Picture Time
Here are some shots from the regatta last Saturday. I've clipped em down to 'suitable web size' but they're still big... click into the cut for more.
First of all, for those of you who don't know the difference between a quad and an eight.....
THIS is a quad. I have no idea who those people are... don't ask me, I didn't take the pictures! Note, 4 seats, sculling (one handed) oars, no cox.
THIS, is an eight. This is the other BOBJ crew that "got robbed" on Saturday. They won last year as defenders... The guy in bow seat is actually from my crew. One of their ladies got very sick and had to miss race day, so my crew subbed for them in two out of three races. Note here: 9 seats. 8 for rowers. 1 for the cox who yells directions and steers the boat. The oars here are sweeping oars (huge 2-handed handle). Each rower gets a single oar for one side of the boat (obviously).
Dave (orange shirt) brought a BBQ with him and we cooked it up between races. I have to admit that I wasn't overly happy at seeing my crew down beers between races. Dave was supposed to be rowing with us but had to leave the crew with only a few weeks left in training due to an injury. He came out to cheer us on anyway though and it was very appreciated. (Yes, that's me on the left with my hat backwards.)
Here's a shot of Reuben's quad. (My "other" boat.) I rowed with them for almost a third of all the sessions (maybe more?). Unfortunately they missed the finals... they got totally messed by the race schedule: they were given the first and last races of the day. :( Imagine getting up at 6:30am, pumped with adrenaline, racing at 9:00am, and then wandering a beach for the next seven hours, so wired that you can't sit, but also knowing that you need to relax, stay energetic and keep your head clear for your next race which is stupid-far away. Phil (red hoodie) and Reuben (bow seat) were both part of the eight I was in last year. Simon (stroke seat) was on the eight that won challenger last year. I appologize for not remembering 2-seat's name. She ended up rowing with them once and then on race day as a replacement for Saskia who had hurt her wrist.
Unfortunately, the guy who was lining people up at the start line had his work cut out for him once the tides changed after noon. More often that not, crews in lane 1 would get tangled with the buoy at the start line while the other crews in lanes 2-4 would try to get lined up. For some reason this guy insisted on lining up lane 1 first, which meant they always got caught on the buoy. It happened to us once and to the crew in lane one during our finals. It also happened to these guys:
The following three shots are of my team getting into the boat for the finals and casting off from shore...
Note here, I'm caught on camera doing something you should never do: I have my hands completely off of my oar and it isn't secured between my knees and my chest. The only way to flip an eight is to get all eight to let go... Of course there are controlled drills etc where you're supposed to let go, but right there, I'm setting a very bad example.
Carol (bow seat) is getting us going here. In order from one to eight the people in the boat are: Carol, Yonel, Steve, Romi, Eric, Carl, Dan, me, and Hui. Note Dan and Eric both trying to keep their blades off the rocks. There's another shot with our coach wishing us luck, but it was a bit blurry.
Ok, and on to race time... This one is pretty far out, but you can see lanes 2, 3 and 4 lining up at the start line. We're in lane 2. You can see that lane 4 is actually out-side the buoys... they set them up a bit too close together. :/
For a team with some of the best starts in the competition, we had an awful one (for us) in the final race. You can see us here not long after the start (1/3rd of the race), way behind compared to lane 4.
Now its the nearing the end of the race, and we've made up A LOT of ground.... I told you my team is powerful!
And here it is... the finish. I want to clarify one thing before you look at this one. Dave (who is taking the pictures of the race) is not standing 'in' the officiator's booth and doesn't have a perspective on the rope that determines the actual finish line (which according to Sabrina wasn't used anyway - she WAS in the booth). So even though this shot makes for a pretty strong case, it doesn't count as refutable: the "angle is wrong" will be the first thing the time keeper would say. Anyway, have a look and see for yourselves. Here's the finish:
Oh and for good measure. Here's the best sport on our team, Dan, who is showing off his medal with a smile.
