Morning on the Merrimack
Updated 24th October '08
Evening on the MerrimackCharter
To provide information and news for the Parents, Friends, and Alumni of Andover Crew.
News October 26th'08
Updates
1. Hart Perry Trophy.
2. Parents' Day report and pictures.
3. A new girls' boat has been ordered for the spring thanks to contributions from parents and alumni.
4. If you wonder why you need a "good" coxswain Click here
5. We expect to have news about boathouse project after the Board of Trustees meeting at the end of October.Hart Perry Trophy
We will have a new trophy in the spring that will be awarded to the winners of the G1 race between Andover and Kent. It will be named for Hart Perry. There are sports that people play and there are sports that become a life long passion. They are students who try crew for a term and go on to other things but there are more students for whom crew becomes an intense lifetime passion. People who are intensely passionate about something often have an affinity for others with the same passion. The love of the river binds rowers together. Rowers often have fond memories of those who introduced them to the passion. A person who has coached for over 30 years will have many passionate supporters. One such man is Hart Perry. His web of friends knows almost no bounds.
A probably incomplete catalogue of Hart's rowing achievements would include coaching at Kent for over 30 years, Coast Guard, rowing judge-referee, supporter of the Mystic Seaport Rowing Museum, executive director of the National Rowing Foundation, US Rowing board member, founding member of NEIRA, member of the Leander Club and, I believe, the first foreigner ever elected a Henley steward.
Our own Coach Peter Washburn first met Hart when Peter's father coached teams that raced against Hart's Kent boats. Hart proved a great friend to Andover crew and Peter in his early years in New England. When Peter's boat pulled off a surprise victory in the quarterfinals at Henley '06, Hart Perry was in the judge's launch rooting for Andover. Long before Title IX, Coach Brown at Andover and Coach Perry at Kent both started girls' crew in the 1970s as full equal members of the rowing programs.
Our Coach Kathryn Green was coached at BU by Stewart MacDonald who also served under Hart Perry at Kent. Coach Green went on to coach girls' crew at Kent for 5 years before coming to Andover. Stewart married Cynthia Doggett '79 who rowed for Andover. Again the rowing passion of Kent and Andover is intertwined.
The boys B1 boats race every year for the Dent oars, named for John Dent who also coached at both Andover and Kent. Stewart MacDonald and Hart Perry created the Dent oars. When Stewart and Tia thought of creating a similar award for the girls' G1 boats, Hart Perry seemed the perfect person to honor with the trophy.
This past weekend Stewart and Tia presented a beautiful 19th century silver trophy to Hart at a dinner held in their house with 35 friends of Kent and Andover Crew. There were many speeches. Most of them short, all of them emotional, all containing stories of lives touched in a positive way by Hart Perry. There could be no doubt that Stewart had selected a worthy person to be honored by this trophy.
Andover and Kent boys have battled for over thirty years for the Dent Oars. The girls will now battle for the new Hart Perry Trophy. It will be awarded for the first time after the spring races at Kent School in 2009. Our thanks to Stewart and Tia for their thoughtful generosity and to Hart for his lifetime of contributions to the passion of crew.
Parents' Weekend
We were blessed with bright sunshine and a big crowd of parents for our Parents' Weekend open day. Most of our newbies had never rowed before Andover and for most of the parents this was a new experience. Coaches Washburn and Green gave short speeches of explanation and answered questions. Taylor Washburn '03 and Jackie Latina '04, our youngest new additions to the coaching staff circulated amongst the parents answering questions.
There were expressions of surprise, awe and pride on the parents' faces as they bundles of joy manhandled or womenhandled the launches down the docks followed by the 200 lb 55 ft racing shells. The parents we so taken with the spectacle that most followed the boats down the ramp to the dock for the best view. Many parents had felt the passion in their sons and daughters descriptions of their afternoons on the Mighty Merrimack but had struggled to grasp what was special about paddling on a river for a couple of hours. Most left the boathouse infected with the passion. One mother said that she hoped her daughter continued with crew so that she, the mother, could come back for the races in the spring.
The Parents and Friends of Andover Crew provided a food table and handouts about the program and the seemingly weird words that had slipped into the student's vocabulary. Click here for pictures of Parents' DayReunion Village - Head of the Charles - October 18th & 19th
We had two clear if slightly chilly days by the river. The major race successes were Mia Kanak who coxed the ladies Yale boat to the top spot for USA colleges in the open womens' eight and Scott Morgan who rowed in the Brown boat that was second only to the University of Washington in the mens' open eight. Ian Acccomando rowed in the Dartmouth Light boat. We had a steady stream of young and not so young alumni dropping by the Andover tent for some hot chocolate. Our big thanks to our friends from Abbott who hosted the tent.
Alumni Summer
Andover alums have been busy these past few months capturing national, international and olympic rowing titles. Please let us know if we have missed anyone. If you are a new Andover student who has what it takes to become a tall tough rower or a small spirited coxswain, then sign up taste the charms of the Mighty Merrimack River with Fall Andover Crew. Perhaps in a few years we will be reporting your rowing feats on the national or international stage.
2008 Olympics
USA Olympic team - Gold Medal Winners - Caroline Lind '02
Caroline Lind '02 won GOLD with the USA Olympic womens' eight in Beijing. This is the first time for the USA women since 1984 and I think back then they raced 1000m instead of the full 2000m. The team will appear on Oprah the week of 9/8. Read Caroline's own account at Caroline's Blog For more Olympic coverage check out Row2k Olympics and NBC Olympic coverage.
2008 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships
USA Junior National Team - World Champions - Erika Roddy '07
Erika Roddy '07 made history on the U.S. Junior Women’s eight at the 2008 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships in Linz, Austria, winning the first U.S. gold medal in the junior women’s eight event in the history of the championships, and the second gold medal by a U.S. junior women’s crew.
2008 IRA National Championships 2008 (Men)
Andover was well represented at the IRAs. Sarah Sherman '04, Taylor Washburn '03, Colin Smith '07, Geoff Martin '07, Scott Morgan '06, Karl Hirt '06 and Travis Green '04 were rowing for Princeton, Cornell, Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth. Rush Martin '07 was the bow man in the CAL freshman eight that won the Freshman 8 championship and Michelle Darby '07 coxed the UW four that won the Freshman 4 championship and broke a 15 year old course record. Now they both have to wash about 23 new rowing tee shirts! Congratulations to them all!!
Rush Martin '07 - National Champion
Michelle Darby '07 - National ChampionNCAA National Championships 2008(Women)
At NCAA Womens' Championship, Katherine Adams'06 rowed in the Yale JV and Mia Kanak '06 coxed the winning Yale varsity eight to a National Championship. Erika Roddy '07 was rowing in the Stanford boat that came second. Congratulations!!
USRowing has invited 61 Athletes to 2008 Junior Women's National Team Development Camps. Our own Alexandra Farrell will be one of the lucky ones. Scott Morgan '06 was invited to the tryouts for the US under 23 national team squad at Dartmouth, Hanover NH.The Spirit of Andover Crew
Crew is a little different from other sports. All the students, boys and girls, everyone from varsity first boat to the sixth boat, train together, practice together, race together. Everyone jumps on the same bus for the bone-rattling trip to the boathouse. Everyone helps with the launches. Everyone shares the same cold wet days on the Merrimack. Everyone shares the same pain, the same pleasure. Everyone will have the same joy as the boat starts to sync and the speed increases. There is no individual effort. There is no individual glory. Only one boat, eight rowers, one coxswain, one shell. A racing boat.
Below is a multimedia section including a video of this year's (07) interschols, Michelle's call and video from Henley '06 and a documentary video about Andover crew made by Katherine Adams '06. Recently we have noticed people referring to Andover crew as a world class program. The shallow reason for such an accolade is probably the recent racing performance such as B1 with two silvers and a gold and G1 with three silvers in the last three New England Championships. We think the program is world class because of the spirit of Andover crew down through all 12 boats. We hope the videos below will help you visit again with the spirit of Andover crew.Interschols '07 Video
Click the links below for Interschol video thanks to Jim Moroney.
