100 Years ago at Henley

Union Boat Club, closes to the camera, meeting Harvard for a celebratory row at Henley Royal Regatta this summer.

HTBS just received an e-mail from American 1956 Olympian cox, Bill Becklean (whom we wrote about on 18 June). Bill went to Henley Regatta this summer to, among other things, cox in a ‘reenactment race’ to celebrate the 1914 Grand Challenge Cup race between the American crews Harvard JV and Union Boat Club, of Boston. A race that Harvard famously won.

‘Both organizations showed up with veterans to row over the course during the lunch intermission on the day of the finals. Both crews much enjoyed the demo,’ Bill writes.

The UBC crew, back row: Bill Becklean, Charlie Clapp, Sam Batchelor and Derek Silver; front row:  Val Hollingsworth, Mike Corr, Rob Wettech, Alecs Zoluls and Josi Shamir. (Sorry, no information on the names in the Harvard crew more than Devin Mahoney, cox.

Update 3 August: On the River and Rowing Museum's new blog Home Front Henley, on 5 July, there is a contemporary account of the race between Union BC and Harvard - read it here. See also the blog on 30 June, here.

Chris Dodd: Henley Royal Regatta 1976

Thames Tradesmen leading Leander in the final of the Grand. Photo: Rowing August 1976.

As HTBS readers know by now, YouTube is a real treasure trove when it comes to film clips on rowing. HTBS’s Tim Koch found two wonderful films from the 1976 Henley Royal Regatta on YouTube. HTBS asked rowing historian Christopher Dodd to write a commentary about Henley for that year. As many of you are aware of, Dodd is an authority on British rowing and he paid special attention to the country’s rowing progress during the 1970s in his book Pieces of Eight: Bob Janousek and his Olympians (2012).

Christopher Dodd writes:

Henley Regatta took place on 1-4 July 1976 at the end of a heat wave. The temperature reached over 90° Fahrenheit*, humidity was at its wettest, the river low and the stream minimal. There was a new hazard to Henley, clearly visible in the YouTube video clips – swimmers on the booms and on the course. See the following film:



The open events were devoid of national crews, including the entire British team, who were in Canada preparing for the Montreal Olympics. Britain’s best hopes for medals that summer were the men’s eight, hand-picked three years before by Bob Janousek, the national coach, and the double scullers Chris Baillieu and Mike Hart. The eight’s last pre-Olympic regatta was Lucerne, held before Henley that year, and there was no opportunity to thrill the home crowd at Henley.

So the open events were short of class if not of competition. Janousek’s eight was a blend of Leander Club and Thames Tradesmen, and it was these two clubs who finished up contesting the Grand. Both contained men who had missed Olympic selection. 

Leander reached the final by beating the University of British Columbia (three quarter length) followed by London University (half length). Tradesmen arrived there by beating London RC by a third of a length. London were effectively the national lightweight eight (no Olympic lightweight events in 1976). London University were coxed by John Boultbee, who later became the first Australian to be elected a Henley Steward.

As the clip shows, Tradesmen won a close final by two thirds of a length. This was the second attempt after a re-row was ordered by the umpire after Leander stopped at the top of the Island during the first attempt when their rudder hit a submerged object.

The race was re-scheduled for 4.15 p.m. (three and a quarter hours after the first start), and Tradesmen went out to three quarters of a length at Fawley and saw off Leander’s attempts to get even.

The crews in the Grand final were:

Thames Tradesmen: Mallin, K. Cusack, Burch, Wilson, Bayles, Roberts, Milligan, Brown, cox Sherman.

Leander: D. and G. Innes, Tatton, Hardingham, King, Woodward-Fisher, Gregory, Rankine, cox Lee.

The commentaries on these clips are by Jim Railton, the rowing correspondent of The Times, who had been the ARA’s trainer in the late 1960s and who, a sprinter by sport, had blooded himself in rowing as a volunteer coach at Tradesmen.

Railton has a comfortable, warm voice with a trace of his Liverpudlian origin, and he doesn’t make mistakes. But his performance highlights the problems of commentating on rowing and filming on the Henley course. He is caught between the producers’ paranoia of silence breaking out even when the viewer can see what is happening, and the commentator’s paucity of information. Although he had coached some of these men – producing a famous ‘Beatle’ four of Mason, Clark, Robertson and Smallbone who morphed into Janousek’s Olympic squad – Railton doesn’t furnish us with their record, past performance or personal history. Added to which, he’s talking to a monitor in a trailer somewhere. It’s unfair to throw all the blame for lack lustre at him. The same challenges face the Stewards today as they seriously consider getting the tv cameras in.

The Thames Cup in 1976 was electric because the local club, Henley RC, were on the brink of winning their first Henley medal. They beat Saxon, Vesta, Rollins College and the selected University of Pennsylvania to reach a final against Harvard. Their race with Penn was hairy because Henley lost an oar from a rowlock on the 18th stroke, but recovered to take the lead.

A year before, Harvard had lost the first round of the Thames to Garda Siochana, the Irish police, who went on to win the cup. It was the first time Harvard had lost in the Thames, and in 1976 they were keen to recover their record. They were selected and reached the final by way of wins over Molesey, Imperial College, Hansa Dortmund and Christiania of Norway.

The final was a cracker. Henley had a canvas at the quarter mile signal and kept it to the Barrier and stretched it to a third of a length at Fawley, over-rating Harvard. Then Harvard drew level at the three quarter signal. Henley rose to 41 and Harvard to 43 to bring the latter home first by a canvas.

