From 18-20 October, CUBC student and alumni crews raced at one of the biggest events in the global rowing calendar – The Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The race is held on the Charles River over a 3-mile course comprising several bends that require skilled coxing. Over a beautiful weekend the sun shone on all the light blues – current and past. Cambridge walked away with gold in the Men’s Championship Eights, Women’s Master’s Double, Men’s Alumni Fours, and Men’s Senior Master’s Fours against top international crews, with an impressive set of results across the board.
It was fantastic to see so many alumni still rowing. We extend hearty congratulations to all Cambridge rowers representing clubs and crews other than CUBC and Crabtree for their performances over the weekend.
The Club would like to extend its sincere thanks to the families who hosted our crews during the Regatta, to Harvard and Radcliffe for the use their boats and facilities, to all alumni who attended the CUBC Drinks Reception, and to Jon and Martina Bernstein for hosting a welcome dinner for the crews.
Men’s Championship Eights | CUBC ‘A’ |🥇
The Cambridge Men’s ‘A’ boat defeated the hometown Harvard favourites to win the Men’s Championship Eights. This clenched the first victory for the CUBC men at Head of the Charles since 2004. The crew beat out top Division I American university programmes Harvard, Dartmouth, Washington, Syracuse, Princeton, Yale, and Brown, as well as the dark blues in its first clash with Oxford for the 2024-25 Boat Race campaign.
O. Boyne (Cox) – Downing
D. Graaf – St Edmund’s
S. Hatcher – Peterhouse
J. Robson – Peterhouse
G. Bourne – Peterhouse
G. Mahler – Peterhouse
L. Ferraro – Peterhouse, King’s
N. Mouelle – Hughes Hall
L. Beever – Emmanuel
Says the Boston Globe, “Cambridge outpulled Harvard by nearly three seconds in 13 minutes 46.333 seconds while rival Oxford finished eighth in men’s championship eight at the Head of the Charles.” Read more…
Says cox Ollie Boyne, “Our crew had an incredibly successful week. We were fortunate to arrive in Boston 6 days before our race, and so had many opportunities to settle in and get used to the race course. Each session saw an improvement in our rowing quality and speed, and we were excited to show the top US crews what we could deliver.
Setting off behind Oxford, we left a generous space to give ourselves a clean run of the course. We got out to a solid start, setting up our strong base pace which we effectively maintained through the powerhouse straight. Although new to many in the crew, the twisting turns did nothing to disrupt our pattern, and we continued to close the gap on Oxford through the next bridges.
All sights on the top spot, we built for the line from Eliot Bridge. Not deterred by Oxford’s wash, we finished in a time of 13:46, 2.7 seconds ahead of Harvard University, and 17 seconds ahead of Oxford (including a 5 second time penalty for impeding us!). This is the men’s first victory on the Charles in 20 years – we last won in 2004, on a shortened course.
With 5 of the boat racing the Charles for the first time, and 4 returning to the river, the victory brought a combination of accomplishment, righting past wrongs, and excitement for what this squad is capable of this year. We’re in no doubt that there is much still to do between now and the 13th of April next year, so we’re back to work this week.”
Women’s Master Doubles [30+] |🥇
Jenna Armstrong and Carina Graf raced in the Masters (30+) 2x category, coming from bow 17 to take the victory.
J. Armstrong – Jesus (Blue Boat ‘24, ‘23, Blondie ‘22)
C. Graf – Emmanuel (Blue Boat ‘24, ‘23, Blondie ‘22)
Normally “sweep” rowers, Graf and Armstrong switched to sculling when the pairs category was not offered at HOCR. The pair spent the last two months learning how to scull, and arrived at the Charles a week before the race to practice some of the tricky bridges and turns.
The double started the race towards the back of the pack (Bow #17), and had the challenge of overtaking many crews in some of the most difficult parts of the course. Early in the race, they established a strong and sustainable rhythm, and they managed to overtake a few crews down the Powerhouse Stretch. The line around Weeks Bridge was textbook, and they gained a few extra seconds on their competition by taking the turn so tight.
They overtook another crew directly under the Eliot Bridge, and just narrowly made it through the bridge without any incidents. The pair had some difficulty in the final 750m of the race, stopping briefly to avoid a collision. They ultimately made the decision to overtake on the outside of the bend. Despite the steering challenges, they exceeded their expectations and managed to secure the win in the Masters (30+ category)!