Click here for Interschol video part 1
Click here for Interschol video part 2
Click here for Interschol video part 3
Abingdon Race Henley '06 - Michelle's Coxswain's Call: You can feel the spirit as you listen to this race from Henley '06. Abingdon, one of the top English schools, used their fantastic start to take an early lead of over a boat length. Lesser crews would have crumbled. Andover clawed back into the race and then pulled off a tremendous sprint to take the victory.
Click the CONE for a video combination of the coxswain's recording and the TV recording of the Abingdon-Andover race. The video will start with a photograph of the team racing at Henley. The TV footage from www.rowtv.co.uk will appear for the last 500 meters.
Andover Crew video: Katherine Adams created this Andover crew video in the Spring of '04. As you watch this movie I think you will aprreciate that Andover Crew is something very special. We have split the movie into four parts to make it easier to play and download. Please click on the link and it will play using Media Player. You may also right click on each part to download the four files and then use the 'open' command under 'file' to select all four to play as a group.
Andover Crew Video Part 1
Andover Crew Video Part 2
Andover Crew Video Part 3
Andover Crew Video Part 4
Courtesy of Katherine Adams '06
Jump to
- All you didn't want to know about crew
- Training & Fun
- How parents help the passion
- Rowing links - Including tips for spring training.
- Alumni Corner - Pictures from the last 50 years
- Henley '06
- Rowing Stories '08 - under construction see stories below
- Rowing Stories '07
- Rowing Stories '06
- Rowing Stories '05
- Schedule & results for Spring '08
- Sample Food Signup for spring races
If your are a rower, please take the time to show your parents how to access this page.
Back to Jump
General Information
Head Coaches:
Girls' Head Coach: Kathryn "Luc" Green
Boys' Head Coach: Pete WashburnGirls' Team Captain: Isabelle(izzy) Engelsted
Boys' Team Captain: The boys' election is at the beginning of spring seasonO Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;Walt Whitman
This Website is run by Parents, Friends and Alums of Andover Crew to inform and involve parents and alums in the Andover Crew program
The FALL crew season is the time for fun. Many new students have never been in a rowing boat. The experienced and novice students are mixed together in a process that starts with lots of splashing and little speed through the water. The teams progress with advice and encouragement from the coaches as well as laughter and hard work from the students. Eventually every boat is powering through the water with every oar moving as though the rowers were part of one being. Students who used to run inside at the first drop of rain will soon be happily braving even snow showers for the opportunity to spend the afternoon on the river. Hard to believe? Come and see!
Your students will soon be speaking a new language. You too can learn a little more or understand their new vocabulary
Rowing requires great skill and co-ordination. Here are some extra challenges that a student can try during the school vacation. What about Sculling ?
The program has about 100 girls and boys. They row mostly 'eights' and a few 'fours'
Everyday they are bused to and from the boathouse on the Merrimack River. There is an incredible camaraderie amongst the crew students. Maybe it is the daily bus journey, maybe the shared battle with the elements, maybe the fact that crew is a true team effort? Maybe it is just the shared experience of a few hours together away from the pressure of schoolwork? It is a pleasure to see this happy relaxed group working hard and having fun together.
Spring term is racing season. The competitive spirit kicks in as they start training for races. Andover competes against schools from all over the North East such as Exeter, Kent, NMH, St Paul's, St. John's, Tabor and others. Andover also competes at the New England Interscholastic Regatta (NEIRA) in May.
Spring is also the time for parents and friends to join in with practical help and support. The Saturday races are almost full day events with Andover fielding from 6 to 10 boats against the competition. Supporters travel to the races and provide our teams with food and drink throughout the day. If you have been to any of the races, you will know the extraordinary amount of nourishment required to support a hard racing team. The support and encouragement of the parents and fellow racers contributes greatly to the team. The races are also fun events for students and parents together. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come, even if you can only make it to one of the races. If you live far away you can make a contribution that will be used to provide the food for the races and the end of season barbecue.
Over the years parents and friends have also supported the program with donations of equipment including many of the racing boats. During the winter donations were received to 7 new ergs, new sets of oars for both the boys and girls and a new motor for the girls' launch. We have also received donations from parents for a new girls' boat and alumni for a new boys' boat.
At the very least, crew will allow your student to have fun, exercise, make new friends and learn a new skill. It may also be the start of a life long passion.
Back to Jump
Training and Fun
Some guidance for the art of erging with skill and style. Read and inwardly digest this guidance and then do the complete opposite and you will have perfection!
Now that the crews are on the water, some people will be catching crabs. If you are going to do something, you might as well excel at it. Here are instructions for catching a really good crab!
Diet is very important for all of us. Strenuous sports such as Crew add an extra dimension to diet planning. Eating properly is essential for good health. Some useful advice for rowers and parents bringing food to races can be found in this Training diet guide link. Staying healthy should be the first priority.
Crew first day on the water
Crew after a week with the coaches - see technique instruction
If you want some very light training for crew, you can try simulated crew with this game for your family. interesting board games.
Back to Jump
Parental Support
In the Fall our duty as parents is to make supporting, understanding nods at the comments that crew is "awesome", "tough", "exhilarating" and of course pretend that we understand the new language. We must not comment on the newfound appetites, tendency to dress in layers and almost complete immunity to the weather. In Spring the racing season offers a direct opportunity for parents to participate. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the race meetings and yell "GO BLUE". The students really appreciate the loyal band of supporters to cheer them to victory. The races are exhilarating, exhausting and appetite creating and that is just for the supporters. Over the duration of the race meeting, the parents provide a hospitality table for our athletes to quench their thirst and quell their hunger after a hard race.
We can have up to 100 hungry students to feed. You would be amazed at the amount of food consumed. Our athletes are very serious about what they eat before and after a race. It appears they really did listen to all the comments about healthy eating that you thought had fallen on deaf ears.
Check out what rowers should and should not eat and when
In Spring we publish a sample menu for the food table. Everyone can join in by bringing food or making a donation to purchase food.
Click here for the Food menu for the May 17th. races at HomeThe most important thing parents can do is provide encouragement and, if possible, come to support the students at Parents Weekend in the Fall and the races in the Spring. A crew program needs good equipment to be competitive. The Andover crew program has also benefited over the past 50 years from parent and alumni donations. Much of our equipment has been acquired with these donations. Hence the funny names on the boats -- "Pete & Jerry", Cashin. Lone Star and Coach Moss. When crews have won the right to attend the Henley Regatta in London, it has only been possible with the generous donations of parents and alumni to pay for a trip that will be remembered for a lifetime.
If you would like to be on our email list please email us at andovercrew@andovercrew.net.
Top 7 Reasons To Be A Crew Mom/Dad
1. Cooking lunch for the kids on the team is like cooking for a small village.
2. The people from the Child Abuse Prevention Center keep calling about the cuts and bruises on the backs of your child's legs.
3. Standing in the rain and mud on Saturdays in April is much better than relaxing at home.
4. What the hell is a unisuit?
5. Your kids haven't gone to bed this early since they were two years old.
6. You can personally keep Johnson & Johnson in business by buying Band-Aids, gauze, and Neosporin for all their blisters.
7. After all these years they finally eat everything on their plate.
Back to Jump
Spring Schedule
By popular demand a best guess at the 2008 Spring Race Schedule.
To live is to row, to row is to race, to race is to test the limits. Neira beckons.
A Call to Oars:
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To the full height. On, on, you noblest rowers.
Whose limbs were made in New England show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'Go for myself, my family and Andover Crew!'
(Mostly from Henry V Act 3 Scene 1)
- Apologies to Will Shakespeare.
