This past weekend, the Varsity 8 traveled to Seattle to race in the Windermere Cup. The team arrived on Friday, and immediately traveled to Washington's boathouse to practice. Washington allowed the team to borrow the "Husky Clipper," a Pocock shell named after the Husky boat that famously won the 1936 Olympics.
The V8 was in the Men's College Open Event, which featured three varsity programs: the Washington 3V, Oregon State 1F, and Puget Sound's 1V. The first 1200 meters of the course had yachts lining both sides of the course, with the remainder of the race going through the Montlake Cut.
Washington's 3V slipped away from the field early, leaving the V8 to duke it out with OSU and Puget Sound. After a rough start, the V8 crossed the 500m mark in fourth place. However, they were able to establish enough rhythm to begin walking back on the other boats. A solid third 500 put the Irish in 2nd place, and they were able to hold off an OSU sprint to finish 2nd. The race tight the whole way, with all three boats staying connected the entire 2000m. The V8 finished with a time of 6:26.18, 0.57 seconds ahead of Oregon State and 1.46 seconds up on Puget Sound.
The experience of the Windermere Cup was a once in a lifetime race for all nine members of the Notre Dame boat. The unique course and fantastic venue established an atmosphere that cannot be found at other races.
Our video recapping our experience can be found at the following link:
R'Irish!