Men’s Alumni Fours | 🥇
The stacked Crabtree crew put in a dominant performance in the Men’s Alumni Fours, finishing first and 21 seconds ahead of second place!
E. Bracey (Cox) – Magdalene (Men’s Blue Boat ‘24)
O. Parish – Peterhouse (Men’s Blue Boat ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, Goldie ’20)
R. Harris – Pembroke (Goldie ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
T. Lynch – Hughes Hall (Men’s Blue Boat ’23, ’24, Goldie ’22)
S. Benzecry – Jesus (Men’s Blue Boat ‘21, ‘23, ‘24, Goldie ‘22)
Representing Crabtree Boat Club, the Cambridge Alumni 4+ went through the start line at an aggressive r39 driven by stroke-man Ollie Parish. The crew settled to a sustainable r33 under the railroad bridge, and overtook two crews around the first bend.
Down the Powerhouse straight, the crew faded slightly. Calls for catch timing and sharpness from bow seat and ex-president Seb Benzecry ensured Crabtree continued to move on the boats ahead.
Into the S-curve, coxswain Ed Bracey steered a confident line, drawing on course experience from his time at Harvard. Buoys passed under both bow- and stroke-side oars at points. The crew managed to overtake 4 more crews before building to a final sprint in the last 90 seconds.
Men’s Senior Master Fours [50+] | 🥇
Representing Crabtree, the Four took the victory in a time of 17:17.255 finishing 24 seconds ahead of Marin ‘A’ in second.
G. Cozens (Cox)
R. Chisholm – Downing (Men’s Lightweight ’95)
J. Uru
S. Peel – Downing (Men’s Blue Boat ’85, ’86, ’87)
S. Gorvy – Downing (Goldie ’86, ’87)
Says Gorvy, “Having first rowed together 39 years ago it was a sweet moment to defend our title in the Senior Masters 4-Plus with Stephen Peel as well as having Rod Chisholm slot in so well when we lost our stroke man Matt Parish due to a health issue. Clearly having three Downing men in the crew didn’t slow the boat down!”
Men’s Senior Master Doubles [50+] | 🥈
G. Pooley – LMBC (Men’s Blue Boat ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91)
D. Gillard – St Catharine’s (Men’s Blue Boat ’91, ’92, ’93)
Pooley and Gillard finished second in a time of 17:40.345 just behind Antares Remo of Mexico City.
Women’s Championship Eights | CUBC ‘A’ | 7th
Competing at HOCR for the first time in many years, the Cambridge women put in an impressive performance, beating many top Division I American programmes, and the Oxford ‘A’ boat by 30 seconds!
K. Crowley (Cox) – Sidney Sussex
C. Collins – Peterhouse
N. Morrice – Jesus
S. Morton van Eybergen – Hughes Hall
C. Earl – Caius
A. Wertheimer – St Edmund’s
S. Hahn – Hughes Hall
G. King – LMBC
M. Foxell – Pembroke
Says Gemma King, “This is the first time Cambridge women sent student eights to the race in recent history and it was a very exciting opportunity to race against several top international crews. Arriving on the Tuesday before the race on Sunday, the team had the opportunity to get to know the course and explore the surrounding area (with visits to Trader Joe’s, iHOP and bagel shops to add to the experience!).
The crew comprised 4 students who had rowed at American universities (Princeton, Yale, Rutgers and Penn) who raced at Head of the Charles in previous years. Their experience was invaluable for approaching the race. Setting off at bow 4 behind the Ukrainian team, we had a solid start, slowly gaining on the boat in front of us throughout the first 3.5km of the race. After several calls to the crew ahead to clear the racing line, the Ukrainians conceded, allowing us to pass them on the inside of the long Eliot bend.
After taking an excellent line down the course and ending the race with a strong build into the finish, the crew finished in 7th place. Whilst highlighting key areas to work on over the upcoming months, this was a very exciting start to the season!”
Men’s Championship Eights | CUBC ‘B’ | 19th
J. Trotman (Cox) – Sidney Sussex
O. Olsen – Girton
M. Morgan – Pembroke
M. Edge – St Catharine’s
T. Macky – St Edmund’s
S. Nunayon – Emmanuel
W. Wauchope – Caius
B. Taylor – Queens’
C. Attridge – Hughes Hall
With Cambridge an uncommon entrant to Head of the Charles, the Marshalls had placed Cambridge B towards the bottom of the division, starting bow number 25. This gave cox James Trotman (Women’s Blue Boat ’23, Blondie ’24) the unique trouble of overtaking two boats around the winding and cramped course. However, Oscar Olsen (Harvard Class of ’24), well experienced in his 7th Head of the Charles, held the rhythm strong in the stern and Cambridge B finished 19th, only 3 seconds from winning fastest second 8.
