The third weekend in October is a busy one for rowers. The big news is of course the Head of the Charles, and this year Pete Cannia took it on in a single, though he rowed it as City of Tempe rather than as an Outlaw. The proprieters of this site are sure the much cooler Outlaw uni would have inspired him to finished at least a second or two faster. Nonetheless, he did well, finishing 43 of 68 gainst some of the best rowers the world has to offer. Full results are at the HOCR website.

The City of Tempe also ran the 6th annual Hothead regatta this weekend, to provide a competition venue for those who didn’t get into the HOCR or couldn’t travel to Boston. The regatta ran under typical blue Arizona skies.There were some issues with racing as Outlaws this year, due to USRowing rules (like many other small clubs, the Outlaws were unable to join USRowing as an organization member in 2007 due to high fee increases). Nonetheless, Outlaws participated in running and racing in the regatta. Results can be viewed at the Tempe website or on Regatta Central, and E Diethelm (a.k.a Spark eDesign) has published three large galleries of photographs, including images of most participants (and even a few ducks). You can view the photos here, here, and here. (If any readers of this site participated in the regatta and would like to provide a detailed report, please email it to us.)

On the Outlaws Abroad front, Ted and Paula participated this weekend in the Cornelis Tromp regatta in Hilversum, Netherlands. This is a big national regatta, with many former Olympians and current national team members in attendence, so the level of competition is high. The day was clear and calm but cold. Ted rowed with his partner Erik-Jan in a M2xB, finishing 7/8 among the B crews and 10/18 overall; Paula competed in a W4xB, finishing 3/5 among the B crews, 10/14 overall. Not bad given the level of competition. Results are here; HV is Heren Veteranen or Men’s Masters, DV is Damen Veteranen or Women’s Masters.

After returning from Scandinavia on the weekend, I hopped in the car Monday morning for another long drive. This time instead of vacationing, it was to drive to Eberbach, Germany to pick up my new single and tour the Empacher factory. My Dutch rowing partner was extremely friendly and volunteered to drive me there with the rowing club’s trailer. The trip there took over 5 hours with heavy rain, traffic jams, and frequent construction delays. The country side was green and rather consistent until we reached Heidelburg with its larger mountains and its relatively narrow river valseys.

Upon reaching Empacher we saw the numerous trailers full of Empacher boats that had just returned from the Rowing World Cup in Munich the day before. We walked into a very large lobby, with no one around, and hypothesized that everyone was taking a vacation after the World Cup.

We walked upstairs and looked in all the offices until we found a person, who lucky for us was the person who had all the paperwork for my boat. After signing some forms and reviewing the packing list it was time to load the boat.

We then had to wait a little while for our tour guide to return from lunch. While we waited in the large, barren lobby, a person walked in off the street. Immediately I recognized the person as AC Dupont from Long Beach Rowing. He and I have met in very strange locations in the past to load or unload boats, but this was over the top. Our tour guide arrived, Mr. Empacher himself, and all three of us were personally guided through the factory. It was a very impressive tour that really highlights the craftsmanship of the workers. I was also amazed at how many of the smaller parts they actually make including the seats and fins.

The return trip was in much better weather but it still took over 4.5 hours. The next day Paula and I (mainly me) rushed to the boat house to rig the boat and christen it. It is named the Zonsopgang II which is Dutch for Sunrise. The II was included since this replaces my other boat, Sunrise, that was crushed by an oar rack during a freak storm back in Arizona last year. The Zonsopgang II feels good on the water and I am looking forward to rowing it more.

Rebecca again with another quick regatta report. This morning REI hosted the Dam-to-Dam regatta on Tempe Town Lake, a regatta featuring human-powered craft of all sorts (but mostly kayakers and rowers). This is a pretty low-key event, more about the chance to hang out with other boaters than about guts and glory and speed.

The Outlaws had small representation in the event in a double (Ryan and Rick), and in a women’s 4+ (myself in a Tempe Town Lake boat, wearing Outlaw colors). Both boats completed the 10,000-m course in good time and enjoyed some sunny, warm weather that verged on too warm (85 degrees and climbing), which led to more than a few new blisters. But a good time was had by all.