The crews in the Thames Cup final were:

Harvard: McGee, Templeton, Wood, Moore, Wiley, Perkins, Porter, Gardiner, cox You.

Henley RC: Maffre, Bushnell, Smith, Allen, Marsden, Pankhurst, Glenn, Richardson, cox Woodford.

After Hansa Dortmund withdrew, the Stewards’ was a straight final between University of British Columbia and Thames Tradesmen. Both crews had also rowed in the Grand, with Tradesmen having covered extra mileage that day because of the Grand re-row. The Canadians took the lead off the start and had a length and a half at the mile. Tradesmen then reduced the gap and pulled a desperate splurge out of their hat to finish a third of a length down.

The crews in the Stewards final were:

UBC and Vancouver RC: Rea, Bodnar, Moran, Allester.

Thames Tradesmen: Mallin, Roberts, Milligan, Cusack.

The Princess Elizabeth for schools was marred by the exam timetable again, complained the Henley recorder. Why these people who arrange A levels cannot conduct their affairs to avoid the Henley timetable, he couldn’t imagine. There were two selected crews – Holy Spirit High School (U.S.) and Emanuel School from Wandsworth, and they duly met in the final. Holy Spirit beat Hampton and Tabor Academy to get there, and Emanuel disposed of Abingdon and Eton.

In the final Holy Spirit led to the Barrier, where Emanuel drew level. Not for long, however. The Americans had half a length at the three quarters signal and drew away at the end to win by two thirds of a length.

The crews in the Princess Elizabeth final were:

Holy Spirit HS: McDevitt, Millar, Bibik, Foerster, Guenther, Welsh, White, Brown, cox Maguire.

Emanuel School: Tollitt, Ridgley, Lemmens, G. Roberts, Field, Downie, N. Roberts, C. Roberts, cox Upton.



The other half of the Tradesmen Grand eight won the Prince Philip for coxed fours by a row-over. Leander, the other finalists, withdrew because they were also rowing in the re-scheduled Grand and refused to contest the Philip before it. So the Philip was a damp squib – not the only one on the Sunday afternoon. With a fork of lightning and a clap of thunder, the weather broke, and all thoughts turned to Montreal.

Christopher Dodd’s Pieces of Eight is available from the River & Rowing Museum here and Richard Way Bookseller, 54 Friday Street, Henley-on-Thames or give them a call at INT+44+(0)1491-576663.

*Editor's Note: In an unsigned article about the 1976 Henley Regatta in the magazine Rowing, August 1976 issue, it was stated about the warm weather:

On two days in the nineties the rule about jackets was relaxed in the Stewards’ Enclosure, although ties were still required and shirts had to stay on in the public enclosure. On the banks it was bikini tops which came off, making paddling up to the start more interesting than usual.

Finals Day at a Classic Henley: Everyone's a Winner

Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft do some pre-race bonding. It must have been effective as they won the Thames Cup.

Tim Koch reports from the final day at Henley:

The last boat crossed the Henley finish line just after 4.07pm, Sunday 6 July. The day saw twenty winners and twenty boats that did not win. I am not going to say that they were ‘losers’ because to race in a final at Henley Regatta is a pretty special thing. Those going home without a medal may not have found this much compensation in the immediate post-race period but, by the time I am writing this, they should be feeling a little better (though some probably will not be feeling anything at all having sought solace in the warm bosom of alcohol).

I have returned home, not with a Henley Medal, but with 500 photographs that I took in the space of eight hours. I will treat HTBS readers to a selection of them over the next week, probably covering the ‘open’ events first and later dealing with the rest. In brief, the results are below. This is followed by an edited version of the official press release on the finals races. Finally, though it is getting very late and it’s back to work on Monday, I would like to share a special insight that I gained on the last day of the races into what makes champions.

Open Men
Grand Challenge Cup (8+) – Leander & University of London
Stewards’ Challenge Cup (4-) – Molesey B.C. and Leander Club
Queen Mother Challenge Challenge Cup (4x) – Leander Club & Agecroft RC
Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup (2-) – Julien Bahain & Mitchel Steenman (Netherlands)
Double Sculls Challenge Cup (2x) – Stany Delayre and Jérémie Azou (France)
Diamond Challenge Sculls (1x) – Mahe Drysdale (New Zealand)

Open Women
Remenham Challenge Cup (8+) – Leander & Imperial College, London
Princess Grace Challenge Cup (4x) – Leander Club & Gloucester RC
Princess Royal Challenge Cup (1x) – Mirka Knapkova (Czech Republic)

Intermediate Men
Ladies’ Challenge Plate (8+) – University of California, Berkeley (USA)
Visitors’ Challenge Cup (4-) – Harvard University (USA)
Prince of Wales Challenge Cup (4x) – Leander Club

Student Men
Temple Challenge Cup (8+) – Oxford Brookes University ‘A’
Prince Albert Challenge Cup (4+) – Newcastle University ‘A’

Club Men
Thames Challenge Cup (8+) – Frankfurter R.G. (Germany)
Wyfold Challenge Cup (4-) – Upper Thames RC ‘A’
The Britannia Challenge Cup (4+) – Upper Thames RC ‘A’

Junior Men
Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup (8+) – Eton College
Fawley Challenge Cup (4x) – Sir William Borlase’s School

Junior Women
Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup (4x) – Gloucester RC

Mirka Knapkova - the Champion’s Champion.

This is what the HRR press release said about some of the races rowed on finals day:

British crews produced a strong string of performances to dominate the finals day of the 175th Anniversary Henley Royal Regatta. There were wins in the open events for men’s and women’s eights, the men’s four and the men’s and women’s quadruple sculls on a day which saw a brace of races decided by just three feet after the 2112-metre course.