Women’s Championship Eights | CUBC ‘B’ | 22nd
L. De Neve (Cox) – Robinson
C. Rijkse – Magdalene
E. Etherington – Caius
J. Spain – Queens’
A. Berlinger – Pembroke
A. Naujoks – Homerton
E. Sillar – Emmanuel
M. Freischem – Darwin
K. Hempson – Christ’s
Says Katy Hempson, “We were very grateful to arrive in Boston early, giving us ample time to settle in and get used to the course. Given that CUBC have not entered HOTC in recent years, and as the B crew, we were seeded as bow number 25, near the bottom of the division. Our crew were keen to gain some places and try for some overtakes, particularly as Oxford’s A crew were starting just 2 places ahead of us.
We settled into a solid rhythm off the start, and immediately began to gain on Encou, the crew ahead of us. Unfortunately, it wasn’t plain sailing as Dartmouth A also began to chase us down. We quickly found ourselves being pressed from both sides, and it was up to our cox Louis to keep us on the best line whilst the crew attempted to overtake Encou and simultaneously hold off Dartmouth. Encou were not keen to yield the racing line, despite numerous calls from Louis and in the bows, and their dirty water combined with pressure from Dartmouth put our stroke pattern under pressure. However, after some excellently navigated turns, we were able to overtake Encou around the outside of the Eliot turn and squeeze them to concede the line after Belmont dock. Not keen to drop behind us, Encou put in a large push to stay close, resulting in some blade clashes and some damage to the Encou boat, but in the final straight we outsprinted them and pushed away from Dartmouth. We ended up finishing 22nd, just under 10 seconds behind Oxford’s A crew. Given the external factors affecting our race, it was a well executed and promising row for the crew, setting us up well for the season ahead.
It was an incredible experience to race at such an iconic race in the beautiful city of Boston. All crews had a great time and we would like to extend a huge thanks to the families that hosted us during our stay, and the Radcliffe crew for allowing us to use their boats and facilities. It was great to see how many Cambridge alumnae were racing in student and alumnae crews for multiple different universities, and to catch up with so many old friends (and family for some!) in America.”
Women’s Championship Singles | 11th
I. Grant – First and Third Trinity (Women’s Boat Boat 2018, 19, 22, Blondie 2016, Women’s Lightweight 2016)
Grant, who also stroked Skibbereen RC to 5th place in the Women’s Championship Eights, took 5th in the Women’s Championships Singles.
Women’s Alumnae Eights | 9th
E. Insanally (Cox) – Fitzwilliam (Women’s Lightweight ‘20)
A. Parker – Emmanuel (Blue Boat ’20, ’21, Blondie ’19)
I. Jacobsen – Newnham (Women’s Blue Boat ’19)
P. Hamid – Christ’s (Women’s Blue Boat ’19)
K. Barolak – Homerton (Women’s Blue Boat ’18)
K. Van Fossen – LMBC (Women’s Lightweight ’15, Blondie ’17)
C. Brillon – Fitzwilliam (Women’s Blue Boat ’23)
L. Sayre – Emmanuel (Women’s Blue Boat ’19, ’20, Blondie ’18)
E. Thompson – Newnham (Women’s Lightweight ’17, ’18)
The Cambridge alumni women’s crew put in a great performance at this year’s race, maintaining their 9th place finish out of 52 crews. Led by local legend Abba Parker, who set a punchy rhythm, and expertly coxed by Emily Insanally, whose steering around Eliot was particularly noteworthy, the team had clean and strong row down the course. The crew brought together rowers across a range of boat race campaigns, both openweight and lightweight. Their solid performance not only matched last year’s success but also secured their spot in next year’s race. The crew had a great time, leaving it all on the water, and an even better time catching up with team mates across years on land; and cheering on past, present and future Cambridge rowers across events.
Directors’ Challenge Parent/Child Doubles | 9th
H. Parish
M. Parish – St Edmund’s (Men’s Blue Boat ’94, ’95)
Rowing for Crabtree, the Parish parent/child double took 9th in a time of 19:29.557.