It was a great event.  One highlight for me was a 4-person crew comprised of Lisa Snyder, Kat Brown, Yen Nguyen and Ellen Precissi who agreed to do a quad (which I had the honor of coxing).  None of them had ever rowed a quad and probably none of them had ever sculled at a rating of more than 16-18 SPM.  They had certainly never done a racing start with sculling oars in their hands!  They rowed out to the start line with fear & trembling (no kidding, I could see Lisa shaking after she so valiantly offered to stroke the boat!), slowly built their stroke rating from 16 to 22 and then to 24.  They practiced one racing start. I tried to calm them by reminding them that we'd driven all the way from Stockton to Ashland to HAVE FUN and that they'd never rowed a quad before so here was a great opportunity to have fun and experience the quad.  The race didn't matter.  We'd just enjoy the row! And then we were at the start line and it was time to start.  They had a difficult start and Lisa Snyder crabbed with her starboard oar at least 3 times (we're sure there was something wrong with the oarlock!) but then magically at 22/24 SPM, they were vying for 2nd place!!! They were neck and neck with the other boat most of the way and then in the end pulled it out and finished just ahead of them!  Incredible - 2nd place and first time in a quad!

Another really memorable event for me was the composite 8+ - the last event of the day!  It was comprised of Jessica Morelli & Kellie Brunsdon in stern and Lisa Snyder and Kat Brown in bow and four Ashland men in the "engine room."  They'd NEVER rowed together until they rowed that 1000 m warm-up to the start line.  One of the men had only been rowing for 3 weeks!  They were the last boat pulling up to the start so there wasn't even time to stop the boat and practice our starts!  Again, the other boats pulled ahead of them at the start but then mysteriously, we were vying for 1st place! For the longest time we rowed side by side and then in the last 250 m our boat pulled ahead and stayed ahead!  Everybody commented how exhilarating it was to pull past another boat! This was the last race of the day, everyone was exhausted but the thrill of finishing FIRST was immeasurable! 

Also, I got to experience coxing a bow-loaded boat.  I can't believe I did this for the first time during a regatta!  I coxed the women's 4+ from the bow!  When we pulled away from the dock, I couldn't decide which direction to go -- should I be rowing toward my bow ball or away from it?  I wasn't used to ever seeing it in front of me and Kat, the stroke, was freaking out about not having anyone in front of her! Thank God for Lisa Snyder in the bow seat - and thank God she's a good coxswain - without her telling me what to say to whom as we pulled away from the dock (she was literally coxing the boat from the bow), I never would have gotten my bearings and been able to cox the race. I wished I'd had my sculling mirror or Bob's spy glasses!  As we took those first few strokes away from the dock, I seriously thought about jumping out and swimming back to the dock.  But then with Lisa's calm support, I finally got my presence of mind back and rather enjoyed seeing where I was going for a change!  It was easy to feel whether people were missing water and where set was being lost - I didn't expect all that to be easy.  But it was also VERY uncomfortable!  I still feel glad that we are not buying bow-loaded boats!

Also memorable was the first event, the Women's 8+, in which Ellen Precessi, Kat Brown, Carol McGurk, Kelly Brunsdon, Jessica Morelli, Carla Cortes, Yen Nguyen, and Lisa Snyder hung close to the much more experienced Ashland crew, six of whom had just less than two years' experience rowing. SRC finished 2nd just 22 seconds behind.

 Kudos also to the two SRC Women's 4+ crews, who finished 2nd and 4th in their race. Kat, Ellen, Carol and Lisa finished 2nd to Ashland, and Jessica, Kellie, Carla and Yen were only 17 seconds behind the 3rd place Lake Ewauna crew.

What was amazing was that SRC's women had traveled 6 hours the day before the regatta, camped out and were up against southern Oregon crews who had home cooking and real beds to sleep on the night before the regatta. SRC truly rocks!!