As expected the Olympic Champions Mahe Drysdale, of New Zealand, and Mirka Knapkova, Czech Republic, won the two open events for single scullers, adding to their growing collection of previous titles.

The GB Rowing Team’s powerhouse men’s four added another international win to the European and world cup golds they have already won this season when they romped home in the Stewards’ Challenge Cup for men’s fours. Seasoned rowing observers have begun to pick this crew, coached by Jurgen Grobler, as a potential Rio Olympic winners. The four (are) Andrew Triggs Hodge, George Nash, Mohamed Sbihi and Alex Gregory....

By contrast the University of California, Berkeley, won the Ladies’ Challenge Plate for Intermediate men’s eights by just three feet in a bow-ball to bow-ball finishing sprint against Leander Club to the background noise of the famous “Remenham Roar” from the packed spectators.

Tideway Scullers’ School were disqualified during the final of the Wyfold Challenge Cup for men’s club fours. The verdict came from umpire Mike Williams after an early infringement along the enclosures and meant that Upper Thames Rowing Club won their second title of the day. The locally-based club had waited years for a first victory here and then two came together as they also won the Britannia Challenge Cup title in the opening race of the day.

Gloucester RC’s junior women’s quad recovered well from an early morning training scare – during which they broke their blades in a brush with a moored spectator boat – to win the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup for junior women’s quadruple sculls against Marlow RC. Marlow experienced some unsteady steering early in the race and recovered to chase but could not challenge the Gloucester quartet.

Scratch pairing Julien Bahain and Mitchel Steenman surprised even themselves by winning the final of the Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup for men’s pair from South Africa. Bahain flew in as a late substitute in this crew earlier this week.

It was tight, too, for much of the course between the British women’s eight, racing as Leander and Imperial College, and the their Dutch counterparts in the Remenham Challenge Cup. The British had the upperhand in the early part of the race with the margin fluctuating somewhere between a half and three-quarter length.

In the Grand Challenge Cup final for men’s eights the British national eight , stroked by Henley resident Will Satch, were also in the driving seat once they emerged from a closely fought contest to the Fawley landmark with the French national crew. They drew away to win in 6:15.

Eton College emerged from a very tight race to take the lead with 450m to go in their Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup final against St Edwards’ School from Oxford.

Stany Delayre (Bow) and Jérémie Azou (Stroke) return to the rafts followed by their defeated opposition, Collins and Walton.

Perhaps the honour of the stand-out crew, however, fell to Stany Delayre and Jeremie Azou, France’s lightweight double sculls, whose finishing speed was enough to see them win against the emerging British open double of John Collins and Jonny Walton in the Double Sculls Challenge Cup. In the afternoon session a collective shocked intake of breadth later accompanied those two finalists in that Double Sculls Challenge Cup for men as the crews moved past the grandstands. Not a hair’s breadth separated the crews before Delayre and Azou squeezed on to win. Azou said:

“There was just a moment in the second half where I thought that maybe we weren’t going to win, as nothing we could do could break them. Then with about 300m to go, I sensed an opportunity. The surge just took us in front and the drama continued right to the finish”.

It was Delayre and Azou that gave me an insight into what makes winners. I had spent the morning on the photographer's stand by the progress board, ten stroke from the finish. While this gives a great view of the racing, it is in the boat tent area, where the crews return after a race, that the ‘human interest’ lies. Thus, I spent the afternoon photographing the winners and non-winners returning to the pontoons and to their supporters – including the French double.

Stany Delayre (Bow) and Jérémie Azou (Stroke) are 2014 European Doubles Champions – but in lightweight. They weigh in at around 11 stone / 154 lbs / 70 kg. Their opposition today was 15 stone 1 lb / 211 lbs / 95 kgs and 14 stone 5 lbs / 201 lbs / 91 kgs. The eventual three-foot verdict in favour of the Frenchman took some time to come. Both doubles waited at the finish line for a period but Azou and Delayre decided to come into the pontoons. As they headed in, it was announced over the public address system that they had won. I was poised with my camera waiting for them to react to this news – but nothing happened. Equally strange, there was no one from their squad or any Henley official waiting for them and it soon became clear that they were so exhausted that they did not even try to get their bow side sculls over the dock and Delayre asked me to pull them in. As I did so, I kept repeating ‘You have won!’ and trying to think of how to say it in French (I decided that the informal ‘tu’ would be better than the more formal ‘vous’ but, importantly, I failed to come up with the word for ‘won’ – ‘tu as gagné’ the internet now tells me). However, it soon became clear that, even if I was fully certified by the Académie française, these boys had given their all and were not receiving messages in any language. I resorted to inane grinning and giving the ‘thumbs up’ sigh, hoping this did not mean something rude in France.

The Olympians and European Champions were so exhausted that they could not negotiate a landing.

Azou checks on his collapsed crewmate.

A slow recovery.

The message finally sunk in, but they were still too spent to give much reaction. They started to remove their sculls from the gates but, for what seemed like a long time, it was only my weight on stroke’s rigger that stopped them going swimming. They spent a long time lying on the pontoon, looking remarkably like two men who had just lost. And that, children, is what you need to become a champion.

Tu as gagné.

Our final Drink of the Day’ must be Champagne.

From the Stewards’ Cellars.

Leander release the fizz.

Mahe Drysdale swaps his water bottle for something stronger.

It tastes better out of one of these.

Read what the Telegraph's Rachel Quarrell wrote about the races on the final day here.

