Henley Begins (Sort of)

As usual, we all woke up at 7:30 for another light breakfast, but today, we were preparing to do pieces with Belmont Hill. They are an American crew from Massachusetts that race fours in the New England Championships. We ended up doing six 1 minute pieces working on different parts of the race. Despite our best efforts, Belmont Hill proved themselves to be a faster crew. We haven't had such good competition all year, and despite our best efforts, they came out on top each time. It was humbling for us as we have not lost to a crew in a long time, but we hope that Belmont Hill ends up being one of the better crews in our event.

We tried to keep our heads high and refocus ourselves over another lunch in the town. Once again, we split up and went to three different sandwich shops. Each of us claims to have found the best sandwich and the best deal. At least we've all found food that we're comfortable with. We returned to the manor once again for some rest, but today was different because the Henley Royal Regatta hosted the qualifying rounds today, so we could only practice once. At around 5:30, the Webb's prepared a barbecue for us replete with sausage and chicken. The barbecue was held early so that we could watch some of the qualifying races. For whoever wanted to go, Coach Mandel drove the van down to the race course, where he found a spot along the banks of the Thames to see the racing. Much like Stotesbury, the qualifying rounds are time trials, and only a certain number of crews may advance. Most crews, including us, however, did not need to qualify based on our previous results.

Henley was as lively as we have seen it thus far. Crowds lined the banks of the river, crews filed in and out of the bays of the boat tent, and countless crews were seen rigging and derigging in near the trailers. Although it is nowhere near as crowded as it will be next week, it is clear that the excitement is building. Our confidence was also helped as we watched the qualifying rounds of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, which is our event. The crews were all very beatable, and we can now infer that some of the crews that were exempt from the qualification rounds are also equally beatable. It was helpful and uplifting to seem some of our competition after this mornings setback.

The crew then returned to the manor but not until we stopped by the grocery store. If it seems like we go to the grocery store everyday, it is because we have. I'm sure the cashiers recognize by now, but what can you expect, we're hungry.

Tomorrow, the eight and the pair will compete in the Reading Regatta against some British Crews, other American Crews, and even an Irish Crew. Hopefully, the crew will return home tomorrow with Gonzaga Crew's first ever official international victory.