The Longest Day

We've braved the gusty spring winds of the Anacostia. We've come out victorious against the fastest high school crews in the nation. And we've endured the grueling three weeks of two-a-day practices. But the boat faced one of its toughest challenges to date on the first day of our journey to England--the 40 hour day.

Fueled by the anticipation of the quest ahead, the team trudged through baggage claim, security checkpoints, and boarding calls to make it to our evening flight (roughly seven hours) toward Heathrow Airport. The crew slept as much as possible but to no avail as one was lucky to sleep 3 hours. We were welcomed in England with new accents and poor exchange rates, and British jokes and fake accents filled the air as we adjusted to our new environment.

We headed straight for the Henley race course in order to drop off our oars, which by the way called great attention to us in Dulles and Heathrow.

By our boat, it was cool to see the Eastern Sprint Champion Brown Heavyweight Team in the bay next to us. Being next to a crew of such high caliber is truly an honor and is something that none of us have experienced before.

As the energy began to wane, we headed to the Webb Manor, which is where we'll be staying for the next two weeks. We explored the house and the grounds, and we were introduced to their dog, The Padster. At this point, we began to realize how much longer we had to remain awake before we could sleep. It was 10am, but it felt like 5am to us, and we had hardly slept at all. Twelve more waking hours loomed.

The next adventure of the day was riding on the wrong side of the road with Coach Mandel at the wheel for the first time in England. We didn't hit anyone or anything, but let's just say that the ride was not uneventful. Our boat, which we have rented, required approximately five hours of rigging in order to synchronize the boat measurements to those we have become accustomed to. As the coaches rigged, the rowers ate a much needed lunch and explored the unfamiliar course until it was time to row. Although we were tired, our first row on the Thames had been much anticipated and we were able to get a solid practice together.

But by far, the highlight or most interesting part of the day was using the renowned Henley showers. There is no hot water, and we estimated the water temperature at somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. On a more positive note, it looks like we won't have to worry about waiting for someone to take a 20 minute shower.

Hungry and tired, the team returned to the manor to eat, sleep, and prepare for another exciting day. The Webb's: Gary, Sarah, George (11), and Henry (10), have been very hospitable and quite entertaining. It looks like we're in for a good time at the Manor.