’t remember much other than finishing in front of Bucknell and crashing into them after the finish. The race was painful but a great experience.

Saturday, June 28, 2014 — from Chase ’15

Today, the team participated in the Reading Town Regatta. Both boats entered three different races and were able to compete with both high school and university level crews. In our final race, a head-to-head race against Great Marlow School (UK), our well-placed sources inside the British Rowing Community informed us that the team should be able to put up a decent fight but in the end we would come out on top. As the Great Marlow crew shot off the start with untimely speed and disappeared from our peripheral vision, we began to realize that our source may have been mistaken. Despite the loss, every man in the boat put forth his greatest effort, and we put down our fastest time of the day. The experience of rowing at Henley is one that I will remember forever.

Sunday, June 29th, 2014 — from Jack ’15

We all walked down to practice together and got our boat down into slings. We fixed all the little problems that needed fixing and headed to the weigh-in tent. Everyone (except for Freddie) weighed a little more than he did back in America, but the boat average was still less than 185 pounds. I was informed that I weighed 13 stones and 1 pound — news to me!

The Reading Regatta was a good eye opener for our boat because it helped us identify a few areas in need of improvement. We used this practice to work on keeping our speed going during the rate shifts so that we will be better come race day. We did not have an afternoon practice today in order to recover from the racing of yesterday.

We will miss Chase as he heads back to America tonight. The amount of progress we are making as a team is truly outstanding. We have all grown closer and are really excited for the racing to start on Wednesday.

Monday, June 30th, 2014 — Coach Martin

We had more training with the eight followed by a great dinner at Queenwood.

Tuesday, July 1st, 2014 — Coach Martin

We had one last practice with the eight and a fun row for the spares at Bisham Abbey in Marlow. The focus now shifts to the racing.

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014 — from David ’15

Although the four did not get the chance to row today, we experienced Henley in a different way. We had the chance to participate as spectators, watching some of the top teams from around the world compete. Finally, we had the opportunity to see our teammates row against Westminster School, a top school from London. Everyone in our boat looked really good, and I know that it is certainly a race that they should be very proud of and never forget.

and also:
from Matt ’15

The moment we had all been waiting for had finally arrived — our first official race of Henley, scheduled against Westminster School. Everyone could feel the anxiousness and the adrenaline flowing through us, and when we backed into the starting blocks, an eerie silence fell upon the place, countered only by the soft voice of Elton John coming from one of the distant tents.

Both crews flew off the line and Brunswick took a commanding lead. ‘Wick furthered its distance from the other crew by another two lengths, comfortably cruising across the finish line three lengths ahead of Westminster. The commentators fancied us a new nickname — “The Monsters From Across The Pond”— and it instantly stuck with us. Filled with confidence and surviving to race another day, we now look ahead to Latymer Upper, which upset The King’s School, Chester.

Thursday, July 3, 2014 — from Freddie ’15

As compared to the tension and anxiousness of Wednesday, the race against Latymer Upper School was approached with cool heads and confidence. We felt we had raced well against Westminster and now were ready to do it again.

Sitting at the start line of a crew race is an interesting experience. You are so pumped full of adrenaline and energy, yet you have to be perfectly focused on the stroke you are about to take, waiting for the inevitable pain that will follow, hopefully with a victory at the other end. After the first 20 strokes of the race, I thought it might be a close one, but we managed to move through them quickly at our base rate. We managed to hold a comfortable lead over Latymer for the rest of the race and won by 3.5 lengths.

Friday, July 4, 2014 — from Freddie ’15

We experienced a heart-wrenching loss today. To be down by a full length to another crew, move through them, and then lose in the last ten strokes is truly a roller coaster of emotions that I would not want to go through again anytime soon.

Even though we lost, I could not be any more proud of the boys in the boat. When we crossed that finish line, I knew that everyone had given it his absolute all. I think I can speak for the crew when I say I just wanted a good cry after the race was over.

We could tear apart and analyze every part of the race — be it blade work, wind conditions, etc. — but at the end of the day, it is over. Right now, though, we are all looking forward to another great year with BSBC. We’re losing key seniors and captains but we have a young crew gunning to make next year even better. It’s been real, Henley, and I am looking forward to enjoying you as a spectator.

Saturday, July 5th, 2014 — from Will ’16

I can’t imagine a better way to finish off this season than competing in the world’s biggest regatta, with such a high level of racing and a bigger audience than I have ever seen at an event.

After being eliminated on Friday morning, I spent the rest of the day and Saturday watching races in the Stewards Enclosure. Emmett and I managed to find our way into the special viewing area at the finish thanks to a kind member who convinced the guard to allow us in; and from there we watched a few races, including Eton College versus Abingdon School.

Overall, I think this experience will be very valuable to us as a team going into next year, especially since the vast majority of rowers at Henley still have a few more seasons of rowing at Brunswick. For now, it’s summertime. Thanks for reading!