Reasoned Audacity

Walking the boat Forgive 'The Day in the Life of Your Business Blogger(R)' but as The Dreamer says,
Eat

Row

Sleep

Repeat

So we packed up the Penta-Posse and Charmaine and we drove up to the Stotesbury Cup Regatta that the Yorktown High School freshman girls had qualified for. Even Katie Curic would be proud.

Stotesbury is the world's largest high school rowing event in the world with over 5,000 students competing. On the Schulykill River. The adjacent parkway is known to the locals as Sure-Kill.

Philadelphia was sold out.

Our girl rows strokes man or simply, stroke.

Racking the boat The Yorktown eight oar racing shell qualified to the semi-finals but didn't quite make it to the finals.

Even so, the boat will go on the to National's Competition in Oak Ridge, TN. Next week.

20 hours of driving for a few 5 minute races.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

The perky Katie Curic is an alum of Yorktown High School.

Watching the rowing events and all the work demanded makes me think of the galley slaves of old. Ben Hur. Except these girls are slaves to their passions for crew. We all should be so lucky. To be a galley slave and love it.

The racing shells go for some $35,000. Not counting the other stuff. Like the trailer. At Yorktown, crew is supported financially by the Boosters. It is an expensive sport. I'll bet The Yoest family has written almost enough checks for The Dreamer to buy her own boat. Charmaine and I are galley slaves...and love it.

Traveling with children is always an adventure. Read where The Dude gets stuck in the Hampton Inn elevator. And the panic that followed. Dad is doing fine, now.

Edward T. Stotesbury was once one of the wealthiest men in America. On Stotesbury and the Regatta,

In 1927, Bachelors Barge Club President E.T. Stotesbury sponsored the award for the scholastic eights race in the first high school rowing regatta competition in the country. The regatta was held on the Schuylkill river near Boathouse Row. The award was a large sterling silver trophy, and the first winner was a crew from West Catholic High School. West Catholic won the race again in 1928 and 1929, which entitled them to retain permanent ownership of the trophy according to the regatta rules at that time. When West Catholic won the race again in 1930, 1931 and 1932, they retained permanent ownership of the second Stotesbury Cup. After that, Stotesbury announced that the rules would be amended and a new sterling silver Stotesbury Cup would be used as a permanent trophy. Since that time, the Stotesbury Cup Regatta has grown to become the largest high school rowing competition in North America.

For race results see Race #3, Girl's Freshmen Eight, Event 4, Head Race

Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine saw their first rowing event while reading at Oxford. Where they Bump. And burn a boat at the end of a regatta.

The Brits know how to bonfire.

UPDATE: more at the jump.

By tradition, the strokesman represents the racing shell in the program.