Possible Andover Spring Racing Schedule 2008 (How many boats depends the other school) Date Day Team Opponent Site Time 12-Apr-2008 Sat Boys B1-B4 Kent, Lowell, Brookline Home Results 12-Apr-2008 Sat Girls G1-G4 Kent, Lowell, Brookline Home Results 19-Apr-2008 Sat Boys B1-B4 St. Johns, Simsbury, Exeter at Lake Q Away Results 19-Apr-2008 Sat Girls G1-G4 Simsbury, Exeter at Lake Q Away Results 23-April-2008 Wed Girls G4,G5 Groton Home Results 26-Apr-2008 Sat Boys B1-B5 Salisbury, Brunswick Away Results 27-April-2008 Sun Girls G1-G4, B5 Lowell Invitational Away Results 03-May-2008 Sat Boys B1-B4 St. Pauls, CRI, Machester Central Away Results 03-May-2008 Sat Girls G1-G4 St. Pauls, CRI, Machester Central Away Results 10-May-2008 Sat Boys B1-B5 Tabor, Exeter Home Results 10-May-2008 Sat Girls G1-G5 Tabor, Exeter Home Results 17-May-2008 Sat Boys B1-B3 N.M.H. Home Results 17-May-2008 Sat Girls G1-G3 N.M.H Home Results 24-May-2008 Sat Boys B1-B3 Interscholastics (NEIRA) Away Results 24-May-2008 Sat Girls G1-G3 Interscholastics (NEIRA) Away Results The teams and supporters arrive a couple of hours earlier to setup for the races.
Our only events in the Fall will be Parent's Weekend and we support the Alumni tent at the "Head of the Charles". GO BLUE!!Directions:
Directions to Lake Quinsigamond.(State Park)
Alternate Neira regatta directions to Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester for May 24th
Directions to the boathouse (from Andover) for the Andover crew races on Saturday 12th.:
Directions to parking for the Andover Boathouse
Back to Jump
Interschols '08
Results:
Race results - Click here
Team trophy results - Click here
Interschols' Pictures Page 1
Interschols' Pictures Page 2
Interschols' Pictures Page 3
Interschols' Pictures from Eric Engelsted
Interschols' Pictures from Bob Moss
Another amazing season for Andover has come to an end. We are saying goodbye to another batch of amazing rowers. They arrive almost as delicate as seedlings in a spring garden and leave like redwoods, taller, stronger and more confident. Andover is not for the slow of mind or faint of heart. Crew is hard on the body and the soul. Everyone on the boat wins or everyone loses. Andover usually has more wins than losses. Older Alumni always tell me they remember the losses, especially the close ones more than they remember the victories. This year all our teams had respectable results as told by the number of boats beaten by Andover versus the number that bested us:
G1: 20-4, G2: 19-4, G3: 17-6, G4: 5-4, G5: 1-0.
B1: 17-4, B2: 20-1, B3: 16-5, B4: 1-5, B5: 0-3.
The Washburn rule is that there is only one race, the next one. This is the only race that can be changed. We had some very tough races at the beginning against Kent and Exeter. The first boat boys lost by 10 seconds to Exeter and the girls by 13 seconds, G3 lost by 14 seconds. At our level a boat length is about 3 or 4 seconds. These losses would have been enough to destroy weaker teams. All of our boats did what they needed to do….suck it up and focus on training. The coaches made some changes in the boats.
A reasonable assumption would be that if a rower were moved up to B1, then B2 would go slower. It didn't happen. Over the weeks of the season all the boats grew in speed and confidence and by Interschols those early boats that had lost by oceans of open water were a feint memory in the dim and distant past. The transformation was the result of weeks of determined graft by every rower and coxswain.
Those boats of distant memories would have been hard pressed to make it through the heats at Interschols but our boats of this present weekend came first or second and where we came second we beat those teams in the finals. By lunchtime we knew we were in the hunt for medals. This year's teams had looked adversity in the face and adversity had blinked.
All our rowers were heroes this year but we should mention a particular hero. Our G1 coxswain, Sardis, this year was stricken with an allergic reaction that became a nasty infection that meant for the whole season she had been unable to walk on her left foot. Now left feet can be very important, a fellow countryman of mine even named his book after his left foot although in that case it was his best working part rather then the injured part. Sardis never allowed her foot to interfere with her boat and maintained her glowing disposition in good times and bad. She will bring a joyous contribution to the lucky university that has captured her for college as will our other graduating seniors that will go on to make the world a better place for all of us.
Happiness has a silver lining
And so back to the story of Interschols at Lake Quinsigamond…did I mention the absolutely amazing food table that started with pancakes and French toast in the morning and ended with barbeque in the afternoon. All this while holding onto a billowing tent that tried to take off in the blustery wind. Our huge thanks to our wonderful food service, you know who has the best food when the regatta staff drops by looking hungry. ...but back to the races. After lunch the skies darkened a little and wind stiffened up. It was a strong tail wind so it helped the race speed and created some choppy water but did not favor any lane over another.
The first final for us was B3. Our team had entered seeded 5th. We watched with anticipation and growing joy as the boats stepped stroke-by-stroke towards the final 500 m. Our B3 was moving out in front and looking strong. Then just as they would have been jumping up the rate for a sprint to the line there was a large spray of water and our hearts stopped as we realized the boat was stuck to the water. They scrambled to sort out the oars and restart again. They threw every last once of energy into the drive and moved the boat faster than probably any B3 boat has gone before, desperately trying to regain a place in the race. They managed to grapple their way into 4th place. Unbeknownst to us at the time they had just ensured our victory in the team prize by pushing Exeter into 5th place. As wise people say "do not measure people by their success but by how they react to adversity". Our B3 was tested and passed with flying colors.
Our G3 was seeded 3rd and had been 2 seconds behind Kent in the heat in the morning. They rowed strong and steady pushing past St. Paul's and Kent to claim the silver medals.
We won!
Our B2 had lost to Kent in the first race of the season and then had to be rearranged as we moved some rowers between B2 and B1 to find the best set. After the Kent race B2 found their groove. They just carved their way through all opposition and today was to be no different. They beat Exeter by a second in the morning heat and by almost 5 second in the final. Their only mistake of the day was rowing to the awards dock first causing the officials to try and hand a bronze medal on the coxswain. A mistake quickly corrected.
Our G2 had been second to St Paul's in the morning. In the final our G2 rowed well but could not match a strong Exeter boat but did push St. Paul's aside to take the silver medal and to finish the year with an impressive 19-4 record.
Our B1 had lost to both Kent and Exeter during the season but this was a new race. We started out well and tried to pull away from our main rivals down the middle of the course. We took care of Kent but Exeter proved too strong in the final 500 meters. The B1 boat took silver to continue string of Interschols medals that has seen them win silver, silver, gold and silver over the last four years. Impressive by any measure.
The G1 race was the last event of the day. They entered the race seeded third. All the boats raced well with the following wind and G1 finished up third to take the bronze to complete the day with every girls' boat making it to the medals.
In all the excitement of the races we had forgotten to keep tally on the team points. At the end we tallied up to collect second team place for the girls and first place for the boys' team for only the second time in history and for the second successive year.
The Team Trophy
The hackneyed phrase "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" could have been scripted for Andover crew this year. We started with a very rough patch and drove through to a very successful Interschols. Our congratulations to every single one of our athletes and to all of our fantastic coaches and their helpers.
It is with a tear of mixed sadness and joy that we say goodbye to our departing seniors. We wish them well in their life travels and hope they stay close to our crew family. At Interschols we were visited by many alumni including Morgan Broccoli, Liv Coffey, Pia Heilmann, Erin Mullany and Geoff Morgan from '07 and Chris Maietta '74 as well as Coach Moss (retired) who has supported many of our races this spring.
Now for a little housekeeping. The school is still working on a proposal for an improved boathouse. We are living proof that a luxurious boathouse is not a requirement for a successful first class crew program. But we also do not believe that the hardships endured by our rowers and visitors are necessary to toughen our rowers or the parents, friends and alumni that attend our races. We do not have to match the levels of Exeter, St. Paul's or Salisbury but we do believe that we owe it to our coaches to make their lives a little easier with better facilities. Our boathouse has been honored with visits from Barbara Chase and Rebecca Sykes this past season as well as from Oscar Tang who also shared the boathouse and 12 inches of rain with us during the 2006 reunion. When the school has completed some legal issues involved in planning we hope to create a proposal that will be the basis of a fund raising effort probably starting later in the year.
We have been blessed over the years with kind donations of boats and other equipment as well as financing for trips to Henley. This support has ensured the quality of the program. I have been asked about donations. There are two ways to help the program. One is to donate money for specific equipment or project. The girls' parents are currently raising money for a boat. We also have the William Brown endowment for crew. Over the years we have had feast and famine years for donations and so in 2006 we started the endowment with the goal of using it to smooth out these variations once it has reached a level to self sustain. If you are thinking of making an end of school year donation to the school as a graduating parent or for a class reunion, you can mark you check to be assigned to the "William Brown Endowment for Crew". Our endowment founders did just that to kick-start the endowment.
