AVALON at the 44th Head of the Charles Weekend (October 18 - 19 2008)

I am trying to capture into condense such an amazing event into words – not my forte. Gimme a boat, and a wrench and I am your gal, but this writing thing, with all these grammar guidelines and spelling rules (And why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?) is not for me. But for you, I will try!

Well, for me the 1,000 mile journey began with a broken fan belt and a flat tire, but that too is a story for another time! What a weekend it was … sunny, but the New England temperatures were in the mid 40’s with blustery winds. Most of us were frozen to the core, and poor Suzie of Texas, Grace of Georgia and our California Girls (Burnie and Jean) could not wear enough clothes against the bitter Boston breeze- facial features, and subtle body movements were totally obscured by the piles fleece and layers of gortex. The gang from Alaska (who can see Russia from their stern deck) … Judy, Tiger, Kristen, were walking around with shorts and flip-flops, liberally applying sunscreen. (One wonders what would happen to the Alaskans at Masters Nationals in Tennessee when the afternoon temperatures are well above 105, and the light weights daringly decide that they can finally walk around in jeans and a loose fitting t-shirts.)

Avalon, had some fairly successful races:

The 60+ 8 with fearless Tracie from Potomac Boat Club at the helm, rowed an amazing race Saturday Morning. The boat consisted of:

Camilla Durfee (DC) 1
Mary Dowd (Connecticut) 2
Gretchen Ellsworth (DC) 3
Burnie Lemaire (California) 4
Judy Demers (Alaska) 5
Jean Boedecker (California) 6
Juanita Rilling (Maryland) 7
“Skittles” Romily (Ohio) 8

I need to draw attention Camilla who suffering from the flu, hopped in the boat and pulled one amazing race. She then sneezed on the rest of the boat, two coxswains, six other rowers, and yours truly who immediately succumb to “The Camilla Disease.” While the infected immune systems are clearly inferior to Camilla’s, their erg scores are, for no obvious reason, improving dramatically!

The 40+ 4 race Saturday Afternoon sailed down the course! These powerful rowers, most of them scullers, spent the first part of Fridays practice trying to figure out what to do with just one oar. Once they stopped looking for the 2nd oar (particularly at the catch), the whole boat came together and just hummed down the course! They were so well matched and so responsive that, despite cross wind, and the head wind, and the occasional tail wind we (I was coxing it) were able to hug the bouys and fight for The Line with out fear the entire race! Those of you unfamiliar with Charles racing should know that there is one course, unmarked, uncharted, unknown to all but a few, that is the shortest possible course down the winding twisting river. It shaves seconds off a crew’s course and it is referred to with great reverence as “The Line.”

The women who rowed in the 4+

Angela Crooks (Virginia) 1
Kristen Mitchell (Alaska) 2
Wendy Shields (Maryland) 3
Linda Porter (DC) 4

Then came Sunday, when Avalon entered 2 4x’s into the Director’s Challenge. None of this, none of this would have been possible with out Susie and Connie … the brave women who decided to steer the 4x’s in the race. A 4X can achieve the speed of an 8+, and when you are going at speed – those bridges are very narrow (even to a forward facing cox), and when you are going at speed, and you are racing with other boats to make it through one of those arches it feels as though you are trying to thread a camel though the eye of a needle! Susie and Connie you two brave, bold women and my hat is off to you!

The women who actually dared to row in the 4x are:
Susie Jones (Texas)
Grace Teborek (Georgia)
SAM Mulderig (Massachusetts)
Linda Porter (DC)
Connie Crosby (Massachusetts)
Jill Finsen (DC)
Sally Sternbach (Maryland)
Ellen Romsaas (Pennsylvania)

So there we were … our little teams who rowed. There is more, much more to the Avalon community than just this rowing “stuff”. In addition to the women listed above, there were, by my count, nearly 150 individuals who are associated with Avalon racing at “America’s Fall Rowing Festival” and about 80 of them stopped by at one time or another at our tent at Reunion Village. Including (but not limited to):

• Erica “What Was I thinking” Stieve from South Carolina / Tennessee who rowed a 1x (a 1x can you imagine?!)

• Bettina Dembek who finished 3rd in the CRI (Community Rowing Inc.) Lightweight 4+ and who is now happily eating as much chocolate as she possibly can now that the weigh-in is over.

• Maryanne Merritt from Essex RC in Massachusetts whose crew barreled so fast down the course that the were practically a blur.

• C.C. Stockley and Nancy “Come and catch me if you can” Fishman from Yarmouth RC (Maine) who finished 4th in the 40+ four.

• Anne Faber from CT raced her single cutting a pretty fine line around Anderson Bridge.

• Cathy “Muscles” Holdorf and Pam Trimmer from Corvallis, OR who raced with Masters Coaching, and as expected DOMINATED the 50+ 8’s with their usual power and grace

• Sally C. from Ohio, a new member who came dressed at the ready should “Camilla Disease” or any other malady leave us short a rower

• Maxine Shepian who rowed with Blood Street Sculls out of CT – a team that is as cunning and as intimidating as the name sounds!

• Tiger Demers who raced a 1x (again, these people with the 1x) Sunday morning when the cross winds were so strong and the waves in the basin were so rough, that they would have made an Atlantic Crossing look calm and easy.

• Gina Navia, who rowed in a mixed 4x to Fundraise for CRI’s (Community Rowing Inc.) new adaptive program which specializes in helping individuals with physical limitations row.

• And my personal favorite … Patti Hucks from Carolina Masters who had a full on physical encounter with a taxi on the way to the race. Patti took a hit to that hard Irish head of her’s, but undaunted she hoped in the boat and raced with all of her might (which we all know is quite considerable.) It was only after the race, when Patti couldn’t remember the names of her teammates, and asking how much time before “hands on” … did her teammates suspect something might be wrong. The med-tec’s confirmed Patti raced the HOCR with a Concussion!!! There are so many puns and witticism one can make here – it’s not even sporting! But we are glad you are okay Patti!!!