Wayland High School junior Karina Andersson will participate in her second consecutive Head of the Charles Regatta this weekend as part of the Wayland-Weston Rowing Association. But as exciting as last year was as a first-timer, this year will take it up a notch — she will be competing with her high school teammates in the Women’s Youth Eight for the second year in a row, and with her father, Nik, in the Parent-Child Double.
The tandem with her father actually came out of the blue. Nik Andersson is very active, often entering endurance races, but he decided he wanted to try something where he could connect on a sports level with his daughter. He had never rowed before, but after their lottery entry was picked, he took a Master’s Learn-to-Row program in addition to practicing with the Wayland-Weston Rowing Association.
“My dad came up to me in the spring and asked if I wanted to race in doubles,” Anderson said. ”I’ve seen him do Ironmans; he is super impressive. But he had also never rowed before this summer. At this point, I don’t have high hopes of finishing well. But it will still be fun to do it with him.”
Nik admitted to being “slightly terrified” to be on the Charles but is excited about the opportunity.
“[Karina] is an incredible rower, and I feel lucky to share a boat with her,” he said. “Experiencing this sport through Karina’s eyes and to spend time together on the water makes each wobbly stroke both fun and meaningful.”
The 60th Head of the Charles runs Friday through Sunday, Oct. 17–19, on the Charles River in Boston. In addition to Women’s Youth Eight (Sunday, 9:02 a.m.) and Parent-Child Double (Sunday, 3:57 p.m.), Wayland-Weston will have entries in Men’s Grand Master Single (Friday, 8:33 a.m.), Women’s Master Single (Saturday, 8:22 a.m.), and Men’s Master Quad (Sunday, 12:40 p.m.). Wayland’s Paul Dale is part of the Master Quad team.
Karina is a lot more hopeful for the Women’s Youth Eight. They competed last year where they placed 69th out of 90. The top half requalify for the next year so they had to win a lottery to participate this year. But the team of nine (eight rowers and a coxswain) with juniors and seniors from Wayland and Weston high schools has that experience from last year that they hope will be a huge advantage on one of the trickier courses, due to the bridges, slight turns, and the immense crowds.
“This year our goal is to re-qualify (by finishing in the top half),” Andersson said. “It may be ambitious since we are one of the smaller programs.”
Wayland residents joining Andersson on the Youth Eight boat are Ashley Maddocks, senior, captain; Mia Farley, junior; and Vivian Munton, junior.
Beatrice Sims-Mackie, program director at WWRA, explained that just being part of the largest regatta of its kind in the world is an exciting time for the entire 25-year-old club.
“The Head of the Charles draws more spectators than any other regatta, and it is on an extremely challenging course,” said Sims-Mackie, who joined the club last year. “Other races are a rower’s race. This one is definitely a rower’s and coxswain race. If you do it right you can get through quickly. But if you get caught up with other crews or take the wrong lines, it will add meters and time.”
