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Flesh Failing, Spirit Triumphs
October 1999
by Mark Alden Branch ’86

After 133 Yale-Harvard regattas, one might think there’s nothing new under the sun when these two crews do battle. But on June 5, the Yale heavyweight varsity scored an especially satisfying victory over the Crimson in New London by keeping cool against an unnerving strategy that Harvard had used with success for years.

It was nearly dark in New London when the four-mile race finally got under way; strong headwinds had caused a two-and-a-half-hour delay. The two crews, which Yale coach Dave Vogel '71 considered “evenly matched” in terms of speed, stayed about even for the first two miles, with Harvard holding a slight edge. Just past the two-mile mark, Harvard made its move, pulling ahead to the point where the Crimson coxswain was even with the bowman of the Yale boat. It was textbook Harvard strategy—a strong push at a point when the other crew thinks it has victory in sight and is unlikely to have enough power—or spirit—to resist a challenge.

“When a blow like that is administered, that can be the end of it,” says Vogel. “Once you lose contact, that’s it. It’s a psychological thing: Everyone’s in extraordinary pain. It’s very dispiriting. But our guys steeled themselves, stood firm, and said, ‘This is where we have to take control of this race.’”

The Crimson oarsmen, who had been buoyed by the sight of the Yale crew falling back, suddenly saw them advancing—fast. It took the Elis half a mile to catch up to Harvard. But over the last mile, Yale pulled ahead to win by six seconds, or two boat lengths, registering only their second varsity win in the Regatta in the past 15 years. (The other was a sweep of the varsity, JV, and freshman contests three years ago.) “This is the best race I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in rowing for 30 years,” says Vogel.

Vogel says he is “sanguine” about this year’s prospects, but seven men from the winning New London boat graduated in May, and next year’s varsity will have to look out for Harvard, which won both the junior varsity and freshman races in New London. Yale will also have to face a year away from their boathouse, working out of a Shelton marina while the Bob Cook Boathouse is replaced with a new $7-million building on which construction is about to begin. But the New London victory has buoyed Yale’s spirits. Says Vogel: “I feel really good about what our guys now know, which is that they can do this.”  

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