Insider Rowing

One of the big surprises were the boys from the Pacific Rowing Club who won the men’s youth 8+ event. Regarded earlier in the season as the third fastest crew in the San Francisco Bay area (they had lost to Marin and Los Gatos), Pacific qualified for Youths by placing second at the Southwest Regional Championship to Capital Crew. They finished second to Capital again in the heats at Nationals, eked out a win over Mt Baker in the semis by just a couple of feet, and then put together the perfect race plan to win the finals by 1.79 seconds. Green Lake and Capital finished second and third respectively. What is most impressive to me is that Pacific did it with only 14 rowers, a stark contrast to some of the clubs that can float three or four varsity eights during the regular season.

Here’s a good article on sfgate.com about the Pacific win.

I caught Head Coach Bob Maclean for a few questions before they took the stage and were awarded their gold medals.

What were your expectations in the finals?
I was expecting a very close race in the men’s youth eight. What got us [the win] is that we had a much quicker start. We had a long talk about that. The crew everyone was chasing was Capital. Getting out ahead of Capital gave us a boost. They just took it and ran from there. We executed our race plan very well.

Was there a special move in your race plan?
Yes, there was. But I have to debrief them to get that secret move. [laughs] But yes, they did have a move and it should have been pretty apparent to the other teams. I think they just had a good clean start.

What was the qualification process like to get here?
We took second at Southwests, four seats back of Capital, but we’ve been chasing Capital all year long. We were even chasing them in the heats here. We finally beat them. Capital has a great program and I have all the respect for them. But what a sweet victory.

Did you think anyone could pop out and win in the grand final?
I really did. The thing I’m most proud about, being a West Coast Coach, were the five boats from the west in the finals. It’s a big tribute to the western teams. I was expecting a great race from Green Lake and they did give us that. Mount Baker was very close and certainly we expected to be chasing Capital. I was a bit surprised we got out so much so quickly. But again I think mentally we charged through.

How does it feel to win the Nationals?
This is the first time this rowing club has won the men’s eight, and to win it with 14 guys who are totally committed is a huge honor to represent Lake Merced, San Francisco and the Southwest region. What I’m most proud of is the fact that my boys, despite having all the odds against them, never let that get to them. I’m so proud of them and everyone in the club that supported them.