There will be the usual reunion this coming June. If anyone would like to visit the boathouse or even round up a boatload of people for a quick row on the Merrimack please contact pwashburn@andover.edu or andovercrew@andovercrew.net. If any of you want to relive your past glories by reading Phillipian crew articles from bygone years, email us and we will find PDF copies for you.
As we slide into the summer we will update the website. If you find any old pictures of Andover crew as you do a belated spring clean, please contact us. We would love to add to our sections of older alumni pictures.
Lastly a huge thank you to everyone, students, coaches, parents, alumni and friends who have made this another great year in the history of Andover Crew. May the wind always be at your (coxswain's) back.
NMH '08
We were blessed with the weather. Bright sunshine, mid 60s, best weather by the Merrimack in 4 years. We were joined by our friends from NMH for the last day of racing before Interschols. We also joined food tables with NMH and invited an ice cream truck to make it a party day for the last day of crew for our 4th and 5th boats. The chimes of an ice cream truck seem to connect with the inner child of even the more sophisticated teenager. Three bars of the siren call and the truck was surrounded by Andover and NMH rowers.Fun was had by all!
Our boys and girls of the B1-B3 & G1-G3 boats raced NMH. All the boats were in good form and won their races with ease. Given the glorious weather and the race victories is was destined to be a day of coxswain sacrifices to the mighty Merrimack but many of the "throwers" couldn't resist the temptation to join the coxswains in the water. For race result times see race links in race schedule below. To jump click on Spring Schedule '08
These races were followed by races between our own B4 & B5 and a brace of '4s' made from G4 and G5. The combined winners of these fun races were awarded a new "teamwork" trophy by Coaches Hurley and Quattlebaum. This new trophy was instigated to honor the contribution of the rowers in these boats. The names of the winners will be engraved on the plinth of the trophy for all to see down the ages of Andover Crew.
Icescreammmmmm
Winners of the Teamwork Trophy
For pictures of the races of Andover vs NMH click here Part 1 , click here Part 2 and click here Part 3
Exeter and Tabor May 10th.
This past weekend we hosted the Big Red and our old friends Tabor. Three weeks ago Andover meet Exeter at Lake Quinsigamond and lost every race except B2 and B3 by significant margins. Over the past three weeks the coaches had been working to improve our teams. All schools improve as they progress through the racing season. Were we improving faster than Exeter?
At Andover we race down stream starting above the I-93 bridge and finish just past our boathouse. The day was clear with medium currents and a head wind blowing up stream against the current. This made for very rough water especially as the boats came out from under the bridge, so rough in fact that we had to cancel the G5 race at the end of the day because of the conditions.
The rough conditions added another twist to the day as the boats took on large volumes of water and some crews had to call for help to lift the boats out of the river only to be treated to one last shower of freezing cold water as they turned the boats overhead. Luckily the food table had ample supplies of hot food to warm them up. We also had a clutch of visitors today, parents from as far away as Illinois and California and visiting alumni Kart Hirt '06, aka The Big Hirt, our huge Texan who continues to grow, Stacey Middlebrook '07 who coxed B2 to win silver and the boys team trophy at Interschols last year and Justin Accomando, recently returned from Navy sea duty who treated his new girlfriend to her first every crew day. We were also graced with a visit by Ms. Chase and her husband delivering Andover Blue Sharks to our athletes.
So we had tough water, a huge crowd and a small matter of racing Exeter and Tabor. The G5 race was cancelled and Exeter took the honors in the B5 race. In the B4 and G4 section Exeter also won the races although Andover beat Tabor. In the boys' race Andover raced well to be about 2 seconds down at the finish. In the 3rd level Exeter took the girls' race and Andover took the boys'. The girls improved on their Lake Q. performance. The boys' race was a spectator's special with both boats digging hard into the water as they passed the boathouse to enormous screams of support from both blue and red fans. At the line Andover had it by about half a second.
At the second boat level the girls again improved on their past performance while the boys won a very solid victory with almost two lengths of open water at the end. The G2 was also disturbed today because one rower had to move up because of an injury on G1. At Lake Q a few weeks ago the B1 and G1 were well beaten by Exeter. Today G1 had to row without captain Tori Brophey and still managed to improve on the past performance. I joked with Tori that the boat went faster without her but once she returns next week, the boat will be more competitive and hopefully by Interschols we will be pushing Kent and Exeter for the medals. At Lake Q the B1 went down to Exeter by 7.4 seconds or over two boat lengths. The boys knew they had work to do. And work they did, improving their rowing and this week for the first time they produced a powerful sprint in the last 500 m. They came from behind chomping on Exeter's lead and almost took the race finishing only 0.4 of a second behind Exeter. They have now discovered a depth to their strength unknown before this week. They have two weeks of training to feed the monster so that they can roar down the last 500 m at Interschols. It should be fun.
At the end of the day we had only two coxswains to sacrifice to the gods of the Merrimack (see photos) but the whole team should be very proud of the progress over the past three weeks. Churchill said, "Kites fly highest against the wind". Our adversity will only make us better.
Ms Chase visiting the boathouse
No Regrets
Help ! Extra hands required :-(
The price of winning
For pictures of the races at Andover vs Exeter click here Part 1 , click here Part 2 and click here Part 3
St. Paul's '08
For pictures of the races at St.Pauls go to St Pauls 1 and St Pauls 2
Salisbury '08
Let's race Coach Washburn to the trailer
The flying B2, all eight do actually row when needed
For pictures of the races at Salisbury click hereLowell '07
Look Mum, only one hand
Food, glorious food
For pictures of the races at Lowell click here
Groton
Today we had Groton visit the boat house to race G4 and G5. The Merrimack can be a challenge for a rookie coxswain with the currents and the change in water as you come out from under the bridge. Here is Luc’s description of what sounded like fun races.
"The first race of the day was PA G4 vs. Groton 5th & 6th combined. The race was closer to 1300m as we started a bit below the official start. Both coxswains were a bit erratic with their steering, but stayed pretty much on course. The flag didn't actually go back up for Groton's crossing, but PA had the lead by 1/3 of a length and we are guessing it was about 2 seconds.
The second race was PA G5 vs. Groton 7th & 8th combined. This race was also just shy of 1500m. Groton lost their 7 seat just after 500m due to a jumped slide, but rowed on stoically and was only a few seats down on PA, who at the last 20 strokes caught an over the head crab, stopping them enough for Groton to overtake them at the finish. A dramatic and thoroughly fabulous novice race.”
Lake Quinsigamond '08
The weather at lake Q was about as perfect as it has been for many years. The lake was being used for College races in the morning and high schools in the afternoon. This along with the fact that we had to launch from the Donahue Rowing Center near the start made for a tough day for us poor supports. We had to choose between being at the boathouse to cheer our boats as they launched and landed or going to the state park to see the finish line. Some very fit supporters walked the mile there and back.
We had a great turnout of supporters with some driving from as far away as New Jersey, New York and Long island and others flying in from Louisiana, Illinois and California. Some of our recent graduates, who raced with their colleges in the morning, hung around to support us in the afternoon. Kit Wise '66 took advantage of the weather to combine a motorcycle outing with an afternoon by the lake. He could not remember starting near the road bridge but we both surmised that maybe it wasn't there 40 years ago when his raced this lake.
Many hands make light work
Pay back time
For pictures of Saturday's races at Lake Quinsigamond go to LakeQ Page 1 and LakeQ Page 2
Check the SpringSchedule08 below for a link to the results. Our next race will be April 26th at Salisbury for the Boys and April 27th at Lowell for the girls G1 to G3 and the boys' B5. Check the schedule section below for directions. SpringSchedule08
April 12th Kent, Lowell & Brookline '08
Yesterday was a typical New England day by the river, bright warm sunshine, heavy rain, thunder storms and lightning...all within a couple of hours. We managed to squeeze in 29 boats and about 250 rowers thanks to the cooperation of everyone parking away from the boathouse. Kent arrived fresh from their training in the southern sunshine and their rowing had a sparkle that reflected the benefit of their spring break trip. Our rowers fought bravely but for the most part succumbed to the superior Kent boats. Our spirited G1 and G2 boats were able to douse the Kent sparkle with G1 providing a very impressive performance for this early in the training schedule. Check the SpringSchedule08 below for a link to the results.
