To start the season, The Orcas Island Rowing Association traveled to Lake Stevens, Wash. for the Spring 2K/Novice Regatta where they competed against nine other rowing clubs on March 14. The team put on a strong showing in high winds.

The results included Samantha Tidwell & Jacqlynn Zier placing second in the Junior Women’s race; Forrest Gropp & Morgan Borman placed third in the Junior Men’s competition and Huxley Smart coxed the Novice Junior Men’s Eight Plus team of Robin Gropp, Alex Waldron, Yon Agnew, Jake Zier, Cameron Schuh, Cameron Smart, Rhys Thompson and Max Blackadar to third place in their heat.

Head Coach Tina Brown and Grace Thompson placed second in the Women’s Open. Hannah North and Tika Thorson placed second in the Lightweight Junior Women’s. Grace Thompson coxed the Junior. Women’s Quad consisting of Hannah North, Samantha Tidwell, Thorson and Jacqlynn to a second place finish. Smart coxed a Novice Junior Men’s Four consisting of Gropp, Jake, Smart and Blackadar to third place. The Novice Junior Men’s team consisting of Waldron, Agnew, Schuh and Thompson came in third.

“I was quite pleased with the teams’ performance,” said Brown in a press release. “They’re rowing well, even with the short amount of time we’ve had on the water. With the ice on Cascade lasting so long this spring, we’ve probably had 30 percent less water time than the other teams . The Varsity looked especially strong and were rowing fairly clean in the sloppy water.”

Brown said a large number of novice boy rowers have joined the sport this year.

“They’re a fun bunch of young men who are taking to this sport with dedication & exuberance. In fact,we made OIRA history by competing in the Junior Men’s Novice eight plus event for the first time ever.”

She noted that Smart, the novice girl who coxed that race had done a good job noted that coxing can be difficult under normal conditions and that Smart had been working with eight guys who had never raced before, in a boat she had never steered, on a course she had not seen.

“We were very fortunate to be able to borrow an 8 Plus boat from Lake Stevens, who have now lent the boat to us for the season,” Brown said. “Mike Reid & Dave Roseberry, my assistant coaches and boat maintenance guys, were very excited to have such a large boat join our fleet.

The rowing team practices on Cascade Lake from 6 to 7:30 a.m. most weekday mornings and from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.

The team will next travel to Seattle on March 21 for the 47th Annual Green Lake Spring Rowing Regatta. For more information about OIRA or to make a donation those interested can go to www.orcasislandrowing.org or email info@orcasislandrowing.org.