BOSTON, Mass. — The Head of the Charles regatta wrapped up its three-day run on the Charles River in Boston on Sunday, and the marquee men’s championship eights race came down to well under a second at the top.
The Holland Acht A boat won the event in 13:32.835. Harvard’s A boat was right behind in 13:33.393, and Dartmouth A took third in 13:33.609. Cambridge A finished fourth at 13:36.084 and Washington A placed fifth in 13:37.294.
In the men’s championship fours, which drew nine entries, Princeton A came out on top in 15:24.000. Washington A was second and California A third.
The regatta is a head race, meaning crews start one at a time and race the clock rather than going side by side. The course runs about three miles, beginning at the Boston University Bridge and winding upriver to Herter Park.
Now 61 years old, the event draws roughly 12,000 athletes and tens of thousands of fans, who line the banks in Boston and Cambridge and pack the bridges between the two cities. It began as a single day of racing, the idea of a Harvard sculling coach who wanted something like the races held on English rivers, and later grew into a three-day event that organizers call the biggest of its kind in the world. Some crews race to raise money for charity.
Sunday brought sunny skies and cool fall air, with bright leaves along the banks as the last boats came through.
Visiting college crews used the weekend to open their seasons. Wisconsin placed 24th overall in the championship eights and eighth in the fours, and its eight cut more than 30 seconds off last year’s time on the same course.
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