Riverfront Recapture Wins Six at Rockland Masters Regatta

Riverfront Recapture took first and second place in the men’s masters/open eight at the Rockland Masters Regatta, June 15, in Rockland, N.Y. 

The one-two finish was one of six victories for Riverfront Recapture and the fastest race of the regatta.

“It was great,” said Rockland Rowing’s Ivan Rudolph-Shabinsky. “Last year, we had 91 entries, and this year it was 264.”

New Haven Rowing Club’s decision to discontinue its Derby Sweeps and Sculls regatta to concentrate on the fall Head of the Housatonic left the June weekend open for Rockland Rowing’s event, and the two clubs let competitors know about the change and the opportunity to race at Rockland Lake State Park on the 10-lane, 1,000-meter course.

“People were very positive about the venue,” said Rudolph-Shabinsky.

Winds up to 25 m.p.h. necessitated the cancellation of small-boat events in the morning, and the start of racing was delayed until 1:30 p.m. Regatta organizers allowed competitors to rework lineups and entries.

“The highlight was everyone being flexible, lending out equipment. Things like that turned it around, and in the afternoon, we had some really good racing in eights, fours, and quads,” said Rudolph-Shabinsky.

The Rockland Relay capped the day with nine teams of 20 rowers each boating a double, a four, an eight, and a quad. Each boat raced 500 meters in one of two lanes allocated to its team, with the next boat racing back in the other lane after the preceding boat crossed the line.

Saratoga won three events: the women’s masters A-D quadruple sculls, the men’s masters quadruple sculls, and the mixed masters E-H quadruple sculls—in which they finished first and second in a field of eight (with one scratch).

“I’ve been telling USRowing that if they want to do [masters] Northeast Regionals here some time, we’d love to host that because we have a great venue,” said Rudolph-Shabinsky. “It’s a perfect course, we have a huge parking lot, and it’s in a state park. It’s a beautiful venue with a lot of space.”

Greenwich swept the women’s youth novice/middle-school quad, taking all three places.

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