Looking cool
Hanging tough
For pictures go to Kent Page 1 and Kent Page 2
Catching a crab can be a race stopping event. Check out the youtube video from San Diego. Ejection crab
The Canadian prerace peptalk video is making the rounds on youtube again. The quality and sound is miserable. We have reposted a medium quality version. Go to Links. We can supply contact info is anyone wants to contact the original creator to obtain a DVD. It is best "save" the file and then "play' rather than 'open" it. The file is about 50 Mbytes.
This past Wednesday we had bright sunshine, freezing temperatures, howling wind and a raging Merrimack carrying melting snow to the sea. Andover is preparing for the first battle against Kent on April 12th. Click here for some pictures.
Will England '03 stroked the Oxford boat to a commanding and gruelling (English spelling) 6 length win in the Boat Race on Saturday. Congratulations to Will!! Click here for a Race report
The oldest rowing class reunions this year will be the boys of '58 and the girls of '78. Does anyone know why the girls G1 of '78 should be famous?
If you needed a song to go with your bottled water, we have added a link to a huge collection thanks to the Twickenham Rowing Club. Links
We have updated the race schedule and we have posted Tori Brophy as the '08 captain for girl's crew. The guys wait until the season begins to select their captain. There is also a new link to a site that replaces Rowersworld for discussion boards.
We have updated our links to Summer rowing camps. The camps are usually fully booked by the end of March. From our past family experience we can recommend Northeast and Eton Summer Program but there are many good programs all across the country.
Many Andover rowers have also spent happy summers rowing with Community Rowing in Boston. This is a program that races competitively during the summer.Community Rowing
We have added links to the top colleges in the world according to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Times of London for those who are starting on the painful task of selecting a college. There is also a link to a table of college rowing programs. LinksAndover Crew
As we sit here in New England buried in 10" of snow it is hard to believe that in a short number of weeks the crew team will be meeting for the Spring season. Some of the rowers will have renewed their love hate relationship with the erg machines in the gym. Someone asked Sir Steve Redgrave, he of the five consecutive gold medals, if he enjoyed erging. He said he hated training but it was the only way to win races.
The 2007 spring was a fantastic racing season for Andover Crew but that glory is past and a new season is upon us. The first race will be against Kent at home. They usually go south to the sunshine for pre-season training and always provide a very tough beginning to our racing season. Supporters are a key element for all of our races to provide encouragement and food. Parents and friends should be planning their Spring weekends to include warm balmy (sometimes)afternoons by the river. We have posted below our best guess at the coming Spring schedule, Click Here. The coaches might sneak in a couple of extra races. So come on down and yell GO BLUE!! for your favorite racing boat.
Andover has decided this year to instigate a "Hall of Honor" to celebrate Andover athletes and coaches. Check out Athletic Hall of Honor.
It seems to me that Andover Crew has a wealth of possible candidates starting with Coach Brown and the brave souls who manned his first ever Andover boat and running through such candidates as the undefeated '65 boat whose record lasted until B1 matched it this past Spring '07 or the first girls boat who started rowing even before Abbot completed the merger and before Title IX was a twinkle in anyone's eye. There are individuals such as Jon Bernstein who rowed for Andover, Harvard, USA and Cambridge and guest coaches at Andover during the Spring or Seth Moulton who has been in the news for his Iraq exploits and trying to obtain asylum for his Iraqi translator or our more recent Olympians such as Caroline Lind. So call up your friends and encourage them to go to the website and propose your favorite candidate. The first "inductees" will be announced at this year's reunion in June.Fall Pictures:
For pictures from the Head of the Charles Regatta Click Here
And for more pictures from the Head of the Charles Regatta Click Here
The Washburn family enjoying the races.
Some of the Andover crowd.
For pictures of the fall on the Merrimack Click Here
And for more pictures of the fall on the Merrimack Click Here
Rowing Stories '07 - Spring
2007 - Boys 1st. Boat - Undefeated New England Champions
2007 - Girls 1st. Boat - Henley Women's Regatta Finalists
2007 - New England Championships Boys: Team trophy & B1 Gold, B2 Bronze, B3 Silver
2007 - New England Championships Girls: G1 Silver, G2 Gold, G3 Silver
Our Girls at Women's Henley.
Latest News! The girls beat Exeter by a length in the Semifinal. Sadly they could not best South Niagara in the Final. This was a very very impressive performance by our G1 girl's first ever entrance in the Henley Women's Regatta. Congratulations!! Everyone should be very proud of their effort. A great way to end the season and a fantastic memory for the seniors to take away with them. Coach Bob Moss has now well and truly retired and I am sure that the girls have given him a memory that he will cherish forever.
For the race results click here
(Saturday June 23rd) Bob Moss sent this message from the bank of the Thames....
Hi Everyone,
Tremendous news from Henley! G1 won both its races today and will move on to the semi-finals against.....Exeter! In our first race, we did not make a good start, got behind by about a length to Commercial Rowing Club from Ireland but fought back tenaciously and won by 5 seats and by pulling ahead with a fantastic sprint. It was an inspiring and unforgettable total team effort. In our second race against Molesey RC, one of the top crews in the UK, we smoked them at the start and never looked back. The race was sealed about a minute into it and we enjoyed a leisurely run down the Thames, finishing at 26 strokes per minute to Molesey's 37. Tonight, a grand dinner in town and tomorrow another Andover-Exeter race with designs of revenge from our 0.2-second loss at Interschols written all over it. Exeter had to change its line-up because of several rowers who were over 19 and we will soon know if they still show their same speed from three weeks ago. Despite an incessant rain and appalling muddy conditions at the launch site, Andover cannot wait to race again and represent our school and country with distinction.
The Henley Women's Regatta Finalists 2007 - The Andover Girl's 1st. Boat.
Our thanks to the Alumni and Parents who have made generous donations to bring this dream to reality. The other schools in our New England region make regular trips to Henley.
Back to Jump
Interschols May 26th.
Amazing day! Last year every team medaled for the first time in history. We thought it couldn't get any better than that. Well it did!
NEIRA Results:
B1: Gold - New England Champions.(Season 21-0 undefeated only second team ever in the our crew history)
G1: Silver - Second by only 2/10ths of a second!(Season 23-2)
B2: Bronze (Season 15-6)
G2: Gold - New England Champions.(Season 23-2)
B3: Silver (Season 17-4)
G3: Silver (Season 21-3)
Boys' team trophy: - New England Champions. First time ever since the trophy was started in 1995.
Girls' team Trophy: Very close second.
Last year we were overjoyed to have each team medal for the first time. This year we did even better with G2 and B1 taking the championships and the boys boats taking the team prize for the first time ever. All the kids did us proud. The pictures are available at http://www.andovercrew.net although with every team going to the medal dock it was a crush trying to catch everyone on camera. One of the parents, Jim Moroney, made a video. We are having it converted for the website and will add it in a couple of weeks.
For the girls is a poignant day. It was the last Interschols for Bob Moss who is retiring this year. It is also the first year ever the girls’ team is going to Henley. The pressure was on to make a good showing. G3, Bob’s own boat, won their heat in the morning and raced amazing well taking silver and the first Andover medal of the day. A great ending to Bob’s 23 years with Andover Crew. He has nurtured literally hundreds of outstanding girl rowers.
B3 followed with an equally excellent performance capturing silver. The day was looking good. Andover was starting to smile.
G2 rowed a confident heat in the morning beating Kent well over a boat length and in the afternoon final stormed home to a gold medal and a New England championship. Our B2 went into the competition seeded 5th. Coach Washburn had set a goal of winning the team trophy for the first time at the beginning of the season. To make this dream a reality we needed B2 to make it into the medals. In the morning heat they were third behind Kent and Exeter with St. John’s and St. Paul’s leading the other heat. We held our breadth but the boys came through rowing with heart and guts and beat out the competition to take the bronze medal. The day was looking better.