Henley Saturday, Day 4: Certain Victory For Some, Unexpected Defeat For Others

Elegance at the start.

Tim Koch writes from Henley:

An edited press release by Caroline Searle:

Andrew Triggs Hodge, George Nash, Mohamed Sbihi and Alex Gregory went largely unchallenged today to qualify for (Sunday's) final of the Henley Royal Regatta Stewards’ Challenge Cup for men’s fours.

The GB quartet, competing as a Molesey-Leander composite here and already European and world cup winners this season, had a length lead by the quarter-mile marker in their semi-final over the French national four. They lengthened this throughout the race and could ease off at the finish.

The GB boat now seem favourites to win tomorrow against the French national lightweight crew and the British crowd savoured the opportunity to catch a rare glimpse of them in action on home waters.

Olympic champions Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic and New Zealander Mahe Drysdale were semi-final winners in their respective single scull events. They now face Hungary’s Krisztina Gyimes and Holland’s Roel Braas in the  final respectively.

GB Olympic bronze medallist Alan Campbell found Roel Braas’ pace too hot to handle in the semi-finals today and was soon three lengths down. Braas went on to win in 7:44. Knapkova also won against British opposition in the shape of Olympic quadruple sculler Melanie Wilson.

“It was not my day today. I wasn’t firing on all cylinders. I felt alright before the race but once I got in I just didn’t have the beans”, said Campbell.

Just before the tea interval the GB women’s eight looked in good form as they beat the Australian national eight in the Remenham Challenge Cup. They now race the Dutch national eight competing here as Hollandia Roeiclub in the final on Sunday.

The GB Women’s Eight rowing as Leander Club and Imperial College London lead the National Training Centre, Australia, in the Remenham Challenge Cup (Women’s Open Eights).

Britain’s lightweight and open weight women’s quadruple sculls crews battled each other in the semi-final of the Princess Grace Challenge Cup with the open weights, featuring Olympian Beth Rodford, getting the upperhand.

The GB Rowing Team’s open weight double scull of John Collins and Jonny Walton, competing here as Leander Club, beat two top South African lightweights, John Smith and James Thompson. They now face the eye-catching French duo of Stany Delayre and Jeremie Azou in the final of the Double Sculls Challenge Cup.

Sam Townsend, Charles Cousins, Pete Lambert and Graeme Thomas from the GB quadruple sculls, racing here for Leander Club and Agecroft RC, were tested by Craftsbury Sculling Center from the USA before moving into Sunday’s final of the Queen Mother Challenge Cup.

St Edwards’ School, Oxford, were convincing winners against Hampton School in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup for schoolboy eights. In the opposing semi-final two big rival schools Abingdon and Eton College went head to head with Eton taking the honours and reversing the result of last year’s quarter-finals.

The results in full are on the official website.

Images from the penultimate day:

At the start for the Harvard v University of London race in the Visitors’ (Men's Intermediate Coxless Fours). London's ‘2’ man wonders if he can fly.

Harvard’s bow man breaks the first rule of the Henley start: Do not look down the course. It is said that you can see the curve of the earth. A guide to steering at Henley is here.

Harvard – UL approaching the end of the Island.

A promising start for UL but both crews are under scrutiny.

Harvard went onto win by 3/4 length in a time of 7.03.

Achtung Spitfire! In the afternoon there was a flypast by a Spitfire and a Hurricane from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Amsterdam Students Nereus from what the normally pedantic Stewards insist on calling ‘Holland’ race Brown University, USA, in the Temple Challenge Cup (Student Men’s Eights). Appropriately they are passing The Temple.

Leander lead Oklahoma in their heat of the Visitors’.

Cornell pursue Oxford Brooks in the Temple. They are passing the ‘hole in the wall’ on the far bank. The ‘hole’ is an inlet crossed by a hump back bridge on land owned by Phyllis Court, a country club sited opposite the finish.

Umpire Richard Phelps has a fine collection of blazers. This one is from Latymer School. The silver badge signifies that he is a Steward of the Regatta.

A close race in the Ladies’ (Men’s Intermediate Eights). Leander Club and Molesey Boat Club lost to University of California, Berkley, USA, by 1/2 length.

A member of London RC shows how to move a boat standing up and facing forward.

In the Queen Mother, the race for Men’s Open Quads, there was an exciting battle between the French National Quad and the National Training Centre, Australia. The French led by a few feet off the start, the crews were level at Fawley (approximately half way) and then Australia went in front. They were level again at Remenham but by the Mile the Aussies led by a canvas and by 1/2 length at the Mile 1/8. They moved away at the Enclosures to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

As the Regatta goes on, so the Boat Tent empties as losing crews remove their boats.

The HTBS ‘Drink of the Day’ is the local brew, Brakspears Bitter. First brewed in Henley in 1779, sadly it has not been made in the brewery opposite the finish since 2002 (but it still tastes good). Note to foreigners – it is supposed to be served warm.

Remembering Harry Parker

Today, 25 June, is exactly a year since the passing of Harvard Coach Harry Parker. Above is a short but fine tribute to Parker, produced by Harvard University.

Special thanks to Louis P.!

