Head of the Charles Regatta, Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Race Headquarters at the Cambridge Boat Club.

Since its modest beginning in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta is now the world’s largest two-day rowing event. The course is three miles in length and boats compete against one another and the clock. Thousands of folks come to observe and/or cheer on their favorite crews.

The foreground rowers are heading down-river to the start line; the distant rowers are heading up-river on the race course to the finish line.

Since its beginning almost 50 years ago, the event has grown significantly. Today, more than 9,000 athletes from around the world compete in 61 different race events. The regatta is a two-day event and attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators during the race weekend in October.



It begins with the logistics of transporting the ungainly shells and associated equipment to the race location.







Each team must reassemble the parts on location. This image shows an 8-person shell being rigged.



Another 8-person shell being rigged.



The crew then carries the craft to the dock for launching.



It takes good teamwork to maneuver the approximately 250-pound, 60-foot long object onto the water.



Races are scheduled by time slots throughout the two-day event.



It gets crowded sometimes as folks row down-river to the start line.



It was a beautiful day on the water.



A part of the Harvard University campus is visible in the background on this section of river.



The crowds line the river banks and bridges along the route. Various food and trinket vendors also line the banks.



Precision is important - here each oar blade is shown cutting into the water in unison.



Synchronous precision is important for the team of rowers. I really like how the water dripping off each oar blade from the previous stroke makes it look like it is encased in plastic wrap.



I walked miles (my step counter said more than 17,000 steps!) on this fine fall day looking for the "perfect" background for a picture and decided I liked this spot the best.



Once I worked my way to an unobstructed view, I waited for a white boat with a red-clad crew to row past for this image. I wanted red over white to complement the red over white steeple in the background. I got the elements that I wanted but, the position of the boat is slightly off - oh well, better luck next year.



These talented buskers entertained passers-by on one of the bridges across the Charles River.



Here a little bit of "art" - these racing shells are on racks inside one of the boathouses. I took out the color and added a zoom-burst distortion.



Another zoom-burst effect.



This park adjacent to the river on the Cambridge side was a popular spot for kids and families to frolic in the fall leaves. Three-year-olds are not very interested in regattas. It was another perfect New England day!