The crew’s first race was an erg scrimmage against Catawba Rowing Club in Charlotte. After a poor showing, the scrimmage motivated the team for their first regatta. In the spring of 1996, the Crew attended at the Clemson Sprints at Clemson University in South Carolina. Several weeks later, the team raced at the Capitol Classic in Washington, D.C., on the Potomac River. Both the men’s and women’s boats made it to finals.

The following fall, the crew attended their first head races. The crew ventured to Boston for the Head of the Charles, only to have it cancelled for the first time in history of the race. Next stop was the Head of the Patapsco in Baltimore and at the Head of the Chattahoochee in Atlanta. That same fall, Hinton acquired several ergs from Williams College to aid the crew in land conditioning.

Growing now to just under 20 rowers, the crew needed another shell. The team bought a heavyweight Kaschper 4+ from Oak Ridge High School in 1996. The boat only cost Davidson Crew $2,000 thanks to Adair Prater ’00, a Davidson rower who had rowed for Oak Ridge. That spring, the crew raced in three sprints: SIRA in Tennessee, John Hunter outside of Atlanta, and one in Philadelphia.

...to be continued