ONSET — The head of the Charles River wasn’t the only place rowers gathered Saturday, Oct. 19 to cut through the waves and show their aptitude for turning over oars. 

Over 100 rowers came to Wareham to race in the annual Onset Rowing Challenge hosted by the Buzzards Bay Rowing Club on Saturday afternoon. 

Rowers completed the 3-mile course in all sorts of boating vessels including kayaks, gigs, whaleboats, canoes, row boats and dories and competed in categories separated by boat type. 

The course started out of Onset Bay, continued past Wicket Island and around Onset Island before returning to finish in Onset Bay. 

The weather, over 60 degrees and sunny, made for a successful event turnout, according to Buzzards Bay Rowing Club Vice President Jodi Duval. A total of 110 participants came out for the event. 

Duval noted what brings people back to the event every year is its “gorgeous location at Onset   Beach” and because “they love doing the race and seeing other people.” 

Mattapoisett resident Mike Haley said for his first time doing the race, “the conditions were perfect.” Haley entered as the only Puffin rowboat in the event. 

Among the various teams who took on the 3-mile course was the Cohasset Maritime Institute, who participated in the gig race. 

Gigs are a type of racing boat, designed to slice through waves. After the first stretch of the race, which is often the toughest part, members said, the team was able to find a good rhythm. 

“It feels like you’re just riding a wave the whole way, not even thinking about it. It’s a great feeling,” noted Cohasset Maritime Institute rower Ciaran Bergan. 

Locking in step with your boatmates is “purely a natural feeling,” said Bergan’s boatmate Coleton Vlasak, who noted he loves rowing because “it focuses so much on teamwork and cooperation.”

Mark Hurley, who delivered instructions to his Whaling City Rowing crewmates as the crew’s boat steerer, knows about teamwork all too well. Hurley has been a member of Whaling City Rowing, a New Bedford-based whaleboat rowing club, for 13 years, he said. 

Hurley explained that as opposed to gigs, which are built for speed, whaleboats are built for maneuverability. They were historically used for catching whales. 

He got into rowing after serendipitously spotting one of the club's boats in New Bedford waters while explaining his home city’s whaling history to a friend, he said. 

“I didn’t even know there was a club that did that,” he noted. Hurley, clad in a kilt, a fixture of his day to day style, was hard to miss on the water. 

Saturday’s event left Ella Burke, another member of the Cohasset Maritime Institute team, hungering for more, once the pre-race jitters dissipated, she said. 

“You get that energy and just get into your rhythm. It was a really good feeling to finish,” she noted.  

Duval described Saturday’s challenge as “fantastic” and noted the event will “absolutely” be on the calendar next year.