The 53rd Head of the Charles won't actually begin until Saturday morning, but with an annual event this big, it takes nearly a week to get everything ready. So, the Boston setup got going last weekend with venue construction and by Thursday morning, the Charles River was well on the way to looking set.
The venue tents were up, larger enclosures and exhibit areas constructed, and trailers loaded with boats were trickling in. This means rowers of all levels are taking their first spins on what is one of the most difficult fall courses to navigate.
Among the early arrivals are the international participants, athletes who need time to get over jet lag, and others for whom the Head of the Charles is more of a time to just enjoy being on the water and not in the pressure cooker of international competition.
On the flipside, for high school, collegiate and masters rowers racing Boston in October is a big marker on the calendar and a serious amount of training is involved. The stakes for some of these athletes can be high.
For others, winning is a goal, but not the end of the world. And for elite athletes just finishing up a full season of training, selection to national teams, and racing at a world championship, Boston can be a time to chill and be with friends and fellow competitors.
In that category, Thursday was the first get-together of the 2017 edition of the women's Great Eight. Every year for the last several, the best scullers in the world band together and race an eight.
This year's women's group included the reigning world women's champion, Switzerland's Jeannine Gmelin, American Felice Mueller, six more of the top 10 finishers in the women's single in Sarasota, and Lithuanian sculler Ieva Adomaviciute, who finished fourth in the double this year and was the 2016 Under 23 single champion.
Past from having to battle for worlds medals, the women are friends and share an obvious respect for each other. The Head of the Charles is part of the "decompressing" process after a long year of hard work.
row2k had a chance to go out for a Thursday morning practice and took a moment to chat with Canadian Carling Zeeman and Gmelin about rowing in Boston, and another interesting topic of the day - moose hunting.
row2k: So, moose hunting?!
Zeeman: Yes, well, it's been a bit of a decompressing time for us after worlds, so Jeannine came to Canada. We stayed on the East Coast a little bit. I chose the East Coast because she is used to mountains so I thought to switch it up a little bit. We have the Rockies and they the Alps, but they don't have an East Coast. We flew into Halifax and did Nova Scotia.
row2k: Yes, but what about moose hunting?
Zeeman: It's fun. It depends who you go with. But for most people, it's a lot of drinking beer and socializing. And occasionally you go out with a gun and shoot something.
row2k: How did you get started.
Zeeman: My dad is avid hunter. That's my dad's sport. We all have our respective sports and his is hunting. He taught all of his kids how to hunt and I took a knack to it. I've been going since I was young.
row2k: Jeannine, have you hunted moose before?
Gmelin: No.
row2k: OK, what was it like?
Gmelin: It was kind of what I expected, just being outside and being quiet. There are times where you don't do much, but there is also time to let your mind wander and slow everything down. It was what I expected, and why I chose to do it.
But the actual hunt, in a way, it was brutal. But it was also interesting, seeing the whole process of how the meat we have on our table got there for some. It was just a good reminder of the hard work some people had to put in to provide food.
row2k: Hunting aside, what is it like coming to Boston and race with this group after being in Sarasota and racing for a world championship.
Gmelin: The difference (in temperature) was quite big. But, now I think since spending time in Canada where it was below zero during the night - and we were outside the whole day - we are pretty used to the low temperatures. It's a big change coming from 33 degrees and a lot of humidity to 15 degrees, and much more wind.
It's like coming home for me. Yesterday, when we arrived, the sun was out and the weather was beautiful and the atmosphere is so relaxed. Everybody is just celebrating rowing and being out on the water and enjoying what we do without any pressure. There is pressure, but a good kind of pressure. It's really something I like and why I like this regatta so much.
row2k: Carling, word is you are in charge of this group, now that Gevvie (Stone) is not in the boat this year.
Zeeman: Someone made me the boss. Big mistake! And boss is a loose term because Gevvie has been holding my hand through everything, showing me the ropes. She has all the Boston contacts. So, I listen to her.
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