Narragansett Boat Club Regatta 2018

This ten mile race was directed John Ryan and Dan Gorriaran by the Narragansett Boat Club(rowing) located on the Seekonk River on the East Side of Providence. I have known these guys for years since they put on the Around the Island (Jamestown) and the Counter Revolution Race(1st East Coast Surfski Championship Race). Twice these races were moved to this location due to hurricane winds forecasted. I also see these guys at the CrashB’s for the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, and I see Dan at the Blackburn Challenge where he held the overall record for many, many years. Years ago Tim and I also hooked up with several rowers including Dan and John to paddle/row from this boat house to Jamestown, a 20 mile trek out the Providence Harbor into Narragansett Bay.

Gorgeous pictures on the link below of the race by Christian.
http://www.designimagingstudios.com/

Narragansett-Bay-Regatta-2018 Pictures

The NBC course is begins at the NBC boat house on the Seekonk River and then after a couple of miles you are in the Providence Harbor headed for the Snow Cone, marker, as it is locally know since it looks like a very large upside down concrete snow cone place in the middle of the harbor.

Narragansett Boat House, the oldest boat house in the country since 1866.

I really enjoy the venue of this race launching from the dock at the boat house surrounded by all the rowing shells and the very fit rowers. The course while protected, is very wide with ample decisions to be made: do I cut the angle and stay out of the “Grave Yard” which is a made up up of fallen docks and piers that have never been removed, or do I go under the center, left, or right spans of the bridges, or do I stay more left in the wide open harbor to avoid the high speed ferry’s wake at 9:30 sharp. One decision I made very early on that I shared with Max, draft off a rowing shell. At mile 3, I was behind an eight shell and two singles who all but stopped dead in the water as the 3ft mirror ferry wake played havoc with these guys. Max and I took advantage of the wake and passed these guys with our heart rates spiking on a very, very warm day(85) with little wind. One of the keys to this race that you can draft off any class of boat so Max, a quick learner, drafted a single immediately out of the start and then caught an eight providing him a chance to open an early lead on me by mile one. I drafted single for a short time but then they took a different line under a bridge and I was off the wash as Max was opening up his lead.

Start just upriver of Boat house. Wave #2

Peter of Burnham Boat covers, slings, and more and his partner lining up for the 2nd wave.

While the race instructions were to stay in the channel if you wanted to, they were not mandatory. I knew this from the other two races I had done years ago, so I cut the tangent while Max stayed on the wash of the eight as they followed the channel markers. So at mile 2, I caught Max as we waited for the high speed ferry to make it’s wake at mile 3. At this point I got a slight lead on Max and passed the eight and one single and was making time on the leading single women’s rower by the time we reached the Snow Cone. I passed her on the turn and passed rower Eric Hagberg. Eric and I would stay within a few boat lengths of each other the final 5 miles. The female rower, Beth, Anne or Kim(not sure which one) made up the time they lost on the Snow Cone turn with me, and within a half mile and passed both Eric and I. There are many classes of rowing shells, so looking at the results, Beth, Anne, an Kim were 2 minutes ahead me the results. Whoever the women was, she powered up as we got to the final 2 miles of flat water where she increased her lead substantially. Eric said she was in the right boat choice, a Van Dusen, fast but for flat water which it was today! I raced my Think Ion 3g with a five inch rudder for the first time ever. The five inch was perfect for such a flat day.

1st bridge to go through. I am at the bottom right.

Igor at mile one.

Once we got to the Grave yard on the return trip, Eric was a few lengths ahead and opening up his lead, but then, you guessed it, boat wakes. I caught him again but shortly afterwards, I was fading in the last half mile and he finished one minute ahead of me. Max was only 1.50 seconds behind me, having an excellent race on a very hot day just getting in from Europe the night before. Olga finished 1st in the women’s with a time of 1:41:18 and looked very fresh from the eighty degree heat. The turnout for the skis was very light, however, there were 44 rowers, paddlers, Sups, etc for the race going off in 2 waves.

Olga with the wind turbines in Providence Harbor and the High Speed Ferry on the right.

Dan G and crew, 1st overall time of 1:05:03

Providence Skyline

Next year the race will be on the calendar early and with a few minor website adjustments, I believe we can have twenty five surfskiers tow the line with the friendly rowers. While I don’t particularly enjoy pure flat water racing, this race though protected for the most part, very scenic and the harbor is wide as it eventually leads out to Narragansett Bay. So its a flat water race with a feeling of openness that I find very enjoyable. John Ryan and all the volunteers did a great job and I look forward already to next years race.