The International Dory Racing Committee kicked off its 60th season on Saturday with a loaded field of accomplished and determined veteran rowers looking to represent the city against rowers from Lunenberg, Nova Scotia on June 23rd.
The field of rowers that will represent the City against their Canadian counterparts in the North Channel of the Inner Harbor of the semi-annual international rowing event is almost set. Representing the City will be Lenny Billante/Jay Prince (Master), Denise Desautels/Edie Wald-Smith (Women), Randy Parisi/LJ Robertson (Junior) and Jimmy and Laurel Tarantino (Mixed). The winning tandem from Monday night’s Men’s Division final will complete the field.
Counter to recent rends, the Men’s Division kicked off the day’s races with nine crews looking to secure a spot in Monday’s final heat. Each of the three-boat elimination heats were filled with past international dory champions.
While the rowers and the races usually provide the highlights for the day, Mother Nature certainly played a role as the day’s races were made more difficult by strong winds and a running tide. The conditions tested the skill and technique of all of the rowers that participated in each of the elimination races.
At the conclusion of the Men’s elimination races, the dory tandems of Erik Dombrowski/Glenn Harrington, Mick Cote/John Swift and Ray D’Amico/Joe Cominelli overcame difficult race conditions and strong competition, pulling their way clear of the field and earning a spot in the final heat.
In the first heat, Erik Dombrowski/Glenn Harrington steered clear of a tightly packed, wind blown field on the way out to their half-mile turning buoy and powered through the course in a time of 8 minutes and 56 seconds, outpacing the crews of Steve Goodick/Alan Morrissey (9:14) and Jeff Muise/Len Robertson (9:17).
The second heat of the morning, which was the closest of the Men’s Division races, went to New Jersey rowers Mick Cote/John Swift. In a high risk, high reward decision, Cote/Swift elected to start the race in the far corner of the start line, a distance from their fellow competitors, hoping to minimize the impact of the strong winds on their course out to the turning buoys. The strategy paid off as Cote/Swift (8:56) edged out a hard fought victory over Mark Duval/Joe Sanfillipo (9:00) and Chris and Vito Giacalone (9:05).
The final Men’s Division elimination heat of the morning, which not only featured rowers with tons of international racing experience and success, but also the son of one of the first rowers to represent the US in the very first international dory race in 1952. In worsening conditions, Ray D’Amico/Joe Cominelli (9:11) overcame a nearly disastrous course to the finish line to clip hard charging Jimmy Tarantino/Tom Jarvis (9:12) and Jerry Ciarametaro/Zack Morrissey (9:33).
It is worth noting that D’Amico is the son of Steven D’Amico, who paired with Jerry Nicastro in the first race against legendary Canadian rowers Lloyd Heisler and Russell Langille in 1952. D’Amico is looking to represent the US sixty years after his father rowed in the same race.
The Master’s Division (Over-40) race continued the trend of close finishes. Lenny Billante/Jay Prince (6:09) earned a measure of revenge over Mike Harmon/John Scola (6:10) when they made one final push and crossed the finish line just ahead of their closest challengers, in the exact same manner they lost to Harmon/Scola in last August’s elimination races. The tandem of Bill Edmonds/Mike Frontiera (6:26), who lead the race approaching the quarter-mile turning buoys, finished third.
The Junior Division races, which were won handily by Randy Parisi/LJ Robertson (6:06), were marked by the entrance of a new tandem of brothers Ben and Ian Sewell, who hail from Amesbury. The Sewall’s, who normally row on the Merrimac River, were not accustomed to the nuances of the open water course and were further hampered by the difficult conditions which challenged even the more experienced rowers throughout the day. Undaunted, the tandem finished the course, picking up valuable race experience.
The last races of the day featured three tandems in the mixed doubles division. The rowers did not disappoint as the race, like all of the other heats, was not decided until the crews were on their way back to the finish line. The husband and wife tandem of Jimmy and Laurel Tarantino (6:24) defeated Tom Jarvis/Denise Desautels (6:33) and Jeff Muise/Edie Wald-Smith (6:42).
There were no Women’s Division elimination races. The tandem of Denise Desautels/Edie Wald-Smith were unopposed and elected not to row the course. Desautels and Wald-Smith will automatically advance to the international races on the 23rd.
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