The San Diego venue is an interesting one. I am not sure if they are still using the same 2km stretch that they were using in the late 90s. I vaguely remember that there had been at least one change before that. As far as rough water is concerned it is completely protected from ocean swells, so it could just as well be an inland lake. As far as the tide is concerned, the end of the course is a shallow, closed inlet, so an ebb tide would make for a very, very slow current against the the course of the race. My coach used to schedule the home events on the Oakland/Alameda estuary so that the tide would be in the direction of the race - mainly to get the best possible times.mikvan52 wrote: The San Diego Crew Classic is a prime example of a bay venue... Funny how the premier events there are always scheduled for an ebb tide... hmmmm.... sissies!
they should reserve the great conditions for the masters, don't you think?
Other than making the course slower or faster, the main effect of the tide is whether or not it is with or against the wind. With the wind, no special problem, but when they are opposed the waves really kick up. At San Diego, the prevailing wind is across the course, hi†ting the port sides of the racing shells. Are you familiar with it? The course goes goes by an open area just after the start and everyone gets whacked by the side wind, after that the port side is sheltered by a low bank where all the shore activity takes place. It isn't high enough to block the wind a lot, but there is not enough distance for the waves to build up for the first 2-3 lanes. Further out, lanes 4-6 get it rough, since they are far enough from the beach for considerable wave formation. Not surprisingly, the lane selection figures prominently in the race results. I have often wondered just how the politics of lane selection is done. For those events which have 2 (or more?) heats, the lane selection for the later ones are based on the results of the early ones - first place in the initial heat gets lane 1 in the final (or semifinal if there is one). The mornings are often calm, but the big races, i.e. the collegiate finals, are all done in the late afternoon and, by then, the wind usually kicks up.
I have rather vivid memories of my last race at the SDCC. Our 6 seat collapsed at the end of the race and all I could see from the bow was that his head was in the water for what seemed an interminable length of time. The referee boat was there very quickly to pick him up and just as quickly to pick up the stroke seat of the adjoining shell, a cardiologist who proceeded immediately to administer CPR as the referee boat took off at top speed for the dock where the paramedics were already on hand. They gave him a couple of jolts with the paddles and hauled him off the hospital where he eventually recovered - with no memory of the event or even the party of the night before.
The well protected bays are probably just as easy as the rivers and lakes. The main protection needed is something to block the big ocean swells and most harbor areas have that. The Charles River Basin appears to me to be a good example of that. Do the tides affect the course of HORC? If so, an incoming tide going against the outflow of the river could make it rather messy. My only river experiences were on the Hudson at Poughkeepsie ('47 & 49' IRA regattas) and on the Ohio River at Marietta ('50 IRA regatta). The regatta on the Ohio was a disaster. There had been a series of storms at its headwaters. In his book about the history of crew at UC Berkeley, Jim Lemmon tells about "trees, cows, and parts of houses roaring down the river." He went on to say that the races were almost cancelled, but they were finally reduced to 1 1/8 miles on the "only remotely rowable stretch of water." According to his report, the water was wild, better suited to the dories that run down the Grand Canyon. What I most remember was a practice session, with the 2 Cal boats, varsity and JV regularly alternating positions as first one and then the other would surge on past as we went around turns, even though we were struggling to keep it as steady as possible.mikvan52 wrote: When I travel and row... I look for rivers and lakes... rather than bays... I'm not proudI like the easy treatment....
I'd say that the only thing that really makes rivers and lakes easier is that it is not so urgent to wash them off - i.e. no salt - and some lakes don't even qualify for that.
Bob S.
