Bainbridge rowers prevail at Head of the Lake and Frostbite Regattas

Bainbridge Island Rowing crews split forces for the last weekend of the 2016 season with junior novice rowers competing in the Frostbite Regatta at Green Lake on Saturday, Nov. 5, and Varsity Juniors (high school) and Masters (adult) crews heading to Lake Washington for Head of the Lake on Sunday.

Despite the wet weather on Saturday, spirits ran high as the novice rowers worked their hardest to put together all they have learned in the last eight weeks in 2-km sprint races at Green Lake.

It paid off in a powerful way. Bainbridge rowers medalled in seven of their eight races.

In the 8+ events, the girls took second overall out of 11 entries and both boys’ boats medalled, with the first boat taking second overall out of 13 entries.

In the 4+ races, the girls boats were the first and third fastest fours of 14 entries. The boys took two second-place finishes with the first boat claiming second overall out of 20 entries.

The following day, the varsity boys and girls teams joined masters and collegiate crews at Head of the Lake, a prestigious 3-mile endurance event in which rowers race through the Montlake Cut to finish in Lake Washington.

Since earlier fall regattas had been cancelled due to rain and dangerous river conditions, this was the first time these crews had raced this season.

Rowers battled choppy conditions against competitive crews from as far afield as California and British Columbia.

The varsity girls had a full fleet with three eights and one four competing.

The varsity girls under-17 crew, who were competing for the first time in the regatta, raced with intensity and a synchronized effort to place a strong second and finished as the top Northwest crew. (Girls in the boat, bow to stern: Caroline Najarian, Emily Fink, Eve Hurd, Sofia Wilkinson, Ellie Genkinger, Tessa Longley, Marina Bianchi and Gracie Dymoke, with cox Page Montgomery).

Varsity Girls Coach Barb Trafton praised all of the competitors for their weeks of dedicated work leading to focused racing.

The BIR varsity boys also had strong performances in both the 8+ and 4+ event.

BIR masters competed in mens and womens 8+ and womens 4+ events, with the men taking third place in the eight.

The womens four battled choppy conditions to win their event for the second year in a row. (The boat, from bow to stern, is Susan Entress, Chelsea Vessenes, Susan Haines and Barbara Shane, with cox Karen Campbell)

Bainbridge Island Rowing Head Coach Tim Goss praised all Bainbridge crews for their dedication, positive attitude and patience throughout the fall season during construction of the new rowing center.

Rowers will now focus on indoor training in preparation for the highly competitive spring sprint season.