Racing

 

Several established rowing teams have participated in WCR-sponsored and outside rowing events over the years. Most of these teams, like the Gray Buzzards, the Sirenes, the Cachalots and the Hot Flashes, row whaleboats on a regular basis for pleasure, exercise and socializing, and occasionally decide to enter a racing event. In addition, ad hoc or pickup teams have formed from time to time with the objective of entering a particular race.  A team dedicated to racing, Keep It In The Water, was formed during the summer of 2011.

 

WCR-Sponsored Races

Youth Whaleboat Challenge

Scheduled for May 12, 2012.  See the discussion on the Youth Programs page.

 

Whaleboat Scrambles

Whaling City Rowing Club hosted an inter-club Whaleboat Scrambles on Saturday, July 9, 2011.  Members of Buzzards Bay Rowing Club joined Whaling City Rowing in a morning of competition and socializing on Pope’s Island and the waters of New Bedford Harbor.  Participants declared the event an unqualified success.

“It was an experiment,” said Charlie Smith, co-chair of the event.  “Members of the two clubs see each other on the water, but until now there hasn’t been an occasion to get together and socialize.  I think the experiment worked.  We had fun rowing, and I got to meet a number of Buzzards Bay people.”

The scrambles format was actually suggested by Heidi Hacking, the Buzzards Bay President.  Borrowing a term familiar to club tennis players, rowers from both clubs were “scrambled,” or selected by lottery, to fill the six boats.  Crews were also mixed by age and gender in an attempt to spread talent, strength and experience among the boats.  Three boatsteerers were chosen from each of the clubs.

The race itself was a 1.5-mile time trial.  Boats started at five-minute intervals in the channel at the east end of Pope’s Island and rowed under the Route 6 bridge, around a turning mark off Poverty Point and back to the starting line.  The winning boat, which ran the course in a little under 17 minutes, had a boatsteerer and two rowers from Buzzards Bay Rowing and three rowers from the host club.

The race was followed by lunch and an awards ceremony.

“We gave a prize to the winning boat, of course,” said Kathy Mills, the other event co-chair, “but winning wasn’t everything in this race.  We had gag prizes for several categories, including the crabbiest boat, the boat with the loudest boatsteerer and even the boat that finished last.  Every boat got a prize, like it or not!”

Independence Day Whaleboat Race

Whaling City Rowing has sponsored the Independence Day Whaleboat Race on the Fourth of July weekend since 1999.  Spectator-friendly, the course is a mile long, twice around a set of buoys off the State Pier.  It is designed to involve the community in New Bedford's maritime heritage.  Crews recruited from local organizations like the fire department and the nurses' association join regular and pickup teams from local and regional rowing clubs.  The IDWR was not held in 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Area and Regional Rowing Events

 

In 2012, rowing events sponsored by other rowing clubs and organizations in the region include:

Snow Row | Date: March 10, 2012  | Sponsor: Hull Lifesaving Museum | Details

Head of the Cove Long Boat Regatta | Date May 19, 2012 | Sponsor: Community Boating Center | Details 

Essex River Race | Date May 19, 2012 | Sponsor: Cape Ann Rowing Club | Details

BBRC Open Water Rowing Challenge | June 2, 2012* | Sponsor: Buzzards Bay Rowing | Details

Blackburn Challenge | July 14, 2012 | Sponsor: Cape Ann Rowing Club | Details

Bird Island Challenge | August 12, 2012* | Sponsor: YMCA Southcoast | Details

Working Waterfront Whaleboat Races | September 22, 2012* | Sponsor: Buzzards Bay Rowing | Details

Slocum River Regatta | October 6, 2012 | Sponsor: Lloyd Center for the Environment| Details

East Coast Open Water Rowing Championships | October 13, 2012 | Sponsor: Team Saquish | Details

Mighty Merrimac Fall Classic | October 21, 2012* | Sponsor: Lowell's Boat Shop| Details

Head of the Weir | November 3, 2012* | Sponsor: Hull Lifesaving Museum | Details

      *Estimate.  Date not formally announced yet.

 

In 2011, WCR members participated in these events:

Snow Row 2011

The Gray Buzzards and Buzz Lites each sent a team to the first race of the season.  The race was held March 12.  Often run with snow on the beach, this year's event had plenty of sunshine, but a stiff breeze made the 3 1/2-mile course in Hull Bay a challenge.  The Gray Buzzards won the "pro" whaleboat division, and the Buzz Lites were second in the "amateur" whaleboat division.

