Charles River Row to Boston!

There is a fine line between brilliance and lunacy and I think that today I may have crossed that threshold today. For many years, I have wanted to take a simple row down the Charles River to the lower basin.  Today was that day.

The Vireo was loaded up at 10 am for the short trip down the Mass Pike to Brighton.  Loading takes just a few minutes as only two ropes are needed to tie it down with wrapping them around the fore and aft cross braces.  The RAV4 back door can also be opened fully,  nice feature.  Loading is done by placing the life jacket across the rear spoiler and then placing the bow on the life jacket.  then a simple lift to the roof.  the wheels on the transom make this project very easy. 

I drove to the Charles and originally thought I would launch at the canoe and kayak rental place in Brighton, but unfortunately it was limited to 2 hour parking.  Drats.  I then drove back to the Charles River Rowing Facility in Brighton right near the Newton border.  This is an almost brand new facility that has given the general public access to this magnificent river and an introduction to the sport of rowing.  Simply amazing.

The boat ramp is adjacent to the facility and offers ample parking, restrooms, and friendly people.

I realized immediately that this was going to be an enormous row and would take at least 2 hours to reach the lower basin 7 miles downstream.  http://goo.gl/maps/iGzKq

All was well with reaching the Anderson Bridge in an hour, then the realization of what I had started and needed to finish then set in.  This 55 year old guy is not an Olympian.  I reached the BU bridge in about another 20 minutes then the wind started to make things go a tad slower.  People walking the footpaths were making better time than I.  But, I knew if I shortened up the stroke, I could keep pace with the wind and choose the lulls to pull faster. 

someday I will play my saxophone here.  Great Jazz club.

view of the Anderson Bridge

There is great comfort in seeing the Citgo sign as any Bostonian knows that you are now in Boston for real as this marks Kenmore Square home of Fenway Park and our Red Sox.

two and and a half hours later I finally arrived at the Hatch Shell.  The whole country knows this place as the home of the Boston Pops (Esplanade Orchestra) on July 4th.  Lunch consisted of a pb&j sandwich and some granola bars.  After a brief walk around the Hatch, it was time to get back in the skiff and row back to Brighton. 

The view of Boston is glorious from the middle of the Charles River.  It is almost as if the city planners knew this all along and wanted us to figure it out.  From the Mass ave bridge you can see the entire city from the Zakim Bridge to the towers of the Prudential and Hancock buildings. 

The camera just does not do this justice. 

The row back took about 2 hours as the wind was behind me for the most part with a few shifts in the bends.  

The many boathouses along the Charles had tributes to their Olympians participating this week in the 2012 Summer Games in London.  Boston is a city of champions (at least on the water). 

I finally arrived back at the landing around 4 pm and headed home in the rush hour traffic.  Nice day.

Related Posts by Categories