Philadelphia shell game: Head of the Schuylkill Regatta

On a breezy, crisp day, thousands of rowers glided down the river in the 40th annual Thomas Eakins Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.

Crews from all over the country descended on Philadelphia for the weekend, with high school and masters squads racing Sunday. The banks of the river were lined with supporters for the entire 2 1/2-mile course.

"The river is gorgeous," Cameron Rossington of Pittsford, N.Y., said. "The location is very nice here."

Rossington, a senior at Pittsford High, rowed in the boys' first and second varsity eight race for Pittsford, which placed eighth out of 34 boats with a time of 13 minutes, 40 seconds.

In the boys' varsity eight, St. Joseph's Prep took third place with a time of 13:01. Bonner Rowing Association, in Drexel Hill, was right behind in fourth. La Salle finished seventh.

On the girls' side, Mount St. Joseph placed second out of 36 boats in the varsity eight, clocking in at 14:15.

Jacquelyn Andrews of the Pennsylvania Athletic Club placed 11th out of 23 boats with a time of 18:53 in the girls' high school singles race.

Races were not held head to head in the regatta. Boats were lined up in single file and dispatched at 10- to 15-second intervals, then placed based on their times.

For some, the race was a chance to get some exercise on Halloween. Joe Zona, a high school senior, rowed in the boys' quad race for the Navesink River Rowing Club of Red Bank, N.J. He and his fellow rowers embraced the Halloween competition by wearing Viking helmets during the race.

"That was my idea," Zona said. "We kind of knew we weren't going to be the best boat out there, so we decided . . . we're going to do something really silly."

The regatta is the last major rowing event of the fall in the United States. Many teams, such as the Greenwich crew from Connecticut, use the race as the last important competition of the year.

"It's a great race. We definitely like being down here," Greenwich coach Mike Wieneke said. "We've had some good showings. This wind has been tough on us today."

Greenwich finished third out of 35 boats in the boys' high school doubles. Wind as high as 18 m.p.h. provided some resistance.

Dan Capone, a sophomore at South Jersey's St. Augustine Prep, raced in the nonvarsity eights, finishing 12th out of 31 competitors. He said he preferred the Schuylkill over the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, which is historically a bigger event. The Boston regatta was last week.

"I actually like this a lot better," Capone said. "It's just a good experience for the fall. The Schuylkill is a nice place. It's wide and long. Also, there's just good people down here."