The Husky Open is the first full-scale regatta of the spring season in the Northwest and combines a curious mixture of thrilling races to come with a certain amount of intrigue.
Many of the big local area programs are there, but they may not race their top teams, and it is still “experiment time” when putting together lineups.
The course is the University of Washington’s Montlake Cut — starting in Lake Washington and rowing 2,000 meters to finish slightly west of the Montlake Bridge. The final 800 meters is a concrete-lined canal wide enough for only about four rowing shells across and decorated with spray-painted slogans. At the entrance to the cut is a sign that says, “Gentlemen, start yer engines,” a reference to where crews often begin to make their moves.
Vashon’s junior crew rowed well on Saturday. The junior men’s quad of Patrick Hanson, Fletcher Call, Liam McConnell and Forrest Miller with coxswain Olivia Mackie won handily as they have done so far this spring. Stiffer competition lies just ahead for this quartet as they will likely row against top-flight Stanford Rowing Center in two weeks at the Covered Bridge Regatta near Eugene, Oregon.
The junior women’s quad of Kalie Heffernan, Rhea Enzian, Riley Lynch and Kirsten Girard, with coxswain Ally Clevenger, had the most exciting race of the day as they made their move against a strong Seattle Rowing Center boat at the 1,200-meter mark and just missed overtaking them at the finish, missing first place by less than half a second.
The junior women’s lightweight four was once again entered in an open division and thus was racing mostly much larger crews. Despite this disadvantage, Emily Milbrath, Virginia Miller, Shannon Lipe and KaiLi Scheer, with coxswain Callie Andrews, finished second in their race
Coach Richard Parr told the team that he was proud of their effort.
“There is much work to be done, but we can build on the positives from today’s regatta,” he said.
The junior crew will host its spring car wash on Sunday, April 12. A new program is underway with the Groundwater Protection Committee and IGA Market to channel water into the ground and not into the headwaters of Shinglemill Creek. Islanders can come check out this fish-friendly approach starting at 11 a.m.
— Pat Call is the father of a junior rower.