The girl’s first boat won their morning heat with a second over Kent. The grand final was a battle royal between Andover and Exeter. From the bank we could not tell who crossed the line first. Eventually the judges gave it to Exeter by 2/10ths of a second. So so close. The girls, like the boys last year, struggled to smile as they received their silver medals forgetting that they had overcome 16 other schools to take the silver and completing their season with an impressive 23-2 record. As Silver medalist, they can go off to Henley with pride.
The last race of the day was the boys’ grand final. It would not only decide the New England championship but also the boys team trophy. The B1 boat had won the morning heat in a very controlled style to win by 3 seconds over St. Johns. The B1 boat entered the final undefeated this season, in fact their coxswain had not seen the back of any other coxswain all season. The final was to be no different. Coach Washburn used to joke that the best race plan was to take the lead and stay there until the finish. Today was the day of all days for that plan. They had a good start, a strong middle and when Exeter made a move they stepped it up. They finished at a 43 but looked a composed as a steady 33 finishing over Exeter by 2.5 seconds and St. Paul's by almost 7 seconds. A good end to a 21-0 season and an auspicious undefeated inaugural season for their new boat the Oscar Tang. A very impressive win by any standards and confirming the achievement of a dream – the team trophy.
So this year all the teams medaled for the second year in succession. Our B1 and G2 are New England Champions. B1 is undefeated this season. The boys' team captured the team trophy for the first time ever.
All the kids raced their hearts out today to bring home these incredible results. Congratulations to every rower and every coach. If we ever thought we needed it, this is proof that Andover Crew is an exceptional program.
* Full NEIRA Results click here
For pictures (Page 1) of the Interschols races Click Here
For pictures (Page 2) of the Interschols races Click Here
For pictures (Page 3) of the Interschols races Click Here
For pictures (Thanks to Eric E.) of the Interschols races Click Here
Back to Jump
Spring Crew '07
A bunch of hardy early returnees volunteered to open the boathouse, launch a small piece of the dock and explore the upper reaches of Merrimack in search of icebergs to ensure that it would be safe for this coming week. Normally there is a jerkiness to early spring rowing but by the end of today there was a silky smoothness more reminiscent of a late season workout than the first crisp day of spring.
BBQ at the boat house
What a good day to be out
For more picture on Spring practices Click here
Some of the girls gathered in California for a row in the sunshine.
* Some pictures from the girls' rowing trip to California Click here
* Some more pictures of the girls off the water in California Click here
Back to Jump
Fall Instructional Crew '06
Watch out for the current
It is crowded around here
Fall Stuff
Pictures from the last day of rowing - the Tail of the Merrimack. click here.
The wind bites your face, the water stings your fingers, the sun is dropping earlier behind the golden trees. Winter is here. Time to drag the dock ashore and stack it for the winter. The crew days are over until the ice breaks in the spring.
Photographs from the Head of the Charles, Parents' Weekend and the Tail of the Merrimack will be posted this week.
The winter is for feeding and for erging. First, build the strength, then the stamina and last of all the speed. When the ice breaks we will push back onto the river but not for leisurely days of learning. Spring is for racing. Everything must be perfect, everything must be fast. Everything will be for team, boat and self as one.
October 27th: Parent's Day: God must be a rower. How else can we explain the glorious day for Parents' day by the river and the lashing rain for the rest of the weekend. We had a great crowd at the boathouse. Some experienced and relaxed, others new and at least slightly anxious as they watched their precious one row off onto the mighty Merrimack. The kids, trying to look cool and showing off at the same time. Trying to pretend to ignore their parents while stealing glances to be sure they are watching. Everyone had fun.
Crew is not for the half hearted. In soccer you can try to slink off to the side, never call for a pass or always pass the ball on as soon as you have it. Once in the crew boat, you are it until you reach the dock again.
Most sports do just as well whether parents join in or not. Not so with crew. Crew needs supporters - parents, friends and alumni.
Everything from buying equipment to bringing food to the spring races. The coaches and kids make Crew a great sport at Andover, our job, as supporters, is to make their lives easier. The coaches have to drive the buses, maintain the equipment and care for the kids. You could not coach crew unless you loved it.
Crew was founded by Coach Brown in the 1950s with lukewarm support from the school. Castoff boats from Harvard, Princeton and Yale started the program. Parents, friends and alumni have kept it going. You may have seen the plaques on the boathouse and the names on the boats - evidence of the support over the years. If we have two new boats every year, then B6 and G6 are rowing 6 year old boats.
These past two years supporters have donated one boat each for the girls and boys, supported the trip to Henley, almost doubled the dock size. This winter we hope to have two more boats under construction. We hope the boys or girls or both do well enough to warrant a post season competition at Henley or the US Nationals. Each item seems to cost a little over $30k. That is the price of a boat, the cost of new dock and a team trip to Henley. Financial support is unpredictable. We have had good years and not so good years. This past spring three rowing alumni started an endowment in honor of Coach Brown. The goal is to gradually raise money for an endowment to smooth out the ebb and flow of financial support.
The program needs our help in other ways. In the spring the kids have to be careful what they eat before races and have to urgently replenish nourishment after their races. As parents we support both the home and away races with a food table. Volunteer parents bring food and man the table. Some local families also host team dinners on the Fridays before races. We will also be looking for volunteers to take photographs, write for the website and produce newsletters. One lonely person gets to hold the flag at the finish line. If you can't physically make it to the races, you can send money to buy food.
Last but by far the most important support you can provide is to come down to the river and yell "GO BLUE" with all the force and passion your lungs can stand. Race days are a full day event. We race in all weathers except lightning. The passion is contagious. We all have one thing in common, a kid crazy enough to compete in a sport where there is no room for individual achievement. It is truly one for all and all for one. Absolutely everyone is welcome. Mark your Saturdays booked for April and May. Come down to the river.
Insructional Crew '06, click here
June 27th:
All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide.
- The gentle afternoon rowing on the Thames of Lewis Carroll:
By Tuesday the festive atmosphere was taking over the little river village of Henley-on-Thames. The tents were up, the boats were here and the strange looking men in multicolored blazers, like the grandfather in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, have started to arrive. Our boat has been practicing on the river, getting familiar with the 2112 meter course. We have 'brushed' (scrimmaged in American) with several college teams. Our new found friends from Trinity College Dublin raced with us down the whole course. We won. We are now ready for Henley. It is an awe inspiring event with rules and tradition laid down over many years and aggressively maintained from the dress code in the Steward's enclosure (Blazers for men and skirts below the knee for women) to the river manners for the crews.
The parents are trickling in. We hope to have a parental unit for every rower by Thursday. Although the boat has become such a unified group with a set routine, that the parents are only needed to provide after river recovery food and vocal encouragement from the bank. The bonding that people talk about is visible and protective.
For Day before pictures at Henley Regatta, click here
June 28th:
Our maiden Henley race was against Kingston Grammar School. A coeducational school of about 800 in south London. I joined Peter in the official launch expecting to capture some good photographs.
The start setup involved the boats backing into starting blocks where people hold the stern of the boat until the Umpire starts the race. On the start command Andover powered away and were quickly up several seats on Kingston. I took a few quick shots of our boat not knowing that would be the last I would see of them. I turned to take a few shots of Kingston at the request of their coach and when I turned back to Andover, they were almost out of good photograph range. They raced ahead oblivious to the necessity for good photo opportunities and to the sadness they were causing to our companions on the Umpire's launch. At the Barrier (1/4 mile) they looked good, at Fawley (3/4 mile), they looked unbeatable. At the end the announcer declared that Andover had won 'easily'. This sounds a little blunt and maybe even cruel but it translates into a win by more than 4 lengths. The British never did sugar coat anything.
Our team were smiling from ear to ear. Their first Henley race was over and they were still undefeated internationally. It was a huge tension reliever. Our launch companions congratulated our team and wished us well for future. We topped off the day with a dinner for the team and parents at a local establishment hosted by the Morgans. We had almost 30 people including the team, parents and the couple who own the farm where the team is staying.
