Joanne Anderson sent two emails after the 2010 Canadian Henley which really summed up the race. I hope she does not mind me poaching them!

To the whole team she wrote:

We had a good experience at the Henley regatta which was topped off with the Quad winning a gold.
The race was exceptionally well organized with beautiful docks, lots of volunteers,  and of course indoor plumbing including multiple showers.  Everything ran on schedule and the weather was perfect. 

The indoor facilities were definitely a plus as was the ample parking and viewing area. The site is really set up for large regattas.

And to those who participated in the 2010 Canadian Henley which really captured some of the key events and certainly the spirit of this race:

I just wanted to thank again Anne Jane and Vern for race organizing, Abby for coaching and carrying, Wendy for filling in at the last minute and hotseating to a 1X, Gabbi for her enthusiastic coxing, Toby for brownies, Cindy for doing damage reports x 2 this AM,  Lulu for doing expenses - (can we pay in Canadian currency?)

 We can thank Jackie and Luanne for making a detour to get Vern's green card (which is actually pink), so the she could get back in the country and Ellen for safely transporting our coxswain and coach. We had some nice additional help with the supporting our newest trailer driver with Bill as copilot and Dave, Jen, Katie and Sally as chase drivers and pillow retrievers.  Vern was perfect and turns out she likes country music, so I guess she was made for the job.

Whereas it would have been nice if more of the team came, I have to say spending time with a smaller group of rowers was really nice both at dinner and at the race course.   It was nice being sent off and greeted by teammates before and after each row.  
My only regret was not getting to meet Joseph at the hotel.  He must have been wearing one of his other hats aside from "customer relation representative" and "reservation specialist" - I hope it was not that of interior designer for the 2nd floor hallway!

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Two sprint races on the same weekend ( 7/10, 7/11) provided a study in contrasts:

Capital: Urban, new location, pouring rain, Sportgraphics, race announcer+ music, after-race picnic        

Occoquan: Wooded, old favorite, sunlight and heat, quiet, after race ice cream

But at both the competition was high and TRRA teams raced hard.

This was the first year that the Capital Sprints was held at Capital Rowing Club’s new Anacostia Community Boathouse. They were still working out some details on race day – like where to park trailers so there was enough room for people to rig boats but I am sure these will be resolved by next year. The new docks are very nice and while there are no shade trees, there is (or will be) a grassy area for tents right by the finish line. The race course was wide and fairly straight. It had some interesting features such as a destroyer or frigate (a very big ship) and a big bridge under construction.

Unfortunately all of this was overshadowed by the relentless downpour that started just as we arrived and did not end until the last few races of the day. Luckily it was warm so we were wet but not too cold. There were no thunder storms and races continued on time all day long.

There was a large Three Rivers contingent at this regatta. Both evening masters’ teams attended as did both morning teams. Looking back at the results there were quite a few first place finishes among both the women’s and men’s masters teams as well as second and third places although medals were only given for first place. I was in a particularly exciting mixed 8+ which we lost by only .78 seconds. So despite the weather, Three Rivers were strong competitors.

Derigging and loading was made more interesting because many of the men’s and women’s masters were racing at Occoquan the next day. Luckily the sun came out making this part of the day more enjoyable. Still we hurried back to our hotels, where, even though we spent a day in rain, it was a pleasure to stand under a hot shower. The men’s team organized a group dinner at a local eatery: Mike's American Grill which was a great way to end that soggy day.

Sunday morning was clear and bright for the ride to Occoquan. Who would guess that after driving through windy rural/suburban roads that you would find this tree surrounded reservoir all set up for regattas! As wet as the preceding day was, this one warmed up quickly to be very hot. Lugging the boats up hill in the heat after each race added an extra dose of strength work for mind and body.

Like Capital, the race was well run and stayed on time, despite some congestion at the docks on occasion. While not as many first place finishes (or seconds or thirds) there were a few including Jenn Langzettel who capture 2 firsts in both her 1X races at Capital and Occoquan and a happy women’s 4X.

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