So yeah, that's it. I warned you it was a lot of pictures.
First of all, for those of you who don't know the difference between a quad and an eight.....
THIS is a quad. I have no idea who those people are... don't ask me, I didn't take the pictures! Note, 4 seats, sculling (one handed) oars, no cox.
THIS, is an eight. This is the other BOBJ crew that "got robbed" on Saturday. They won last year as defenders... The guy in bow seat is actually from my crew. One of their ladies got very sick and had to miss race day, so my crew subbed for them in two out of three races. Note here: 9 seats. 8 for rowers. 1 for the cox who yells directions and steers the boat. The oars here are sweeping oars (huge 2-handed handle). Each rower gets a single oar for one side of the boat (obviously).
Dave (orange shirt) brought a BBQ with him and we cooked it up between races. I have to admit that I wasn't overly happy at seeing my crew down beers between races. Dave was supposed to be rowing with us but had to leave the crew with only a few weeks left in training due to an injury. He came out to cheer us on anyway though and it was very appreciated. (Yes, that's me on the left with my hat backwards.)
Here's a shot of Reuben's quad. (My "other" boat.) I rowed with them for almost a third of all the sessions (maybe more?). Unfortunately they missed the finals... they got totally messed by the race schedule: they were given the first and last races of the day. :( Imagine getting up at 6:30am, pumped with adrenaline, racing at 9:00am, and then wandering a beach for the next seven hours, so wired that you can't sit, but also knowing that you need to relax, stay energetic and keep your head clear for your next race which is stupid-far away. Phil (red hoodie) and Reuben (bow seat) were both part of the eight I was in last year. Simon (stroke seat) was on the eight that won challenger last year. I appologize for not remembering 2-seat's name. She ended up rowing with them once and then on race day as a replacement for Saskia who had hurt her wrist.
Unfortunately, the guy who was lining people up at the start line had his work cut out for him once the tides changed after noon. More often that not, crews in lane 1 would get tangled with the buoy at the start line while the other crews in lanes 2-4 would try to get lined up. For some reason this guy insisted on lining up lane 1 first, which meant they always got caught on the buoy. It happened to us once and to the crew in lane one during our finals. It also happened to these guys:
The following three shots are of my team getting into the boat for the finals and casting off from shore...
Note here, I'm caught on camera doing something you should never do: I have my hands completely off of my oar and it isn't secured between my knees and my chest. The only way to flip an eight is to get all eight to let go... Of course there are controlled drills etc where you're supposed to let go, but right there, I'm setting a very bad example.
Carol (bow seat) is getting us going here. In order from one to eight the people in the boat are: Carol, Yonel, Steve, Romi, Eric, Carl, Dan, me, and Hui. Note Dan and Eric both trying to keep their blades off the rocks. There's another shot with our coach wishing us luck, but it was a bit blurry.
Ok, and on to race time... This one is pretty far out, but you can see lanes 2, 3 and 4 lining up at the start line. We're in lane 2. You can see that lane 4 is actually out-side the buoys... they set them up a bit too close together. :/
For a team with some of the best starts in the competition, we had an awful one (for us) in the final race. You can see us here not long after the start (1/3rd of the race), way behind compared to lane 4.
Now its the nearing the end of the race, and we've made up A LOT of ground.... I told you my team is powerful!
And here it is... the finish. I want to clarify one thing before you look at this one. Dave (who is taking the pictures of the race) is not standing 'in' the officiator's booth and doesn't have a perspective on the rope that determines the actual finish line (which according to Sabrina wasn't used anyway - she WAS in the booth). So even though this shot makes for a pretty strong case, it doesn't count as refutable: the "angle is wrong" will be the first thing the time keeper would say. Anyway, have a look and see for yourselves. Here's the finish:
Oh and for good measure. Here's the best sport on our team, Dan, who is showing off his medal with a smile.
So yeah, that's it. I warned you it was a lot of pictures.