OCC Crew Making Its Ninth Trip to Henley Regatta

It’s going to cost $17,500 for the 6,000-mile trip, and the competition could be over in seven minutes.

Risky business? You bet, but it’s an exercise Orange Coast College’s crew program will go through for the ninth time Monday when it travels to England for the 153rd Henley Royal Regatta.

OCC’s heavyweight eight will be in the 32-boat field competing for the Temple Challenge Cup July 1-5 on the Thames River. In 1990, the last time Coach Dave Grant’s crew appeared in the Henley, OCC made it to the quarterfinals of the Henley Prize Cup before being eliminated by Trinity College of Dublin.

Grant is optimistic about his crew’s chances, despite the fact OCC finished third to California and Washington in the Pacific Coast Championships last month.

“It’s been a tough season, and we’ve had some very hard racing,” Grant said. “But we have an extremely qualified boat, and this is, without doubt, the strongest eight we’re ever taken to Henley. We’ve got an excellent chance.”

From the bow, the crew is made up of Erik Elward, Pat Dorn, R.J. Scott, John Klein, Darren Hill, Arnold Huff, Jimmie Russell, stroke Peter Vescovi and coxswain Lani Snyder. Snyder, the freshman eight crew coxswain during the season, replaces Kristie Jones because of special weight requirements at Henley.

Racing at Henley is two abreast on the one-mile 550-yard course, with the loser being eliminated. American collegiate competition is conducted six shells abreast.