By BRUCE SCHEER

For The Beachcomber

Are two heads better than one?

Vashon Island Rowing Club (VIRC) can answer that question with an emphatic “yes,” after a very successful outing at the Head of the Gorge and Head of the Elk regattas in Victoria, B.C., Oct. 25 and 26.

With the sun shining on both venues, VIRC’s masters rowers shined on the water as well, highlighted by the club’s first-ever gold medal at Elk Lake on Sunday, Oct. 26.

The men’s masters’ eight turned in the third-fastest corrected time of all 78 competitors in the event. The gold medal eight featured Bruce Morser at stroke, Colby Atwood, Bob Horsley, Derek Wegner, Mark Ripley, Gary Schoch, John Jannetty and Scott Engelhard.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, the Head of the Gorge took rowers through the Tillicum Narrows, often a very scary passage.

“This year marked the first year ever that all three masters’ boats made it through the Gorge unscathed,” said men’s captain Bruce Morser.

At the Head of the Gorge, the mixed quad featuring Scott Engelhard, Steve Haworth, Carri Singer and Jan Peterson placed second out of 10 boats, while the men’s eight missed a gold medal by just one second.

— Bruce Scheer is a member of the Vashon Island Rowing Club’s master program.