One Up for Charley Butt – When Crimson Takes All

The hopes were high at the Yale camp this year to finally, after a six-year wait, claim The Sexton Cup for the Varsity Heavyweights at the 149th Harvard – Yale Regatta which was held on Saturday, 7 June, on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. (The river is pronounced so it rhymes with ‘James’.) It seemed maybe a bit too optimistic, as Harvard had previously somewhat easily taken care of whatever the Bulldogs had thrown at them for the last decade. Last time Yale Varsity Heavyweights won was in 2007 (and before that in 1999), their 2nd Varsity (Junior Varsity, JV) also won in 2007 and their Freshmen in 2006, otherwise the victories were all crimson-coloured, which have been shown by the red-painted ‘Rock’, which is just before the finish line at Bartlett Cove. Traditionally, the Rock bears the colour of the winning ‘combination crew’, who races on Friday, and this year Harvard won this race again. As the Rock has not been blue for a long time, there are now spectators at the regatta who think that the Rock is permanently red with a big white ‘H’ painted on it.

The ‘Rock’

Nevertheless, Coach Steve Gladstone, who is now in his fourth season training the Bulldogs, or Eli's, as Yale is also called, saw progress in his crews this season and felt they were on the right track. For the first time since 2006, Yale made it to the final of the IRA National Championships a week prior to this regatta (they finished sixth). Undoubtedly, there was also the possibility that the Crimson had got their boat rocked after only finishing fifth at the IRA Championships (after otherwise having had a victorious season), which was a great disappointment to them all. They also have a new coach, Charley Butt, who had taken over the position as the Thomas Bolles Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Crew after the legendary Coach Harry Parker had died of cancer on 25 June, three weeks after last year’s regatta.

Parker’s incredible 44 victories, out of 51 seasons as the Crimson coach, must have scarred Yale crews throughout the years, even if the Bulldogs were unaware of it.

Although new to the heavyweights, Coach Butt was not all that ‘new’ to Harvard. He had breathed Crimson air for almost three decades, as the Harvard men’s lightweight coach, and he is known for being one of the best rowing and sculling technicians in the country. Whatever Yale thought about their chances to win a cup or two this year, the 149th Regatta, as a Boston newspaper put it, ‘turned into an old-fashioned Butt-kicking’ event with Harvard coming out on top in every race.

More than the usual number of spectators and ‘visitors’ had gathered at Red Top’s boathouse last Saturday to watch the races, although you only actually see the crews coming up the river the last mile of the course. Of course, there were the regular numbers of pretty girlfriends of the oarsmen, and the rowers’ parents and a few grandparents, but also a good amount of ‘old oars’ who had rowed for Harvard way back when, including some of Harry’s old boys, who had arrived from near and far to honour him. A memorial had been built in tribute to Parker at Red Top. Designed by artist Ellen Kennelly, whose father had rowed for Harvard, the memorial is ‘a curved stonewall representing the bend of an oar, with a flagpole at its apex, representing the pin of the oarlock. Atop the wall sits a bronze cast of Harry’s infamous megaphone – dents, scratches and all’, Row2K, wrote on its website. See a picture of the memorial here.

Red Top was the natural spot for this tribute. ‘This was the place of Harry’s first big win, and his last win’, his wife, Kathy Keeler, told Row2K.

Spectators at Red Top were happy to find shade when the sun was beaming down.

At precisely 2:45, the 2-mile Freshman race started under a blue sky with some fluffy white clouds and almost flat water. Though it was called ‘freshman’, the crews were not just freshmen. Parker had always insisted that the shortest race of the regatta was going to be for freshmen only, although this year it was decided that the crews could be mixed, a ‘3rd Varsity’. It was Butt’s intention to race with a pure freshman crew, but injuries and some needed changes after the poor performance at the IRA made him shift some of the oarsmen in the boats. In the first race of the day, the Crimson crew got an early lead, but did not manage to shake off the Yale crew. The Bulldogs did not, however, really manage to threaten the Crimson’s lead. Harvard was a boat length ahead over the finish line, at 9:19.6. Yale’s time, 9:22.8 – the closest race of the day.

The 2nd Varsity race also had ‘mixed’ crews, and several of the oarsmen in the Harvard crew were freshmen. While it is not that much difference from racing a 2,000-metre race to a 2-mile (c. 3,220) race, a 3-miler takes some time to get used to if you have been racing 2,000-metre races during the whole season. In this 3-mile race, Crimson led from the start, and when a cross-wind hit the course early in the race – a cross-wind that the 3rd Varsity crews did not feel, as they started further up-river – it made it harder for Yale to catch up. After Harvard left the area with the cross-wind, somewhere after the Submarine Base, the crew picked up speed and was almost 18 seconds ahead of Yale crossing the finish line, winning at 14:15.7. Yale’s time, 14:33.1.

A winning crew: Harvard 2nd Varsity

The start of the Varsity crews’ 4-mile race under the Gold Star Bridge took some time to organise, as Yale’s stake boat suddenly began to drift off. After a 15-20-minute delay, both crews were off. With the incoming tide and a tailwind, the times were expected to be fast, but the wind had picked up for the first mile and the crosswind made sure that the oarsmen had to fight for every inch on that mile. At first Yale took a slight lead, but at the half-mile mark, Crimson was up a five, six seats to Yale; for the rest of the first mile Yale stayed in contact with Harvard. Passing the 1-mile mark, Harvard put in an extra gear that gave them more than a boat length lead at the 2-mile mark. After that it was impossible for the Bulldogs to catch up. At the 3-mile mark, Crimson had a 14 second lead, and from there the crew, with Bow Peter Scholle, 2 James Medway, 3 Andrew Reed, 4 James Johnston, 5 Vincent Breet, 6 Max Meyer-Bosse, 7 Charles Risbey, Stroke Andy Holmes, and Cox Will Hakim, cruised up the course, winning at 19:32.3, while Yale’s time was 19:46.4.

Harvard Varsity now leads the series by 96 victories to Yale’s 54.

