By Paige Fenton and Emma Birdsong

On October 22, Winsor’s crew team raced in the Head of the Charles (HOCR), the biggest regatta in the world. With over 11,000 competitors from 27 countries and 400,000 spectators this year, HOCR was an exciting event. The Winsor crew team sent one boat of eight people and one boat of four people to compete in the Sunday races on the busy river. Additionally, Head of School Sarah Pelmas competed in a CRI boat on Saturday, October 22nd.

Austin Forrester ’23 is one of the crew team’s captains this year. She rowed in HOCR as a member of the four. She described her experience at HOCR as “Unreal. Supported. Incredible.” She noted, “Racing at the HOCR out of the Winsor boathouse is something that’s incredibly special. We all got chills talking about what it’s like to go by the dock at our sprint and being able to race so many teams on our home river is just so much fun.” The Belmont Hill Winsor Boathouse is located right on the Charles, close to the finish line. “I really love the boathouse and getting to be on the Charles everyday,” Forrester stated. She said it is “so fun to push yourself alongside your teammates for a common goal.” When asked about what she would change about her HOCR experience, she said, “Honestly, not much. We really came together on race day and executed the best race plan possible. Maybe I would’ve aimed to get up to the starting line a little bit earlier because we had to weave through some boats to get to our spot and that was a bit stressful.” She then added, “I also would’ve brought sweatpants.” 

Overall, HOCR was an amazing experience, and we commend everyone’s hard work and fun at the regatta. Be sure to stop by next year!