Head Of The Charles Regatta 2018 HOCR Program | Page 35

was reduced, although not necessar-
ily for the person who had to partner
with him.
I was 29 at the time, and I consid-
ered anyone over 50 “over the hill.” I
knew that Parker had never really got-
ten out of shape, however, for I’d seen
him running in the fall triathlon with
his varsity squads. While his hairline
may have receded, his muscular body
was still quite fit. And so, not wanting
to embarrass either my new sculling
partner, or myself I started running a
few stadium flights and getting out on
the river in a single every day. Then,
when the first week of October rolled
around, I walked over the bridge to
Newell boathouse during my lunch
break and Harry and I had our first
practice together.
After we put the double into the
water there was no discussion about
the seating plan—Harry just dropped
into the stroke seat without saying a
word. I breathed a sigh of relief, and
set myself up in the bow. There, at
least, he wouldn’t be able to critique
my rowing, and as a former seven seat
I prided myself at being extremely
adept at following and adjusting to
whoever was put in front of me. But
as we shoved off and took our few
full-length strokes at pressure, I soon
faced a challenge unlike any I had
faced before. Not only was Parker’s
stroke unique in its construction—
Our ideal course was more toward
the middle of the river than I had
imagined, and we forsook the inside
corner at a few key turns.
quick and powerful—it was also not
entirely predictable, much like the man
himself. I shortened up my reach and
made due, compressing my normally
long delivery into a quick attack.
When you pattern yourself on
someone else, rowing-wise or oth-
erwise, there are often unforeseen
consequences. Everyone is guilty of
imitation to some degree, for we are
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MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
FIFTY-FOURTH HEAD OF THE CHARLES REGATTA
35