Space Coast Crew’s Steven Thomas, a junior, raced in the Men’s Varsity 8, placing 24th out of 68 boats in the Head of the Hooch regatta held in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday.  Thomas said his boat met the goals it set for itself.

“Our goals were to at least pass one boat and not be passed at all,”  he said.

Senior Eran Del Castillo rowed in the Women’s Varsity 8 and the Women’s Varsity 4. The 8 placed 51st out of 61 boats and the 4 placed 61st out of 83.

All of Space Coast Crew’s races were scheduled for Saturday morning, so the rowers had extra time to explore Chattanooga.

“The highlight of my trip was going to the Tennessee Aquarium before practice on Friday. I went two years ago, and it’s still every bit as impressive as it was back then,” Del Castillo said. “It’s ranked one of the top aquariums in the world.”

Thomas, the men’s team captain, said his favorite part of the trip was spending time with fellow rowers.

“The highlight of my trip was probably hanging out with everybody Saturday night,” he said. “We went skateboarding and cardboard sledding down a hill.”

While rowers are warned every year regarding the race’s usual cold weather, this time it wasn’t a factor.

“The weather was actually beautiful, because of past years I packed all this Under Armour, long socks, sweatshirts, scarves and hats, and I didn’t even need to use any of it,” said Del Castillo.”On race day, the high was in the mid 70s.”

By Sunday night, Del Castillo was preparing to get back into school mode.

“I just got home, and haven’t even begun to start my homework,” she said. “I really pushed it aside to be able to enjoy my weekend.”

Head of the Hooch ends the Fall racing season for Space Coast Crew. Racing will pick up again in January for the Sprint Season.

By Evy Guerra