Word: olrich
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Because the 40 boats in each event have to pass in tight spaces, coxes do not always use their best judgement, says Jerry Olrich, a member of the Head-of-the-Charles Committee, who has rowed in all 20 regattas. "Sometimes in the heat of battle, you just try to do your damnedest...
...list goes on. Olrich recalled one incident when the Vesper Boat Club, Dartmouth and MIT were trying to pass each other to get through a tight space. "They were poking oars at each other like lances in an effort to ward off oncoming boats," Olrich says. "Even if they had wanted to give way there was no room...
...inanimate obstacles as well. The Eliot Bridge is a perennial site for accidents, because coxes refuse to yield to each other and have trouble steering in the melee of boats. "Inexperienced coxes and inexperienced boats don't always make the turn, and they either lose time or crack up," Olrich says...
About ten years ago, the Mount Herman Academy crew and their coach Charles Hamilton came up to Cambridge to row in the youth eights. "The first boat to come through lost three oars when they hit the abutment of the middle arch," Olrich says. "Then the second boat hit the arch and it hobbled to the finish. By that time Charlie Hamilton couldn't look anymore, and sure enough the third boat...
...Olrich says the committee tries to slot the boats to minimize passing, so the boats expected to be fastest start first. It is impossible, however, to predict the performance of different boats from year to year, which can make for some wild racing as faster boats in the rear of the field make their way up through the higher seeds...