As happens on these occasions there were a few speeches. The Morgans welcomed everyone and thanked everyone who had contributed to a fantastic season and the trip to Henley. We especially thank the Washburns for everything they bring to the program. Scott Morgan gave his person thanks and presented Mr. Washburn a Leander shirt now that he has been honored with membership of THE most respected rowing club in the world. Mr Dawes our team's residence host said that the team was the most wonderful, well behaved group they ever had on thier farm and he if they won the cup he would 'sit on the coach' to ensure that the team could enjoy their celebration.
And then to bed... tomorrow is just another day at Henley and another race for survival.
For Day 1 pictures at Henley Regatta, click here
Photo from row2k
Video PA vs Kingston Grammar
June 29th:
We had hoped for another morning race time but were given 6.35 PM. This meant a slight sleep-in, a short row over lunch and a quiet afternoon. The Yis had rented a small house in the town for their visitors and the team used this as a place of prerace relaxation. At 5 PM they walked to the boathouse. Just another race against just another team but each time the hurdle rising a little higher. The opposition were St. Edwards. An English school that had beaten our friends from Tabor by a 1.25 lengths.
Again Peter Washburn sent the crew off with his usual quiet encouragement. They rowed their way down to the start past a history of boating building that lines the river during Henley. At the start they had to manoeuver carefully to the starting blocks. They were up off the start when a St Edwards rower had his seat jump out. He quickly recovered and returned to rower. They lost some more ground and tried hard to pull back on Andover. It was not to be. Once again Andover rowed well and yard by yard pulled further ahead as they past the famous Henley milestones of the Barrier and Fawley. The team that had made short work of Tabor, was not going to stop Andover. As they crossed the line Andover was leading by 2.75 lengths over St. Edwards. Our boat stopped just over the line and cheered St. Edwards as they crossed the finnish as is the custom for Henley.
When the St Edward's crew landed their boat, Peter Washburn personally shook hands with each team member and the Andover crew repeated the ritual once they too had landed. Several of the St. Edwards boys had tears on their faces. They congratulated our team and wished them well against Abingdon.
A quick dinner and off to bed to rest for tomorrow's challenge....just another day and another race.
At this stage the team has won the Reading Regatta and the first two days of Henley to make it into the quarter finals of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. They have already exceeded our most optimistic expectations. They have done us more than proud!
For Day 2 pictures at Henley Regatta, click here
Video PA vs St.Edward's School
June 30th:
This is quarterfinals and a match up with Abingdon, one of the best English schools. The expectation on the banks of the Thames was that the Abingdon race would be the last for Andover. Abingdon took off from the start with amazing speed and quickly jumped to a full boat length lead over Andover. It looked as though the race was over. As the two boats drove down the middle of the course Abingdon tried to increase their lead. Andover hung on to the stern of the Abingdon boat. The Abingdon coxswain kept looking back at the Andover boat obviously hoping to see them slip further behind. At the 600-meter to go mark the hopes of the Andover supporters started to fade. At the 500 meters to go the Andover coxswain increased the rowing rate and the Andover boat started to move up on Abingdon. Abingdon responded hoping to keep Andover in place. Andover stepped up the rowing rate again and continued to moved forward, coming even with Abingdon with 300 meters to go. The Abingdon coxswain was screaming at his crew. The Andover coxswain again stepped up the rate and Andover crossed the line with a 20-foot margin. The Umpire said it was the best race his had seen at Henley so far.
Video and coxswain's call call
Video PA vs Abingdon School
Click here for coxswain's call
Andover rowing on the Thames during the Henley Regatta
July 1st:
more to come
Video PA vs King's School, Chester
Photos from row2k
June 24th:
Our Boys' first varsity team will be racing in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in the UK. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has donated to help send our team to Henley. We are more than three quarters of the way to our goal. We still need more help. If you are able to help with a donation towards the cost, please email andovercrew@andovercrew.net
The Henley Royal Regatta, founded in 1839, is the premier rowing event in the world. Our boys' team flew from Boston on June 18th to compete for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. They made quite a sight at the airport dressed in their crew blazers and recently shaved heads carrying their oars as luggage.
They looked the part of fresh young Americans ready to compete with the best in the world. They arrived in England on the Monday morning hoping to recover from jetlag and take to the water on Tuesday morning to continue their training. Fate had other ideas. Their boat was delayed in shipping. Quick thinking and fast words from the coxswain and coach resulted in the loan of a boat and a bicycle from Trinity College Dublin.
The bicycle because at Henley, as in much of Europe, rowing is coached by people who cycle along the tow path beside the river rather than from launches following the boats. The Trinity coach also cycled along for the first few outings ostensibly to assist but more probably to ensure the safety of his boat. He was impressed with our crew.
The coaching technique involves mostly watching the boat with occasional glances in front for safety. Sadly Coach Washburn missed spotting an oncoming dog and found himself doing a bad imitation of an astronaut. He did say that remembered thinking that it would be best to land on top of the dog. A couple of bad scrapes dressed, apologies from the owners accepted and he was back on his bike chasing the boat.
Finally on Thursday the boat arrived but the speaker system for the coxswain did not work. Another frantic search and as proof our luck was changing, the parts were found and installed the next day. None of these mini disasters made even the slightest dent in the spirit of the team who seem indefatigable in their determination to enjoy every minute of their adventure. Friday was their first full day of practice in their completely equipped boat. It was a good day. It had to be, for their first English regatta race was Saturday at Reading. Reading is a smaller, less formal regatta than Henley and over only 800 meters instead of the Henley 2112 meters. It is a good preparation for the coming week. Arrangements had been made to take our boat to Reading on a trailer. At the appointed time the boys brought their boat to the trailer only to find that the owners had overbooked the space. More negotiations and the Andover boat was assured a place.
On Saturday morning in bright sunshine the team walked to the train station and set off to Reading. Amongst the other US teams competing at Reading were St. John's, Tabor and Kent who traveled to England with 3 coaches and about 14 students as well as a large group of supporters.
The English schools were there with their tents and catering facilities. The overseas teams had to make do with whatever shade they could find.
Our first race was a three way affair with Winchester, an English school, and Kent without their PGs who failed to meet the the age requirements for high school competition in England. As you may see from the photographs our team won with open water.
We then raced against St. Johns and eventually faced Tabor in the final. Tabor raced very well and looked to have a chance to win in the middle stretch but Andover came back strong at the end to clinch the Regatta title. The pictures of the smiling team with their tankards says it all. A hard hot day made wonderful by our success and the kindness of our hosts.
A good day of rowing - Andover a length ahead of Kent (USA) and Winchester (UK)
For more pictures of Andover Crew boys' team winning Reading Regatta in England, click here
Livy Coffey and Karl Hirt were invited to selection camp for the Junior National Team. Karl rowed for the Junior National Team at Junior World championships at Dornay Lake in the UK. Tori Brophey rowed in the girls National Development Junior B eight that won gold at the U.S. Rowing National Championship Regatta in Indianapolis. Tori was also featured in a Lowell Sun article.
On a sad note, Bob Clark '56 past away while we were at Henley. Although seriously ill, Bob attended his class reunion in early June. He was one of Coach Brown's early rowers. He wore his Andover Crew hat with pride at the reunion and supported our trip to Henley.The exploits of the Phillips Academy B1 boat were widely reported in British and Boston newspapers. This coverage included a full page of the NorthWest section of the Boston Globe was dedicated to an article on the teams trip to Reading and Henley and another article on Coach Washburn and his election to the Leander club. They printed our photographs of the Reading presentation and the boat in action on the River Thames. We also had an article and photographs in the Andover Townsman, the local paper for the school. There will be another article in the Town Crossings, a local newspaper, in the coming week.
Our B1 traveled to the UK to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta. They won the Reading Regatta and were semifinalists in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley. This combined with every girls' and boys' boat taking medals at Interschols made it a most successful season. We also celebrated 50 years of Crew at Andover and honored Coach Brown, the founder of the passion. The students were excited to see Alumni boats with rowers from '56 onwards joining them on the Merrimack in the worst of conditions. They had heard stories of crew being something that stays with you for a lifetime, the celebration was living proof.
Winners of the Reading Regatta June 23rd, Reading UK.
