Tomorrow’s race versus Kent and St. Paul’s was originally scheduled to be on Gardner Lake in Salem, Connecticut. However, that venue has been ruled out as a possibility due to low water levels. This can present a hazard to boats as sandbars and submerged debris are closer to water level (and delicate hulls).

The new race location is Turkey Pond in Concord, New Hampshire–St. Paul’s home racecourse. For logistical reasons, races will not begin until approximately 6pm, ending around 7:30pm. Despite the last-minute change, I hope parents and friends of Exeter Crew will still attend to cheer on the eight boats racing. The highly unusual evening racing schedule (sunset in Concord is at 7:44pm) may also make for some picturesque photos.

Go Big Red!

Eight Exeter crews traveled to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester/Shrewsbury, MA for their first races of the year. This season opening regatta is especially exciting because most races include six or seven boats, in contrast to the smaller dual races throughout the body of the season.

Heavy winds and choppy waters on Quinsigamond made for a rough first day of competition, though Exeter boats were able to persevere and take first place in five of eight races.

Girls captains Mimi Reichenbach ’12 and CC Closmore ’12 said they are “really proud of how [crews] did yesterday,” and that “it was a great to start off the season.” Although conditions at Quinsigamond were “severe,” recent winds in Exeter helped prepare crews for choppy water. The captains were especially proud of their starts, despite having to wait sitting at the line as the crosswind misaligned the seven crews. The girls are looking forward to next weekend’s races against “very competitive” crews from Kent and St. Paul’s.

Boys captain Isaiah Brown ’12 thought the “the race was great.” B1 took the lead from the start, and “by the settle were up six or seven seats on all of the other crews.” Things continued well through the middle five hundred, though Brown thought “the last five hundred was our worst, and we lost ground in the sprint.” Looking ahead, Brown says B1 will “focus on holding higher rates for longer and finishing the race well.” Brown also commended B2 on a good race, despite a number of injuries.

Please enjoy the photos below taken from the race. If you have photos you want to share, sign up for a free Flickr account and add the photos to the Exeter Crew photo pool according to the instructions. The tag for this race is “2012invitational“.

Full Gallery

It’s that time of year again–the weather is warming up, snow and ice is all but melted away, and boats are back on the water. The spring racing season is almost here! I’ve made a number of updates around the site in preparation:

• The tentative 2012 racing schedule has been posted.
• The boys and girls rosters are now online.
• Photos from the boys squad spring training on the Charles River in Boston, MA have been added.
• Racecourse maps have been updated, and new maps for the Charles River and the Squamscott River have been uploaded.
• Photo galleries for 2011 are now in place.
• The 2011 varsity letter winners have been added to the official listing.