A log in the water can be a hazard, but a whole floating tree is what rowers in the 10th annual Portland Fall Classic had to avoid during the second flight of races Sunday.
The Vashon Island Rowing Club (VIRC) — accustomed to its share of floating debris in Quartermaster Harbor — managed to avoid the danger and bring home nine medals as its rowers took on the 5,000-meter course along the Willamette River. With the Portland skyline as a backdrop, and under a nearly constant drizzle of rain, Vashon’s masters and junior rowers turned in an impressive performance, tying for third overall against 26 other clubs.
VIRC’s masters medaled in four of their five races, notably winning gold in the men’s eight category. With coxswain Brigit O’Rourke and rowers Bruce Morser, Colby Atwood, Fred Sayer, Mark Ripley, Chad Magnuson, Andy Johnson, John Jannetty and Gary Schoch — whose combined ages resulted in a useful handicap — their raw score placed them fourth, but the men took the gold when age was factored in.
“It’s great to see the masters doing so well,” VIRC head coach Richard Parr said. “It was the first win for the men’s eight in Portland and it’s a reflection of the work that they have put in. With a silver in the men’s quad, it was a really good regatta for our masters men.”
Masters — all rowers beyond collegiate age — also earned bronze medals in the women’s eight and four.
“Attaining a bronze medal in a field of 11 boats, the women’s eight had a huge improvement from early September and I’m looking forward to the spring season with that crew,” Parr said.
The women’s four, with four rowers and no coxswain, finished in third by just fractions of a second ahead of Portland’s Station L Rowing Club, which co-sponsors the race with the city’s Rose City Rowing Club.
Junior rowers also did well in a field that was made up entirely of clubs from Washington and Oregon, winning gold in three races. The women’s junior varsity four bested Commencement Bay by almost 10 seconds in a race between just the two clubs.
Two Vashon boats competed against eight others in the junior women’s double race, and both medaled.
“It’s a little bit unusual and a lot of work to row two head races in one day, so a lot of credit to Riley Lynch and Rhea Enzian, who won in both the coxed four and the double,” Parr said. “Lakeside is really improving in the smaller boats and for Rhea and Riley to gain victory over them and the rest of a quality field in what was their second race of the day says a lot for their toughness and skill.”
The second VIRC boat with Katrina Heffernan and Caprial Turner came in third.
The other gold came in a slightly unusual category of the junior novice mixed eight — with a mix of three men and five women, plus coxswain Hayden Rosen. With three boats in the race, the Vashon crew finished four minutes ahead of their closest competitor, Greenlake, and nine minutes faster than Lake Oswego.
The fall rowing season will wrap up next weekend with the Greenlake Frostbite on Saturday and the Head of the Lake regatta at the University of Washington on Sunday. VIRC will send 22 Masters and 40 Junior rowers to the Head of the Lake, which is the largest fall rowing regatta on the West Coast.
— Anne Higuera is the parent of a VIRC junior rower.
