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March 27, 2003
The Virginia Women’s Rowing team will be competing in the Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic at Redwood Shores in California hosted by Stanford University on March 29-30. Traditionally, Assistant Rowing Coach Joel Furtek drives the boats cross- country a week before the event, and this year is no different. Coach Furtek is checking in with virginiasports.com each day to give us the latest news and pictures on the road to the Regatta.
First Set of Joel’s Cross-Country Photos
Second Set of Joel’s Cross-Country Photos
For more information on the Regatta, check out this link:
Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic
Updates from Joel Furtek
March 27, 2003:
Cavalier friends, family, and fans,
Greetings from sunny, beautiful Redwood City, California! Clay and I arrived at the race site yesterday, Wednesday, at about 2PM Pacific time. The final 1300 miles weren’t easy, but they were uneventful.
As we left Sidney, NE, on Tuesday morning (Thanks for the wake-up call, Kevin!) we encountered heavy winds on the long climb up into Wyoming. The standing winds, from the west, were 20-30 miles per hour, and gusts were up in the 40mph range. The trailer was really being thrown around by the wind, making for some interesting moments, but it was manageable.
A quick stop at the Sierra Trading Post outlet in Cheyenne (notice a trend of discount outdoor-shopping!?) and we were again on our way. The openness of Wyoming is really beautiful to me, so even the winds couldn’t keep me from enjoying the day. Clay enjoyed watching out the window, too, though I don’t think he cared much for the altitude on the higher passes, as much as 9000 feet.
Utah and Nevada held more wind for us, and more beautiful vistas. A long overnight nap in a rest area recharged me enough to run all the way into California, through the foggy rains of the Tahoe/Truckee area, and dropping off a single-shell in Lodi, CA by noon. For what it’s worth, Creedence got it all wrong, Lodi was beautiful.
All that lay in front of us was the drive over to Stanford, about two hours, punctuated by the gorgeous Altamont pass, with deep green hills topped by scores of wind towers churning through the low clouds.
The race site, and our hotel which sits right next to it, is as gorgeous as I have heard. This is going to be a beautiful setting for the next step in our season!
One way to characterize driving cross-country is that you spend 48 hours by a window. You watch the sun rise and set, you drive into, through, and away from storms, and follow the lay of the land. I’ve included a number of pictures for you to see the beauty.
The team should arrive in an hour and a half, so I’m off to the airport to meet them. Stay Tuned!
Yours in Orange,
Joel