GLRF receives a warm reception in chilly Chattanooga

It was a role reversal for the GLRF booth at the 2014 Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga. The weekend before in Philadelphia, it was sunny and mild. Shift forward one weekend, and it was overcast, windy, and very very very cold. Climate change? Maybe Hollywood having flexing its media muscle by preparing to debut season 10 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Who knows.

One of the many welcome attractions at the Head of the Hooch is sun and lots of skin. The GLRF camera managed to capture one brave Abercrombie rower on Friday, stylin' his own version of a Southern Comfort look. But by the end of the day, the mild Friday weather turned cold and rainy. On Saturday, it was wind that proved to be the biggest challenge. Because of conditions on the Tennessee River, all events had to be cancelled for the day without any hope of rescheduling. On Sunday, the beautiful sunshine returned but the cold remained with an early morning low of -1 celsius (30 fahrenheit), and reaching a high of maybe 11 celsius (52 fahrenheit).

As much as the bad weather put a huge dent on the weekend, the enthusiastic rowers from the South, and in particular, Florida, mobbed the GLRF booth, snapping up t-shirts, crazy spandex, and the 2015 Naked Rowing Calendars. Likewise, the Head of the Hooch regatta organizers were gracious, and genuinely happy to have us back. Several stopped by to visit and catch up. Even the county mayor waved and said he was glad we were there. Thanks to all of the booth visitors. Your smiles kept the GLRF Team warm!

Finally, to the group of rowers from the St. Louis Rowing Club who stopped in at the GLRF booth to gossip amongst themselves, thanks for coming by and we hope all of you will join GLRF!