Harvard oarsmen taking care of their boat before tossing in their cox, Will Hakim, in the Thames. Hakim, on the right, is just catching the broom that someone is tossing to him.

HTBS managed to exchange a couple of words with Harvard’s Varsity cox, Will Hakim, who the previous two years has coxed the JV boat, and who was now wet from having been tossed in the Thames. Happily leaning on the famous broom that comes out from the boathouse after every clean sweep, three victories (four if you count the Friday Coxed Four race for ‘combi crews’), I asked him if there was ever any doubt that his boat was going to win? Will said: ‘No, not really. We were prepared from any attacks from Yale, and we never felt pressured. Charley [Butt] trained us well, and to us there was never any doubt that we would win.’

When I later talked to Harvard’s Varsity stroke and captain, Andy Holmes, he said that the crew had been struggling in the choppy waters just before the Submarine Base. ‘Then we were really bouncing around a lot’, Holmes said in his beautiful Scottish accent. To the question how much it meant to have oarsmen in the boat who have rowed in the race before, Holmes said: ‘It means a lot. Four, five guys have rowed in the race before, for Harry. It gives confidence’. Holmes, who himself has rowed in three previous Varsity races for Harvard against Yale, praised the rest of the crew: ‘This is a great team. The boys had an unbelievable rhythm, which really made it easy for me. We had some strong guys from South Africa in the “engine room” [4 James Johnston and 5 Vincent Breet] – those guys are phenomenal. This is my last year, and it has been a fantastic four years and I have learned a lot.’ Holmes continues: ‘We wanted to win, we did it for Harry and we did it for Charley. We wanted Charley to get off with one [win].’

Andy Holmes, Harvard Varsity captain and stroke, is talking to the gentlemen of the press (no female reporters this year at the regatta!).

Later this summer, Harvard is going to Henley Royal Regatta, but not with any eights. Instead they are sending some fours. I asked Holmes for which cup they are going, and he said: ‘The Visitors’ Challenge Cup, with me, Peter Scholle, Andy Reed and Max Meyer-Bosse. We are also competing in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup [coxed Four for students] with some freshmen.’

Coach Charley Butt happily waving the broom.

After the traditional winning photograph of the crew with their coach, the latter was tossed in the river. Charley Butt did not seem to mind it at all, and after some seconds in the water, he was joined by the crew, and by his young son, who voluntarily took a dip in the Thames. Standing on the dock, wet, but happy, Butt kindly agreed to answer some questions even from an obscure blog reporter as yours truly. My first question was obvious:

‘You had some big shoes to fill, how does it feel?’ Butt laughed before he answered: ‘Oh, it will take a while yet to get used to, but the guys have rowed for Harry, so it was as much a continuance of him as it was a beginning for me. The real test for me is going forward with each year.’ He continued: ‘The way it went today…. I am delighted. They are really good guys. You can see they row well. All of them have rowed for Harry, except for a freshman [James Johnston] who came in today.’

Then I asked him about all the shuffling around of the crews. ‘Yes there was a lot of that for this weekend. We knew if would be very difficult, and this was going to be important.’

‘Then you are going to Henley with some fours? I asked. ‘Yes’, Butt replied, ‘we will take some fours, and then continue on….’

I thank him and wished him luck at Henley.

A wet Coach Butt with an equally wet son in the background.

Charley Butt seems to be a very humble man, just the fellow who could well start a new era for the Crimson. Of course, the question that many, if not all, Yale supporters are asking right now is: how long will it take for Yale to turn the corner? As it is now, it is honestly not much of a competition in either race.

Harvard Varsity winners.

To the question from the newspaper the New Haven Register ‘How long until the Bulldogs can compete with Harvard again?’ Yale’s Coach Steve Gladstone said:

That’s a good question. Here’s what it takes. If you have enough depth in squad to have serious and meaningful competition, it can go quickly. Right now we don’t have that. We really don’t. You can see the drop-off with the JV. There’s not that depth. Next year’s incoming class should provide that. I’m not shy about it; it’s our intention to have this program be in the top echelon. Not just in the top six, but let’s start medaling and win this race. A year away? Two years away? I don’t know.

Two Crimson ‘old oars’ watching the river, where a winning Harvard crew is approaching the dock at Red Top.

Coming back to the question about having only freshmen in the ‘Freshman race’, I see both pros and cons with that. As it is now, the door is open for a 3rd Varsity, instead of a pure freshman race. This means, as was proved this year with all the crews from both Yale and Harvard, that freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors can be picked for any of the boat crews. What we get with this system is an A-, B- and C-boat, where the eight very best oarsmen form the crew for the A-boat (Varsity), the next best eight oarsmen form the B-boat (2nd Varsity), and the next best rowers are the C-boat (3rd Varsity). I really wish that the oarsmen in the Freshman crew were ‘fresh’, but if we take a look at this year’s list of rowers, it tells us that it will be impossible.

Of the twenty-seven men in the Harvard crews, more than half of them, eighteen men, were foreigners, while Yale had twelve non-Americans rowing in their crews. It is a fact, that non-Americans begin to row earlier in life than Americans; they are then ‘fresh’ both academically and in the boat, while the Brits, other Europeans, New Zealanders, Australians and South Africans already have more competition experience when they come as freshmen to Yale and Harvard. What I heard during the races on Saturday was that many of the oarsmen from the other countries will now return home to try to qualify for the Under-23 World Championships – yes, they are that good.

