Heavies Sink Penn in 'Titanic' Race

PHILADELPHIA--Curtis Kaufmann glanced to his left across the choppy Schuylkill River as the Harvard shell slowly inched up alongside. A look of concern clouded his face, and instinctively he put on a little more power at the catch. He looked again, and he could see Crimson bowman Pete Sutton even with him. He peeked once more, and Sutton had been replaced by Steve Carr. And again, only to see the Harvard three-man going by.

The Crimson heavyweight crew, which was rowing a stroke lower than its Pennsylvania rivals, was gradually breaking the Penn boat seat-by-seat after 1250 meters, and Kaufmann, the Quaker bowman, wasn't buying this action at all.

Kaufmann's teammates tried to add more power, struggling to regain the half-length lead they had taken off the start, but it was going to be tough. Harvard was moving, and Navy, on the far lane, was only three-quarters of a length behind. Suddenly, Kaufmann noticed that the new Pocock shell in which he was sitting was beginning to ride a little lower in the water.

Murky Water

Within a few seconds, his oar was stubbornly refusing to come out of the murky water on the recovery, and within another moment or two, his feet were becoming unusually wet. It was the Titanic disaster all over again. The proud new Joseph Burk shell, christened just three hours before, was sinking on its maiden voyage, and with it, any hope Pennsylvania had of spoiling Harvard's best afternoon in five years.

Harvard, with the pressure abruptly relieved, turned its attention to holding off inspired Navy for the final third of the race, and as Midshipman second-class Charles Munns strained mightily at his oar, Navy began to move on the Crimson shell. Then, Harvard cox Dave Weinberg called for power, and his boat responded with a smooth, explosive spring, that reopened the margin and won the Adams Cup Saturday--for the first time since 1968 by a little more than a length.

Disgusted Heads

The Penn shell, its plastic decking ripped open, was completely submerged by this time, and all that was visible were nine fairly disgusted heads. The Quaker launch quickly rescued all, and the unbeaten showdown, or at least the final 750 meters of it, was postponed until the EARC Sprint regatta next Saturday at Worcester.

The sinking of the Burk marred an otherwise perfect Harvard day. After a fighting Crimson third varsity held off Navy for an .8 second victory in the afternoon's first race. Ted Washburn's freshman boat breezed to an easy three-length win over the Midshipmen, leaving Penn seven lengths astern.

Then, the unbeaten Harvard JV led Navy all the way down the 2,000-meter course to take a length victory, and a sweep was a distinct possibility. But Penn jumped the Harvard varsity at the start, leading by a half-length for a time. Then, at the midway point, the Crimson, stroked by Gene LaBarre, caught the Quakers and had begun to pass when the Penn shell filled with water.

It left some speculation as to whether Harvard would have won the race anyway. LaBarre thinks so. So does coach Harry Parker. It is a moot point at this stage, however, and all that one can do is wait until Worcester. The answer may lie there.