Chattanooga Pulse

The organizers for the Head of the Hooch Rowing Regatta will host a “Learn to Row” experience for those in the community who wish to learn more about the sport on Fri., Nov. 6, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at Ross’ Landing. Cost is $10 per person and proceeds will benefit Row for the Cure.

Participants will have a half an hour of on-shore instruction and then a half an hour of actual rowing on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga.

Sign up times are every 30 minutes starting at 12 noon.  Lessons will take one hour: 30 minutes of on shore training, then 30 minutes on the water, rowing.  Participants should come dressed for a light workout; tight clothes are better than loose outfits.

Pre registration is required Online at www.headofthehooch.org. For more information contact LearnToRow09@gmail.com.

The Head of the Hooch, the 5,000 meter downriver head race that returns to Chattanooga for the fifth year Nov. 6-8, has now surpassed the Head of the Charles in Boston, MA as the largest single-day rowing regatta in the U.S.
The event will bring over 7,000 competitors to downtown Chattanooga’s Ross’ Landing on Sat., Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 8 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The entire regatta is free and open to the public. Best viewing areas are Ross’ Landing, the Walnut St. Bridge, Coolidge Park, and the Tennessee Riverpark between the Bluff View and Boathouse Restaurant.

Rowing teams will stage upstream along the north shore and race downstream against the clock along the south shore. At Ross’ Landing, race officials will launch and recover a racing shell every 15 to 20 seconds at the height of competition.

New for 2009, the Chattanooga Market will set up a special Arts and Crafts market along Riverfront Parkway and Row for the Cure will offer tethered hot air balloon rides for better views of the action.

Sponsored by the Atlanta Rowing Club, and the Lookout Rowing Club, the Head of the Hooch is named for the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, where the race originated in 1981. A head race is so-named because it runs from the “head” of a river. Three-mile-long head races are known for challenging rowing teams to navigate turns and river currents, as well as testing their speed.