Of course, a different perspective is that of the international oarsmen rowing for Oxford and Cambridge in the famous Boat Race. Many of the foreigners in the Oxbridge crews are both World Champions and Olympians before they join these universities’ boat clubs; there are no freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors rowing categories in the boat races between Oxford and Cambridge.

It is going to be interesting to see in which direction the Harvard – Yale Regatta will develop in the future with foreigners at the oars, and how the Charley Butt era will look a couple of years from now.

Among the celebrities at Red Top was boat builder Graeme King of Putney, Vermont.

Here are the lists of the crews:

3rd Varsity/Freshman: The New London Cup
Harvard
Bow Achim Harzheim (Germany)
2 Craig Slater (New Jersey)
3 Alex Uruchurtu (Australia)
4 Philip Bates (Maryland)
5 Adam Janes (England)
6 Andrew Emmett (Australia)
7 Josh Bernstein (England)
Str. Gregory Edwards (England)
Cox Brittanie Maxwell (Minnesota)

Yale
Bow William Rosenbloom (Illinois)
2 Jack McGinn (Minnesota)
3 Lawrence Lopez-Menzies (Connecticut)
4 Ed Reeves (New Zealand)
5 Grant Olscamp (Ohio)
6 Emery Schoenly (Connecticut)
7 John Risbergs (New York)
Str. Henry Bird (New York)
Cox Mackenzie Lee (California)

Watch the 3rd Varsity/Freshman race:



2nd Varsity: The F. Valentine Chappell Trophy
Harvard
Bow Ross Jarvis (Australia)
2 Sean Vedrinelle (France)
3 Matt Carter (England)
4 James Croxford (Australia)
5 Ben Lynton (New Zealand)
6 Henry Kennelly (Massachusetts)
7 Rory Glover (Australia)
Str. Chase Buchholz (Rhode Island)
Cox Joel Batesman (New Zealand)

Yale
Bow Lyon van Voorhis (Massachusetts)
2 Elliot O’Rielly (France)
3 Robert Michel (New Jersey)
4 Robin Molen-Grisgull (Australia)
5 Clements Barth (Germany)
6 Thomas Pagel (England)
7 Nate Goodman (New Jersey)
Str. Adam Smith (New Zealand)
Cox Chris Carothers (Illinois)

Watch the 2nd Varsity race:



Varsity The Sexton Cup
Harvard
Bow Peter Scholle (Massachusetts)
2 James Medway (Australia)
3 Andrew Reed (Massachusetts)
4 James Johnston (South Africa)
5 Vincent Breet (South Africa)
6 Max Meyer-Bosse (Connecticut)
7 Charles Risbey (Australia)
Str. Andrew Holmes (Scotland)
Cox William Hakim (Massachusetts)

Yale
Bow Owen Symington (Australia)
2 Zachary Johnson (California)
3 David DeVries (California)
4 Ollie Wynne-Griffith (England)
5 Hubert Trzybinski (Germany)
6 Simon Keenan (Australia)
7 Robert Hurn (Australia)
Str. Peter Tortora (Connecticut)
Cox Oliver Fletcher (England)

Watch the Varsity race:



Race commentators in the videos above are Andy Card and Charlie Hamlin.

Winning Harvard crews getting ready to celebrate - Crimson now leads the series with 96 victories to Yale’s 54.

The Rock will stay Red!

Harvard's Varsity crew won the 4-mile race in 19:23.3.

After today's 149th Yale-Harvard Regatta on the Thames River in New London, it is clear that the 'Rock' will stay RED, as the Crimson won all three races under a beautiful blue sky. Harvard's new coach, Charley Butt, can now relax after what must have been a nerve wrecking afternoon. Butt's Varsity crew's winning time was 19:23.3, which was 14 seconds ahead of Yale's.

HTBS will come back with a full race report in a couple of days. In the meantime, if you missed to watch the 4-mile race, take a look, here - the stake boats at the start had problems, so it takes several minutes before the race starts in this video. Listen to race commentators Andy Card and Charlie Hamlin small talk....

Will the Rock be Red or Blue Tomorrow?

Tomorrow, for the 149th time, Harvard will meet Yale for their 4-mile race on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. This time the Crimsons will not have their legendary coach Harry Parker to back them up. Parker died of cancer on 25 June last year, after having been the Crimson heavyweight coach for 51 years. Charley Butt, the Harvard lightweight coach for 29 years, took over the heavyweights, and tomorrow will be his first race as their coach against Yale in the Harvard-Yale Regatta, which was rowed for the first time in 1852.

Harvard has won the race the sixth last times against Yale and the question is now if the Bulldogs will manage to turn the tide. Steve Gladstone, the Bulldogs’ heavyweight coach who came to Yale four years ago, told a reporter of the New Haven Register: ‘I’m pleased with the development. It’s been good. No coach is ever content. There is a clear indication we’re on the right track. We’re progressing.’

At the IRA National Championships, which was held on Lake Mercer last weekend, Harvard came fifth, while Yale was sixth, 6 seconds behind. Washington won, with Brown second, California third and Princeton fourth. It was a disappointing place for Harvard, while Yale took a step up, as it was the first time since 2006 they manage to make the final in the Championships.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will see if the famous ‘Rock’ at the finish line will be painted blue or red.

The races start at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, 7 June, with the freshmen’s race, which will be followed by the 2nd varsity race, and then the varsity (heavyweights). Today, the sparemen’s race will be rowed on the Thames.

Some Strong Crimson Coxes

Strong coxes from Harvard.

