Ill wind blows regatta no good

SLIDESHOW: Regatta

A rough, choppy James River wasn't what organizers wanted for yesterday's inaugural Rocketts Landing Collegiate Regatta.

A driving wind and whitecaps on the river wreaked havoc on the event that featured crews from Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Richmond, North Carolina State University, Duke University, George Mason University and the University of Maryland at Baltimore County.

After less than two hours and three races, the competition was called off.

"You can't do a whole lot about the weather. Normally, the rowing down here is great. The water is very flat," said Mark Willis, president of the Virginia Boat Club, which co-hosted the event with the VCU crew team.

The 2,000-meter course ended at the City of Richmond Intermediate Terminal by Dock and Water streets.

As the James River became choppier, safety of the competitors was foremost. At first, officials cut race lengths in half and advised rowers to stay close to shore.

Then, as members of the N.C. State novice four team rowed back to the docks after winning their race, their boat was swamped. Coxswain Ben Martin, who sat in a pool of the cold James River water for much of the race, was carried out to warmth.

Dylan Horne, one of the rowers on the novice boat, said as the team raced toward the finish line, the waves were higher than the oars, making it tough to row.

After the finish, when the boat turned against the current to return to shore, "it started filling up with water. On the way back, once it started going, it just went under," Horne said.

On the UMBC novice rowing team, five members -- all wearing life jackets -- were returned to shore by the Henrico Police Marine Patrol unit, which was patrolling the river for the event.

Joanne Haarstick, co-chairwoman of the collegiate regatta, said "a friend mentioned that every collegiate rower has a swamped story."

The James was a little rough when the event began, and then the "river began whitecapping, . . . and the referees shortened the race to 1,000 meters," said regatta co-chairman Dave Austin.

Yesterday marked the return of collegiate racing to downtown waters. There were crew races in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Willis said.

The collegiate regatta is something organizers want to turn into a yearly event. The Virginia Boat Club puts on about two or three regattas a year, Austin said.

"This is the first situation like this. We've never had a problem with boats swamping," he said.

Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or .