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Head of the Charles regatta makes a splash

E-mail|Link|Comments () October 17, 2009 04:21 PM

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

The regatta is one part sporting event, one part spectacle.

By Emma Rose Johnson, Globe Correspondent

Thousands of athletes, their family members, and fans braved chilly temperatures today for an annual Boston rite of autumn, the Head of the Charles regatta.

Racers giving it their all

Myriad boats lined the parking lot off Soldiers Field Road in Boston near the staging area for the race, which is a colorful spectacle featuring crew teams gliding swiftly over the placid Charles River.

Bill and Lynn Heinz of Freeport, Maine have observed and participated in the regatta for years.

An amateur rower himself for the Maine Rowing Club, Bill said, "There's always someone we know racing."

"Our daughter, her friends, our friends – there's usually someone involved," he said.

The temperature was about 48 degrees with a 17-mph wind, making it feel like it was 42.

Lynn Heinz that with varying temperatures this time of year they've developed a strategy for the event.

"We've been here in 70-degree temperatures and the pouring rain. The trick is to make friends with someone in the boat clubs so you can watch in style," she said.