From low water to high wind, and plenty of hijinks out on the water, we've seen a lot on the last two weeks. Let's Recap.

Sign of the Times, oof

Yeah, we had a few 'water problems' two weeks back, starting with low water in the Cooper on Friday. Drawn down in anticipation of a massive storm rolling into the area, the low water kept the crews coming into town for the Big Ten/Ivy Dust-up from practicing when they arrived.

It was still hella low for the racing, as you can see here behind the start platform on Saturday...

...and we spotted a bunch of the teams posting Instagram stories from Philly, where they headed for swing rows on the Schuylkill on Friday to wait for the water to rise.

...And Then, The Rain

When the skies opened on Saturday, it was epic, with several inches pouring down, a few races outright cancelling, and others soldiering on...but going through a lot of trash bags:

It even rained in LA, for the UCLA/USC/LMU racing, which you don't see too often.

Same shot from Camden, one week apart:

But this week was windy, which meant it was...

Blustery on the Basin

HVL and the Meatwagon catching a gust here:

The Beantown headwind was not doing anyone any favors, as we saw in some of the splits we peeped from the bridge.

Kids and Their Darn Phones

Pretty handy for the pre-race, on-the-stake-boat crew pic:

And, apparently, for keeping your race plan handy (or maybe for Google-mapping the course?!?)

Surprise!

"What the heck is that thing?"

The starting boots caught more than one college crew by surprise when they pulled into the starting dock in Sarasota--and getting into them in a crossing headwind is not easy. There's a reason national teamers get a practice day with the starting system at Worlds, but the college kids figured it out eventually...and you do need to be ready for "anything" on Race Day, right?

Twin Time

Stern pair Tiger twins this week:

Mascot Mania

Looks like Sarasota has added a mascot to the Benderson Park experience; should pair well with the soft-rock soundtrack folks get to enjoy at the Finish Tower.

But be warned, mascot-ing can be tiring:

Putting the Heavy in HWT

Four pizzas oughtta do it...

Winning the Shoe-Carry

Using the IKEA bag rowing hack? Check. Pre-Arranging the shoes by pairs? Check.

Winning!

Making Amends

Michelle Sechser really didn't like the photo we chose when we posted the news on Instagram about her making her second Olympic team and commented:

So, we made sure to do better when we saw her in Sarasota last weekend:

Here's hoping this one keeps her smiling--and congrats to Michelle and everyone named to the USA's 2024 Olympic Team so far.

wild2k

The Carnegie eagle was on hand to get the racing season started

We spotted a lot of pairing behavior with the Mercer duo, too, as you can see in this gallery. Unfortunately for wild2k, the gators in Sarasota were shy this weekend, but the seals were out in force in Oakland.

And the dogs were, um, frisky at Dexter Lake:

Whew: might actually be about the size of the bite in the dog...

A Rowing Hack Catches On

The Portable Boat Washer Hack is definitely becoming a thing

Marshalling is Hard Work

Don't strain yourself!

Hopefully, this guy will be fully recovered in time for next week.