Tuesday Time Machine -- 1968 & 2018 Men's Crew
The history of Orange Coast College men's crew dates back to the 1950s and along the way, there have been several unforgettable moments ... more than this one column can hold!
Whether it's the numerous Newport Regatta championships, or the titles won in San Diego, or at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) championships, or even the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) championships ... the OCC Pirates have left their mark in this sport for nearly seven decades.
During my 15 years at OCC, I've been lucky enough to have chronicled several winning programs and I even wrote about a crew from 1968 who put OCC rowing on the national map and earned a spot in our schools' Athletics Hall of Fame. Fifty-years later, another special boat of Pirates made their way to the prestigious Henley Regatta and showed the rowing world that our little two-year school was a force to be reckoned with.
Here are those two stories ... I hope you enjoy them!
From the 2016 OCC Athletics Hall of Fame ...
THE 1968 MEN'S VARSITY EIGHT CREW
Undefeated Western Sprints Champions; Silver Medalists – IRA National Championships
It was a slow rise to the top in the history of Orange Coast College men's crew in the early 1960s before the arrival of coach David Grant. A few years later, the Pirates began to find success and a winning tradition developed.
After a solid third-place finish at the Western Sprints Championships in 1967, Coast put together the strongest varsity squad in the school's history and in 1968, the Pirates dominated all of their competition.
Coast set the tone for a memorable season by setting a new course record against Long Beach State, conquering the 2,000-meter Lido Channel race with a time of 6 minutes, 15 seconds, breaking the old record by a full eight seconds. Coast then took its act on the road and set a new course record at the Long Beach Regatta (6:00.3) before heading up to the University of California for the first time in school history. There, the Pirates continued to rule the waters and topped the Golden Bears by over a boat length.
At the Newport Regatta, Coast hosted Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine and San Diego State and cruised to victory, nine seconds ahead of the runner-up Anteaters. At the San Diego Regatta, it was another OCC-UCI, 1-2 finish as the Pirates cruised to a 17-second victory.
Against mighty UCLA, not only did the Pirates topple the Bruins, they also topped their own Lido Channel course record with a time of 6:11.5 (just under six seconds ahead of UCLA's 6:17) and headed into the Western Sprints Championships, in Washington, with plenty of confidence.
Against the best of the West, the Pirates performed at their best and in the finals against UCLA, Cal, Washington, Stanford and British Columbia, OCC topped the "big boys" with a course-record time of 6:07.2, an open-water victory ahead of the runner-up Huskies' crew.
After raising enough money to compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship in Syracuse, N.Y., Coast became the first community college to compete at the IRAs.
In front of over 70,000 on the shores of Lake Onondaga, the Pirates battled the nation's top crew, the University of Pennsylvania and other top Ivy League schools. Falling to fifth place early in the race, Coast fought back to third at the halfway point before edging out Navy and finishing just two boat lengths behind champion Penn.
1968 Orange Coast College Men's Varsity Eight Crew – Jay Amestoy, Ron Lindsey, Phil Peterson, Cary Simonds, John Baie (Captain), Dave Halliday, Geof Strand, Jim Jorgensen, Al Pierce (Coxswain).
A SUMMER EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME FOR OCC MEN'S CREW ... (Published on Aug. 6, 2018)
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, United Kingdom -- It was the ultimate summer road trip for Orange Coast College men's crew, as a successful 2018 season was capped up with a two-week trip to England for the 179th Henley Royal Regatta.
Returning to this prestigious regatta for the first time since 1996, the Pirates made the trek to the U.K. for just the 11th time in the program's history (1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996). Orange Coast College is the only community college to have ever participated in the 179-year history of the event.
"It was a great trip for the crew and the program as a whole," OCC head coach Cam Brown said. "It was a once in a lifetime experience for the athletes and I could sense throughout the trip that as they were experiencing all of the events, it was sinking in to them, the magnitude of what they were experiencing."
After making the trek over, the Pirates began racing on June 29 as they prepared to qualify for the Henley Regatta. Needing to place in the top 12 out of 32 boats, the Pirates put forth their best effort and managed to advance! "The process of qualifying was nerveracking, the first competition for these athletes on international waters and the stakes were very high - potentially this would be the end of the regatta if it didn't go well," Brown said. "We had to place top 12 out of 32 boats. Once they announced our name as having qualified it was certainly memorable moment - we had officially qualified and earned out way to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta."
Following a week of preparing for the regatta and some sightseeing, the Pirates took on Shrewsbury College in the opening round on July 4. After a sluggish start to the race, OCC finished strong one of the top U.K. programs and won the race by two lengths with a time of 6 minutes, 44 seconds.
"Racing (on July 4) was quite memorable," Brown said. "So much thought, planning and preparing had gone into getting to the start line, many months worth of planning and the culmination of the season for the athletes. It was us or them - a strong high school program that had also qualified to compete. We were confident in our ability to win the race, but that only added to the nerves. We had to execute. After a rocky start, we found our rhythm and gradually pulled ahead throughout the race to win by several boatlengths. We had won our first race at Henley. Not many athletes get to compete at Henley, and due to the format even less get to win a race. It was a sensational achievement for the athletes involved and the program of Coast Crew."
With the win, OCC advanced to the next round, but next on the schedule was a powerhouse crew from the University of Washington. Coast battled as hard as possible, but the Huskies managed to top the Pirates and would go on to win the entire Henley Regatta with a new record-setting time.
"We knew this would be a formidable opponent, and sure enough ... we were correct with that assumption," Brown said. "To finish our season and have our final race against UW was fitting. OCC has competed at Henley a total of 12 times, this trip was about more than the squad of 2018. Our alumni have a strong connection with the Henley regatta as well. Likewise, Coast Crew has a strong history with UW also - many of our athletes transferring to the program in the past and many great races between the two programs. They were too strong for us this time, but a good sight to see OCC and UW at the start line.
"It has been 16 years since Coast Crew raced at Henley, 12 times in our 65 year history - and it felt right to see OCC there this year," Brown continued. "We had a successful crew that won many races this year and their performance at the regatta showed we deserved to be there. It is special. I think in future we will plan on attending every 3-5 years - but there will always be a caveat that we must be fast. Our speed will ultimately determine when we next make the trip - I am confident it won't be too long."
OCC Men's Crew -- 2018 Henley Regatta
Coxswain: Cambria Stirrat (First Year)
Stroke: Caleb O'Neil (Second Year)
7 Seat: Daniel Amado (Second Year)
6 Seat: Axel Witt (First Year)
5 Seat: Ken Ponchak (Second Year)
4 Seat: Cole uild (First Year)
3 Seat: James Kerrigan (Second Year)
2 Seat: Tanner Godfrey (Second Year)
Bow Seat: Jordan Teisan (Second Year)
