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Foliage frames rowers along Magazine Beach on the first day of the Head of the Charles.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Campus & Community
Rowin’ in the rain
Spirits high despite gray skies for 61st Head of the Charles Regatta
The Head of the Charles Regatta got off to a rainy and blustery start this year. But on Friday as announcers mulled how the conditions would affect the race, the rowers and spectators gathering for the launch of the 61st edition seemed undeterred. One rower even defied the weather by breaking into a rendition of, you guessed it, “Singin’ in the Rain” during the race.
The three-day event, the largest rowing regatta in the world, featured 12,000 competitors from more than 30 countries. Against the backdrop of gray skies and vibrant foliage blanketing the banks, sculls raced around river bends as family and friends cheered them on. Harvard photographers were there to capture the action before and during the big event.
Hamish Bond (center), a three-time Olympic gold medal rower from New Zealand, gives advice to Harvard rowers two days before the start of the regatta in the workout room of the Newell Boathouse.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Charley Butt (center), the Bolles-Parker Head Coach for Harvard Men’s Heavyweight Crew, leads a practice session.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Elam Hughes ’29 slaps a teammate’s hand as he helps carry a boat out of the Newell Boathouse.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Members of the Harvard men’s heavyweight rowing team practice on the Charles.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
The team passes under the Boston University Bridge.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Raindrops fall on the water in front of Newell Boathouse on the first morning of the regatta.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
Rachel Roberts (right), a coxswain with the Cork Boat Club of Ireland, talks through the turns and bridges of the Charles River with a teammate.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Hamish Bond (center) and teammates carry their boat.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Two rowers head toward the John W. Weeks Footbridge with Dunster House visible in the background.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
A Head of the Charles staffer sits riverside with a megaphone.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
Detail of a rowing blade designed with a smiley face.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
Preschoolers from the Cambridge-Ellis School cheer from the Weeks Footbridge.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
A rower belts out “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
Leanne Blanchard of Vermont cheers on her father-in-law, David Blanchard, 81.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Harvard Kennedy School Mid-Career Master in Public Administration students pose for a photo on the John W. Weeks Footbridge with a sign they made for their classmate, Chrysta Castañeda, M.C./M.P.A. ’27, who was competing. Sarah Foy, M.C./M.P.A. ’28 (from left); Alicia Carrasquillo Meyer ’00, M.C./M.P.A. ’27; Kristin McElderry, M.C./M.P.A. ’27; M. Josephine Hessert, M.C./M.P.A. ’27; and Lauren Godding, M.C./M.P.A. ’27.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
Spectators on Eliot Bridge watch the race from under umbrellas.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
A racer approaches the Boston University Bridge in heavy rain.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
Even furry spectators showed up prepared for the weather.
Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer
A silhouetted rower passes under Eliot Bridge by the Cambridge Boat Club.
Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer
