CREW HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA : Orange Coast College Team Wins First Race

The Orange Coast College men’s crew won its opening race Wednesday in the Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-On-Thames, England.

Orange Coast defeated University College of Oxford by two lengths. The Pirates’ winning time was 7 minutes, 28 seconds on 1-mile, 550-yard course on the River Thames.

Orange Coast Coach Dave Grant said the times were a little slow because of a strong head wind, rain and 50-degree weather.

The Pirates took a big lead early in the race but settled into their normal racing cadence of 32 strokes per minute. Crews often increase the cadence to 40 strokes per minute for the last 250 meters, but OCC’s crew decided to conserve energy.

“There was no need to push ourselves at the end so we didn’t,” Grant said. “Whenever the opportunity presents itself, it’s good to save a little something for the next race. We’re happy to have this one under our belt. It’s always tough to win the first race at Henley.”

Orange Coast has a bye today and will row Friday against Trinity College of Dublin. Trinity defeated University College of Dublin in 7:29.