Great Eights at the Head Of The Charles Regatta

The “big guns” came out along with the sun at this year’s Head Of The Charles® Regatta. Calm, fair weather helped competitors set sixteen course records, including a Great Eight win in the Women’s Championship Eights event. Concept2 CTS and HUDSON proudly support the Great Eights—the top scullers in the world, rowing together in an eight.

The Women's Great Eight ended the weekend on a high note, despite challenges and changes along the way. As row2k.com reports, the Women’s Great Eight required a late change to the line-up, with American Gevvie Stone replacing Austrian Magdalena Lobnig the day of the event. The crew came together strongly after illness plagued many of the athletes. On Saturday, Great Eight athletes were leading at the Cambridge Boat Club mark by 1.5 seconds, only to hobble through the last 800 meters, sick. They still finished fourth overall. On Sunday, the health of three Great Eight athletes was uncertain. Even coxswain Erin Driscoll arranged for a substitute to be on call given how she was feeling. In the end, the crew bounced back from whatever induced their fever and nausea to secure their awesome record-breaking win.

In the men’s Great Eight, the University of California finished ahead by 2.6 seconds, pushing the Great Eight to second place. Captain Robbie Manson (New Zealand) reports, “It was a hard race but also a lot of fun. Peter (Coxswain, the Netherlands) carved some fast lines down the track. We had the Canadians behind us so we were able to work off them a bit but we knew when we crossed the line that it was going be close between us and the university crews.”

Similar to the Women’s Great Eight, Saturday’s racing put Sunday’s racing in question. Damir Martin (Croatia) and Nico Stahlberg (Switzerland) finished eighth in the Men’s Championship Double after a muscle spasm crippled their boat to a stop. Recovered, they entered Sunday’s Championship Eights race building upon the momentum they had been feeling throughout the week. American team member John Graves explains, “We had four rows together before the race and it shows how talented these guys are that we were able to meld together so quickly. Sunday was our best row yet. Although we came up a little short, we felt like we had a great race. Hats off to Cal for a really impressive performance.”

Not to be outdone, Concept2 CTS employees made their ways down the course, too.

• Our first all-employee boat, a Men’s Championship Four: Silvan Zehnder, Martin Stridde, Aaron Thurston, Kevin Stevenson
• Men’s Senior Master Eights: Founders Dick and Peter Dreissigacker
• Women's Senior Master Eight: Judy Geer
• Women’s Senior Master Doubles: Meredith Breiland

It was great to see so many Concept2 unis racing!

Concept2 CTS enjoyed a great weekend meeting athletes, their families and spectators along the Charles River. The Concept2 CTS Regatta Service team repaired over 700 sculls and oars throughout the weekend. This service is part of our commitment to stand behind our product and to provide athletes with the best equipment possible on race day.

Special thanks to our Vermont neighbors, Cabot, who provided cheese to go with our signature giveaway, Champlain Orchards apples. Check out Cabot's delicious cheeses and whey protein. Together, we kept the entire crowd at the Head Of The Charles fueled with Vermont products.

If you missed us at The Head Of The Charles, the Concept2 CTS Regatta Service trailer will be at the Head of the Hooch regatta, November 4-5 for oar repairs.

Thanks for a great weekend at the Charles—see you next year!