When it rains, it pours. A week after seeing close races at the Worcester Invitational Regatta against Exeter, St. John’s High School and other league teams, Andover Boys Crew easily crushed the Salisbury team, which rolled into town last Saturday for the Big Blue’s first home race of the season. The first, second, and third boats all prevailed over the Crimson Knights of Salisbury. In B1’s race, both crews made good use of the flat water in the first 500, and Salisbury was able to hang on to some degree, as coming through the Interstate 93 Bridge, which acts as the 500 meter marker on Andover’s Merrimack River course, the Knights were down only about a length on the Blue. However, the conditions beyond the bridge were nothing short of treacherous. The day’s conditions were defined not only by rain and a strong headwind, which slowed times about 40 seconds, but also what Coach Peter Washburn described as “very lumpy water.” As Mr. Washburn noted, the race quickly turned into a “matter of survival,” and the Knights fell victim to the conditions much more markedly than did the Blue. In the middle 500 meters, Andover moved out two more lengths on Salisbury, and in the last 500 meters, the Big Blue boat nearly needed binoculars to see Salisbury trailing far behind. In the end, PA crossed the line in 5:22, with the Crimson Knights trailing 18 seconds behind, with a time of 5:40. The B2 race was almost indistinguishable from the first. Because Salisbury had only two boats full of rowers in the varsity program, Andover’s third boat raced with the second boat, and with 500 meters rowed, it was clear that the race was between the two Andover boats. Naturally, B2, a far more experienced, older, and more talented group of rowers, came through the finish line in front with a time of 5:38, while B3 clocked a 5:47.
