In the hunt

All of our crews did very well on Sunday. Here the V1 is vying for a medal against Wayland Weston, Shrewsbury, and Lowell.

Boys V2 was robbed after an equipment breakage put them back in the pack during the finals. The 15 second margin between Hingham and Brookline on Tuesday proved that Hingham is a team to be reckoned with. Sunday, Brookline finished 8 seconds behind first - in third place.

As for the Super V or the Flying V as they are referred to, this team made a very respectable 3rd place showing despite water leaking in to their boat.

The boys Novice under the speedy tempo set by stroke John Smoot poured it on in the Heats to quallify for the finals. A tight race in the finals had Hingham falling a little short of a medal.

Girls V1 had a season best row in a very tough heat and just missed qualifying for the finals - by about 1 boat length. Had they rowed in the 2nd heat (slower), they would have easily qualified.

Girls V2 had a very fast race in the finals but missed the medal stand. A good effort for a crew that included novices.

Girls Novices who had a great morning race to qualify for the finals were surprised to be rowing the Currie for the finals and fell back to a respectable 5th place.

Girls 2nd Novice were not rewarded for the hard work that they did during the season. They had an unfortunate equipment break and were not able to finish.

All in all, our crews made great improvements at every level. All of you have helped build the foundation for a great year next year.

Thank you everyone.

Last Man Standing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZd1Js0QaOI

Pat McAuley is the last man standing in this week's interesting seat racing competion. McAuley is obviously stronger.

Ernie Arlett and Mike McLaughlin

For those of you who were not able to make it last Friday, former Princeton Coach Mike McLaughlin visited practice to give a history of Ernest Arlett for whom our new boy's boat was named.

Ernest Arlett was the first coach of rowing at Northeastern

and one of the last professional rowers in Europe. He was hired to organize and start a team at Northeastern University. This team, comprised of ALL novices, won the national championships within 4 years of its start.

Thank you Mike.

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway wrote his memoirs from the time he spent in Paris in the 1920's and referred to that time as a 'Moveable Feast'. He thought that his time in Paris was a great non-stop party.

It reminds me of our own moveable feast and thanks to Ernestine Lammers, the McCuskers, and all of the parents who contributed to the hospitality at yesterday's Lowell Invitational Regatta, we had a wonderful day. The tents, the food, the cameraderie, and the enthusiasm, made our day yesterday a great one.

In biblical terms, a moveable feast is a celebration that is not fixed to the calendar but rather is fixed to the date of Easter. This year, yesterday (in fact May 1) coincided with the Ascension Day Feast. As many of you know Ascension Day is the 40th day after Christ's resurrection - when he ascended to heaven.

Yesterday, our crew program ascended from purgatory and became a full fledged program. All our student athletes did a great job and did credibly in each of the many categories in which we competed. This was a proud day for Hingham. We are very lucky to have had the successful day and to have been able to celebrate Ascension Day with our own Moveable Feast.