On Saturday, April 9th, with a light rain that delayed the race for an hour, the Kent rowing team battled against St. John’s, winning overall by 2:1.

Although the weather was not the most optimal for racing, with light rain throughout the race and a strong tailing current that slowed the boat significantly, Kent rowers performed exceptionally well in the races. The first and second boats won by fourteen seconds and three seconds, with excellent times of 4:18 and 4:42. The third boat, consisting of mostly young new rowers, lost with a time of 5:13. “The third boat had a little issue with a mis-stroke which stopped the boat,” said Mr. Houston. The third boat is expected to race a much faster time if without the mis-stroke, which happens occasionally.

It is noticeable that the third boat of St. John raced at almost the same time as their first boat, which of course is an unusual result. When being asked about the close race time, Mr. Houston explained that, “The water has a current so strong that the third boats could not get aligned until one hundred meters down the course. So the times are very close but a shorter course was raced for the third boats.”

A new boat was dedicated to the Kent rowing team on the day of the race, under the name of Bill Raymond ’64. A ceremony took place in the boathouse before the race started, resulting in a festive atmosphere. “Hopefully, our rowing team will be successful this year, with the new dedicated boat,” said Mr. Houston. 

When asked about future races, including one scheduled against Andover, Mr. Houston spoke about the importance of the team preparing carefully: “There is not a thing we can do to another team, the only thing we can do is to make our boat row faster.”