Nearly 400,000 spectators lined the banks and bridges of the Charles River this past weekend to watch the 60th annual Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest rowing competition.
Around two dozen countries participated in 74 events, with over 11,750 rowers aged 11 to 90 competing in a “head” regatta — a three-mile race in which boats depart at 15-second intervals and race against the clock. More than 800 clubs with a total of 2,685 entries participated in the regatta.
“It’s just something that we usually see in movies and never see live,” first-time attendee Anat Zaid said as she watched boats from the Boston University Bridge start their race from BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse.
While Zaid happened to already be traveling to Boston the weekend of the regatta, many spectators returned specifically to watch the competition.
Former Harvard rower and Roslindale resident Lesley Burkett emphasized the community element of the event.
“I walk down the street, and I see people who I knew from high school,” Burkett said. “All my former teammates are here. Some people are still rowing.”
Burkett said she rowed on the Charles River in both high school, college and in the Alumnae Eight event at the Head of the Charles in 2009. This year, she watched her sister, Emily, compete in the Grand Master’s Eight for Emily’s alma mater — University of California, Berkeley.
Emily Burkett made the trip from Arizona to race and watch a rower she coaches compete. Her rowing career began in 1996 after the Boston Globe covered the Head of the Charles, which prompted her mother to sign her up for the sport. She said she has “pretty consistently” attended the event since 2006.
Greg Redinbo, a Manchester-by-the-Sea resident, first came to the Head of the Charles with his son, who competed in the race in high school in 2013. With a strong admiration for the sport, Redinbo rowed as a master — a rower older than 27 — when he lived in Oregon.
“[The Head of the Charles] is just a tremendous spectacle, and it really highlights the best that the Boston area has to offer for [the] 12,000 athletes that come from around the world,” Redinbo said.
Christine Pszenny, an Ipswich resident, first attended the competition about 20 years ago. She noted the lively energy of the crowd.
“It’s a great crowd of people,” she said. “There’s just a lot of screaming and hooting and hollering and cheering and a lot of camaraderie.”
While the community aspect found in the event attracts most spectators, U.S. Rowing referee and Arizona resident Fairfax O’Riley drew attention to the focal point of the competition.
“In the rowing community, it’s hands down the most prestigious race in the U.S.,” O’Riley said. “People are working very, very hard in their rowing careers to get here.”
O’Riley competed in the Head of the Charles and returned a few times as a spectator. This year, he volunteered as a referee for the event and came to watch his son, a rower for Harvard, compete in the regatta.
“In rowing, everyone worked for the same objective. We all pulled equally and got it done, and it was a selfless effort in that regard,” said O’Reilly, reflecting on his rowing experience. “The camaraderie that it builds between the people in the boat is unparalleled.”