Earlier today, the National Rowing Foundation (NRF) needed to move some books from the rowing exhibit at Mystic Seaport to Red Top, the Crimson boat house by the Thames River, where the Harvard crews are training right now for their races against Yale on Saturday, 7 June. 'Some book' is really an understatement, as it was 78 boxes with 12 copies in each box, which makes it a total of 936 copies of a very fat and heavy book. What to do? Well, phone calls were going back and forth, and soon there was a van leaving Red Top with assistant coach Patrick Lapage - yes, HTBS has written about Pat before, but also about his grandfather, Michael, who rowed in the British silver eight at the Olympic regatta in Henley in 1948 (read more about the Lapages, here). Of course, in between practice, the oarsmen need to eat and rest, so Pat brought along the Harvard coxes - a tough bunch.

78 boxes with 936 heavy books.

We carried boxes (yes, yours truly did not only act as a 'door opener', he, too, was a pack mule) through some rooms, down the stairs, through some other rooms and out on a small porch, and in the van. I did not count how many times we ran up and down the stairs, but I do not need to do any more work-outs today, or 'for this week', as Pat said. Well, now the books are out of the building thanks to Pat and some very strong coxes ~ Well done!

Rudie Lehmann's Harvard Honorary Degree

While the famous coach and writer on rowing matters, Rudie Lehmann is mostly remembered for coaching either Oxford or Cambridge (he studied and rowed for Cambridge, but never in a Blue boat), Lehmann also coached Berliner Ruder Klub and Harvard University.

He received an invitation in 1896 from his American friend Francis Peabody, whom he had rowed with at Cambridge. The rowing at Harvard University was in disorder so Lehmann was offered the opportunity to give Harvard a helping hand, teaching the crimson crews the proper English stroke. Lehmann arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the first time in mid-November 1896. He returned to Harvard both in 1897 and 1898, and although Harvard greatly improved with Lehmann as their coach, the crimsons never won a race during this time.

As the true gentleman coach, Lehmann never asked for any pay. In June 1897, Harvard awarded Lehmann an honorary degree, which was reported in some American newspapers. With the head line "Mr. Lehmann Speaks at the Harvard Commencement Dinner" the Cornell Daily Sun wrote on 2 July 1897:

It is said that all records for enthusiasm at a Harvard commencement dinner were broken when Mr. R. C. Lehmann was called upon for the third toast. Mr. Lehmann spoke as follows:

“It is my duty to-day to endeavor to the best of my ability to pay the many debts that I have incurred since I came among you in the early spring, but in the first place let me discharge, so far as I can, one debt of gratitude. I mean the debt I owe to this great university, and the high distinction which she has to-day conferred upon me by giving me an honorary degree. [Applause.] Whereas formerly it was my feeling that I might look on as a stranger, a sympathizing stranger only, now I feel that it is my right to cherish the great traditions that have come down to the university through the past generations; that it is my duty to take an active and deep interest in all that concerns her welfare, looking back on all that has passed since the first little seed was planted at Harvard. Looking back to all that has passed, I cannot tell you how deeply I feel the honor that has been done me today in making me one of the great body of Harvard graduates. [Applause.]

“Secondly, I desire to acknowledge the kindliness and consideration, the courtesy and generosity that have been extended to me ever since I set foot on these shores by every man connected with the university, from President Eliot down.

“For your President found time in the midst of all his engrossing duties – he found time, I say – to express his interest in the crew, and to show that whatever went on in Harvard, whether it was a matter of academic or athletic exercise, it was a matter of the deepest concern to him. [Applause]
 
“For that expression which he gave l thank him. I can assure him that when it was communicated to the crew it touched their hearts deeply.

“I cannot help thinking on this occasion of what might have been. [Applause] I might have represented here a victorious cause, but the dream has passed for this year at any rate.

“Coming among you, as I have to-day, I have found that Harvard men are always ready and willing to extend a greeting, even though they have met with defeat. I have seen to-day men whose friendship it has been my privilege to make, and as I clasped their hands and look into their eyes no words were necessary to assure me how deeply they as Harvard men felt for what happened on Friday last.

“I have seen also men whom I scarcely knew by name, who have come to me and expressed their empathy and their hope that on some future day Harvard might yet win in a boat race.

“I assure you, gentlemen, that this expression of kindliness has overwhelmed me.

“It is the custom to look upon us Englishmen as a sort of coldblooded and phlegmatic race, and in many respects we are; but I think when you once touch us, when you pierce through that outer crust of reserve, you will find we are stirred by emotion as high, by enthusiasm as sincere, and by a generosity not less deep than the qualities you find in the men at Harvard.

“At any rate, it is in the spirit of one who has been adopted as your brother that I appear here before you, and I feel, having been associated with one of her athletic interests, that I have become a son of Harvard and a brother to those whom I see around me, united with them in a spirit and devotion which I hope will last as long life itself.” |Applause.]

Lehmann showing the stroke in a fixed-seat.

So what did Rudie Lehmann get out of his time in America, more than an honorary degree at Harvard? Well, on 14 September 1898, a short piece in The New York Times informed that Harvard’s English coach the previous day had married Miss Alice Marie Davis in Worcester, Massachusetts. Lehmann had met Miss Davis in Mr. and Mrs. Francis Peabody’s home, where she gave the Peabodys’ daughters tutorials.

On the day of the article, the 42-year-old Englishman sailed with his 24-year-old American bride aboard Majestic to Liverpool, England. ‘On arriving home to their house, "Fieldhead", at Bourne End, they were greeted with a triumphal arch, a banquet in the village and an address from the vicar’ the American rowing historian Thomas Mendenhall wrote in a 1979 article about Rudie Lehmann.