"Le Mans" off-the-beach start

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Essex River Race 2011

The Essex River Race is a 5.5+ mile open water event on the Essex River in Essex.  The course follows the river out behind the barrier beaches of Ipswich and back.  Even in early May, the estuary is beautiful.  The Buzz Lite team rowed in the "Multi Fixed Seat" class.

 

 

Open Water Rowing Challenge 2011

Closer to home, the Buzz Lite team rowed in the June 4 Open Water Rowing Challenge hosted by our neighbors, the Buzzards Bay Rowing Club.  The 3-mile course started off the pier at Fort Taber, led around a buoy near the hurricane barrier, then east of the Butler Flats lighthouse and return to the starting line.  A brisk north wind made the first leg seem very long.  The Buzz Lites finished second among the whaleboats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird Island Challenge 2011

In mid-August, the newly formed Keep It In The Water team rowed in the Bird Island Challenge.  Racers had a choice among 3-, 6- and 13-mile courses.  The Whaling City team chose the 6-mile course which started just below the Narrows and the lightship in Wareham, followed the channel out to Great Hill in Marion, and return.  Race day was warm and overcast, with a moderate Just after the start of the Bird Island racesouthwest breeze.  There were no other whaleboats entered at the 6-mile distance, but the KIITW's "won" the start with a whaleboat on another course and a pilot gig.  The crew was pleased with recording a very good 1:10 time for the race.

 

 

 

Slocum River Regatta 2011

WCR sent three teams to the Slocum River Regatta on September 17.  The river is a tidal estuary in Dartmouth which is flanked on both shores with marshes and full of shorebirds.  The 2-mile race starts near the Lloyd Center dock near the mouth of the river and runs up a winding channel, well marked with buoys, and returns.  The WFT team was third in the women's "masters" class.  Neither the Sirenes "open" women's team nor the Keep It In The Water "masters" coed team had competition in their respective classes, so both received first place awards.  Keep It In The Water had the second-fastest time among all whaleboats entered and set a new course record for its class.

 

Working Waterfront Whaleboat Races 2011

Two WCR teams participated in the whaleboat races sponsored by our neighbor Buzzards Bay Rowing and held as part of New Bedford's Working Waterfront Festival on September 24.  The race is a 1-mile sprint around buoys off the State Pier.  The Keep It In The Water team was second in their coed "masters" class.  The Cachalots had to put together a last-minute pickup crew consisting of a boatsteerer and one rower from WCR and four rowers from BBR.  They were second in the coed "open" class and had the fifth-best time among all competitors.  After the races, teams competed in a talent show.  The Minutemen from Keep It In The Water were probably the inspiration for the Occupy Wall Street protests, as they threw out teabags and demanded "No taxes!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Coast Open Water Rowing Championships 2011

The East Coast Open Water Championships were held in Plymouth Harbor on October 9.  The 3-mile course off Nelson Beach provides lots of excitement for both rowers and spectators.  The Keep It In The Water team finished second in the coed class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mighty Merrimack Fall Classic 2011

Two members of the Keep It In The Water team went off on their own to compete in the Mighty Merrimack race in Amesbury, MA on October 23.  John McGann owns a dory built by the race's sponsor, Lowell's Boat Shop.  His picture, competing in 2010 single-handed, became part of the poster for the 2011 race.  This year he was joined by Letrice Lopes.  They finished second in their class in the 3-mile race on the Merrimack River.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Head of the Weir 2011

Postponed a week because of snow and high winds, the Hull Lifesaving Museum's Head of the Weir River Race was held on November 5.  The postponement was something of a surprise because competitors have come to expect foul weather and a strong northerly breeze in this last race of the year.  The weather appeared "normal" as boats gathered at the starting line, but as the race got underway, the sun shone and the breeze moderated.  Nonetheless, the 5 1/2-mile course was a challenge, winding down the Weir River, across Hull Harbor and then across the open waters of Hull Bay to Windmill Point.  The B&B Keep It In The Water team brought the only whaleboat competing in the race.  Team members were pleased with their time of 1:09 because it compared favorably with the times of a number of pilot gigs, which are built for greater speed.