Information for Parents Going to Henley
Post Season - Alumni visit
During the normal Alumni reunion a few intrepid Alumni snook away from the festivities to renew their relationship with the Mighty Merrimack. On the Saturday morning at the appointed 7 AM it was cold, raining and the river was running high with a strong current. Everyone agreed the sane option was to go to Starbucks and invent some rowing stories. But who believes in sanity. Our intrepid alumni ventured out on the river with our Henley training B1.
Rain, wind and running water...what happens...Old Andover rowers go out in the morning storm
Back to Jump
Rowing Stories '06 - Spring
Interschols
The season has come to an end, but what a glorious end. Our G4, B4, G5 & B5 crews raced very well during the season and our G3, B3, G2, B2, G1 and B1 surpassed themselves at Interschols. I think it is the first year, ever, that every team has won a medal.
We had a fantastic crowd of parents and alumni at Interschols. We had people from Alaska, California, Texas and many other distant places. We had a huge crowd cheering our boats to the finish line.
All of our boats won places in the finals and finished well with G3 – Silver, B3 – Bronze, G2 – Gold, B2 – Bronze, G1 - Silver and B1 - Silver. The G2 girls were awarded the Converse Prudden cup for their first place. We have a photograph on the web.
Everyone had practiced hard to be ready for Interschols. The lower boats were first to race in the morning. Unfortunately one of the buses broke down on I-290 and everyone had to be ferried by Coach Washburn in the rally wagon, some passing parents and the last few in a state police car. G3 made it to the water with only, literally, two minutes to spare. Despite the rush they won their heat by almost 5 seconds. Every team made it though the heats. We used a local hotel to rest the teams between heats and the Grand finals. Our parents and alumni ran an awesome food table and were voted the unofficial food table winners by the ground staff who returned several times to confirm their judgment.
G1 and B1 had hoped to earn the right to race in the post season at Henley. They raced well but both came away with very respectable silver medals. B1 ran a hard race and took the lead going for the finish. The big Kent boat came back strong. Andover responded and edged ahead and in the last 50 meters the boats were equal. Each one gaining the lead with their stroke and losing when the other boat pulled. The winner was decided by where the line landed in the cycle of sew-saw leadership. The line judge could not call the result. The judges had to review the photo finish. It took a long, long 7 minutes to decide but in the end the decision was given to Kent. B1 had given it their all but Kent had the edge as they crossed the line. They thought their hopes of Henley were dashed.
However, the British, in their sense of fairness, have defined a schoolboy as someone attending a high school and under 19 years old. The Kent Interschols team had several PGs north the age limit and are therefore not eligible for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Our team is also fast, finishing at 4:21.31 and would certainly do us proud on the Thames. On Sunday, after they had unloaded the trailer, Mr Washburn offered the B1 team the opportunity to represent the school as Henley. He has only offered this to a handful of teams in the past 25 years. They jumped at the chance. They had thought their hopes of Henley were dashed.
The B1 boat trained every day for several weeks, transferred to England, captured the Reading Regatta and made it to the semifinals at the Henley Royal Regatta. Our best showing for many years.
The quality of the crew program is founded in the experience it provides for the students and not whther they win races or regattas but this year we are doubly blessed. We graduated a fantastic group of girls and boys and we had one of our most successful racing seasons.
June 17th, '06
What a day
For more pictures of Henley Training 06, click here
Interschol '06
Well Done - Medals for every boat
We got the cup - G2
For more pictures of Interschols I 06, click here
For more pictures of Interschols II 06, click here
For more pictures of Interschols II 06, click here
For many more Stories and pictures from '06 season click here.
The Dent Oars are BACK!
Fashion sensitive B1 & G1 with matching medals
Bemedalled G2 on dock with oars!
DETERMINATION!
Secret pre-race planning.
Did we just win a race?
For many more Stories and pictures from '05 season click here.
Jump to
New Alum Stories
New Old Stuff: And now for a couple of pictures, one from 2007, another from around 1959 and three more from around 1983 taken from an out of print book about Andover.
Caroline Lind and the US boat with their Gold medals - Lucerne 2007
We think this is from 1959 with Coach Brown, Tom Pollock, Fritz Dulles, Renny Maier, Jerry Secundi, John Allen, John Bissel, Mike Drooker, Bill Anderson, David Stone and Ned Cabot (seated). Thanks to Simon Hyde, Paul Neshamkin, Mike Drooker, Will Taylor, Tom Pollock, Renny Maier and Sam Bach who sent in their best ideas for the names.
Girls crew circa 1983. Please email andovercrew@andovercrew.net if you know the names.
Boys circa 1983. I think the first time we won the Dent Oars. Our B1 brought them home this year too!
The boys crew on the water. 1: Eamon Roche, 2: Jebb (John?) Dogget, 3: Bruce Trask, 4: Max (Mason?) Drake, 5: Chris (Herman?), 6: Alex (Hugo?), 7: Pat Tipton, 8: Steve Hochman and Cox: Jeff Tuller. Thanks to Bruce Trask for his best memories of the names. Editor's guesses in ().Please email andovercrew@andovercrew.net if you know the rest.
From Lissy Abraham '74
Lissy wrote and asked why I only posted the 1974 boys' picture. I answered that we didn't care about the girls (only joking!) and besides they only merged in '74 and didn't do crew until '75. Oh no she said. Prove I said. And she did. Here is the 1974 girls from Lissy's yearbook. More to come from her 1973 yearbook showing girls infiltrated Crew before the merger!.
The first Official girls crew at Andover - Lissy on the RHS.
From Reuben Perin '89
The two photos labeled ‘B1 Class of 89’ and ‘Reading Winners’ were taken in England the week before Henley when we had won the Reading Town Regatta. The other photo, ‘Coach Row at Henley’, is unique because it is of our boat rowing the Henley course, but if you look closely you will see that the stroke seat is our beloved coach Peter Washburn. We rowed the course and even did a few pieces with Mr. Washburn after we were eliminated. He could at that point still put out a decent puddle and not crab in the process. Can’t wait to see everyone at the reunion.
Our B1 boat line-up was:
Bow: Eric Hawn, 2: Nick Lehman, 3: Peter Austin, 4: Ethan Ayer, 5: Cadir Lee, 6: Reuben Perin, 7: John McDougall, Stroke: Chris Schulten,Cox: Cristina Spencer (Olivetti)
Reading Winners
Coach Row at Henley
B1 Class of 89
Several people have expressed a nostalgic connection with the old boathouse that we had to abandon because of vandalism. We took a stroll along the river bank and found the building in remarkably good condition after 25 years. Here are some photographs
The Old Boathouse
The view from the Old Boathouse
The view from the Old Boathouse
For many more Alumni news and memory lane click here.
- Rowing fun for those of you who hate stationary erg machines
- Pre-race speech by Canadian coach.(Be warned, it includes swear words)
- Rowing songs, thanks to Twickenham Rowing Club
- What do rowers do during Spring Break? Train to be ready for Spring
- Useful page including training and food tips
- Animated rowing technique instruction - Source of gifs
- Rowing board game
- Test your knowledge on a crew quiz
- The School Page - New England Champions '59, '62, '64, '65, '77, '88, 89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '95, '00, '03, '07, '08
- The new Vespoli V1 racing boat
- New discussion board that replaces Rowersworld
- Rowing results and lots more
- Henley Royal Regatta (Boys)
- Henley Women's Regatta (Girls)
- Summer Rowing Camps
- Community Rowing a wonderful summer competitive rowing program in Boston
- NorthEast Rowing Center - Popular with Andover rowers and college coaches
- Eton College Summer Rowing camp - Across the pond but a world class coed program
- Colleges - Places to study while you row
- Top Colleges in the world according to the Shanghai University
- Top Colleges in the world according to the Times of London
- History of rowing site
- Curlew rowing - Home of the creator of the erg cartoon
- Leander rowing club - Club of the pink Hippo, Coach Washburn and Henley winners
- Crew 2004 (Credits : Michelle E '04)
- More Andover Crew photographs thanks to Gary Zegel
- More Crew 2004 (Credits : Kate I '05)
- Erg Competition - Boston
- Source of the Valentine pandas & penguins
Back to Jump
