Page 6 - French and Electric Blue - Winter 2017-2018

MSP at the HOCR
By Trooper Pat Mahady
For the third consecutive year, the
Massachusetts State Police Rowing Team
competed in the Head of the Charles Regatta,
crewing in the 53 installment of the race on
rd
October 21, 2017.
This year’s team included Sergeant Jon
Swift and Troopers Sean Maloney, Patrick
Moynihan, and Patrick Mahady. The crew
(L to R) Pat Mahady, Patrick Moynihan, Sean
Maloney, Jon Swift, Rachel Purrington, and Diego
Mejia Peterson
completed the 3.1 mile course in a team record
time of 22:25, which put the team 25th out of the
27 competing boats racing in the Masters Men’s
Four event. The MSP team remains the only State
Police Rowing Team in the nation to compete in
F r en c h·a n d·E le c t r ic·B l ue·W in t er·2017/2018·p a g e·6
the HOCR.
Compared to last year’s Head of the
Charles, which involved significant weather
challenges like freezing rain and winds so strong
that a boat flipped over, we really appreciated the
sunny day we got this year. There was a moderate
headwind, which picked up under the bridges,
making it difficult to maintain control of the
oars, but the crew powered through the course,
maintaining a stroke rating of 28-32 strokes per
minute.
The season began for us back in early
August at Community Rowing Inc. (CRI), where
Coach Diego Mejia Petersen, a native of Peru and
member of CRI’s Institute for Rowing Leadership
(IRL) program, volunteered to coach the team.
Coach Diego quickly learned how motivated and
dedicated the team was to improving every day.
“There are no words that can express the
good moments I had coaching the MSP members,
people with great hearts and a true understanding
of the words COMMITMENT, CONSISTENCY,
and ATTITUDE. They are a wonderful group of
men who I shared many days of hard training and
fun with over the past three months. We managed
to execute an impressive campaign in the Regatta.”
Coach Diego appreciated the team’s
efforts on the water and in fundraising for Cops for
Kids with Cancer. “They deserve to be champions
for their dedication to training and their intense
race-day performance. I also commend them for
the time they devoted to such a good cause.”
The MSP Crew was fortunate to have
coxswain Rachel Purrington navigating the twists
and turns of the Charles. Rachel, who is also
a member of CRI’s IRL program, volunteered