Battleship Row Information
Welcome to The Battleship Row
USC Men’s Crew is proud to host their annual regatta again with all the familiar crews in the mix.
It is our second year hosting this race, but we have an almost entirely new staff. We ask for your patience with the logistical elements of our race. We hope to have a repeat last year's success and will do our very best to run a safe, fair, efficient, and exciting race experience for all athletes, coaches, and officials.
Race Location: Port of Los Angeles, Main Channel
Race Distance: 3200m
Boat Launch Location: USC Boathouse (400 Yacht Street, Wilmington, CA 90744)
Start Line Location: The bow of the Battleship Iowa (AKA The Big Stick)
Finish Line Location: Slip Number Five, in front of the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade
Schedule and Vessel Notices
The first boats on the water will be held at the VT Bridge until 8:50AM to allow the Catalina Express to depart, recommended launch is 8:30AM.
All boats after the MV8+ event will be held at the VT Bridge until 10:50AM to allow the second Catalina Express vessel to depart.
A passenger vessel, NORWEGIAN ENCORE, will arrive in the Port roughly 6:30AM and previously it parked north of the Battleship Iowa. We will have exact details from the vessel closer to the date. This will most likely not affect us but is still worth noting.
The cruise ship company, CATALINA EXPRESS, has two outbound vessels at 8:45AM and 10:45AM that will depart from the Catalina Express terminal. Due to this, we will start the racing at 9:00AM, have a morning break at 10:30AM, then resume racing at 11:00AM.
Regatta Schedule
Launching and Returning
There will be a table on the wash deck to hand out and retrieve bow numbers. You can also pick up medals here.
There are two connect-a-docks for water access. We ask that crews use the left-hand dock for launching and the right-hand dock for return (although the men’s fours as the first crews out can use both). There will be a USRowing official checking bowballs and heel ties. The distance to the warmup area is around 3km. You should allow your crews a minimum 20 minutes to get up to the start. Once clear of the dock, crews should cross to the center of the channel and turn to starboard to start their warmup (see map).
Once the race is completed, crews should immediately proceed back to the return dock (left hand dock from the water-perspective/right hand dock from the shore). There are hoses available for rinsing boats. Since space on the washdeck is limited, we ask that crews rinse their boats expeditiously and return their boats to the trailer area.
The Race Course
From the launch dock (USC Boathouse), crews should proceed to the left (port) side of the channel to warm up to the start line. It is ~3000m to the start and should take about 20-25 minutes. At the start is a large area crews can use to continue their warmup:
Our main buoys are the Start Line and Finish Line buoys. We will mark the major turns with two marshall launches. The first marshall launch will be at approximately 1000m. Crews should stay to the port side of this launch (or keep the launch on their starboard side). The second marshall launch will mark the big turn to port into Slip no. 5 at the 2500m mark. Again this launch should be kept on the starboard side.
Once inside slip 5, there is a gradual turn to port. Once clear of the turn there is 200m left to the finish, which will be marked by a white buoy and the finish line judge in a launch.
After completing the course, crews should immediately turn to starboard (right) and follow the return lane back to the retrieval dock:
Finish Line Area Traffic Map
Holding Area for Catalina Express Traffic, Scheduled at 8:50 AM and 10:50 AM
Safety & Commercial Shipping Traffic
This is the Port of Los Angeles. It is one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. There are VERY LARGE SHIPS that regularly traverse these waters. The Coast Guard and Harbor Pilots (the excellent and well-paid professionals that drive the LARGE tug boats) have very graciously created a brief window during our racing where they will try to avoid bringing in any major ships. That does not mean it will not happen. They may deem it necessary to bring in a large ship. That is their right. If this happens:
1) All crews should move off to the side, any side, and let them pass. The large ships will stay in the center of the channel. They do not follow the right-hand rule, at all. They also will not stop. They cannot stop. Ever.
2) Beware the prop wash coming off the back of the tugs. It can easily capsize a rowing shell, even an eight. Stay at LEAST 100 yards back from their stern. They have bow thrusters as well, so stay away from the sides.
3) While they will try to minimize the amount of big ship traffic, they cannot control regular commercial traffic like tugs, barges, ferries and utility boats (LA County Sheriff, Fireboats, etc) moving around the port.
4) We also cannot control private boat traffic. Their behavior is a little more typical.
5) We should have support from both USCG and Los Angeles Port Police with on the water presence.
When in doubt, have your crews simply move as far over to the side as possible.
On-water emergencies: Call Coast Guard / Harbor Patrol on VHF Channel 16 or simply call 911. Regatta Director (Joshua Kuzo): 310-614-3829
Safety & Commercial Shipping Traffic
On-water emergencies: Call Coast Guard / Harbor Patrol on VHF Channel 16 or simply call 911.
Regatta Director (Joshua Kuzo): 310-614-3829
Weather and Cancellation Policy
In the event of heavy fog or unsafe wind conditions, delays or race cancellations may occur.
Updates will be posted immediately to the WhatsApp group.
Timing & Results
We will be using CrewTimer for regatta timing, and we will be backing it up with manual timing on stop watches. Once the CrewTimer site is set up, we will share it via our WhatsApp group which you can find here for general announcements:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/B4hLISjfsh4051XqIf8kdK
First place awards only will be available for pickup at the bow number table 15 minutes after each event’s results are posted
Trailers and Parking
There should be enough space for all trailers on Yacht Street. The white USC Men’s trailer is parked here and is very obvious. You can unload and rig your boats in the grass areas next to the street. Technically that grassy area is private property so if you are arriving on Saturday you will need to keep your boats in the trailer overnight. You will not be able to store them overnight on the grass.
There is parking on the other side of the street for cars and team vans/buses, you will see our black Trailer Truck parked there. It is not infinite however. Please ask your athletes to carpool if possible. Street parking is legal unless marked otherwise.
Physical Address of the boathouse: 400 Yacht Street, Wilmington, CA
Spectating
Within walking distance to the trailer area there is a park called the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade that looks out over the water where the finish line is. Family & friends can watch crews finish from this vantage point. TBD whether we can set up regatta tents there.
Practice On Saturday
Crews are welcome to practice on Saturday from 10AM-4PM. We can offer one of three safety launches each to teams as well as on a first come first serve basis. If you are hoping to practice on Saturday afternoon, reach out to Coach Josh (310-614-3829) or Coach TJ (484-707-3852).
Waivers / USRowing Compliance
All participants must have an active USRowing membership and signed waiver on file.