Head of the Hooch goes with the flow at Ross's Landing - Nov. 1-2

If you go> What: Head of the Hooch rowing regatta.> When: 8:40 a.m.-6:20 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, 8:15 a.m.-2:40 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 (end times are approximate).> Where: Ross's Landing Park, Riverfront Parkway.> Admission: Free for spectators.> Website: headofthehooch.org.Where to watch> Start line: Just above River Terminal Road within the Tennessee Riverpark.> Bridges: The pedestrian-only Walnut Street Bridge is the safest choice, but the other downtown bridges - Veterans, Market Street and Olgiati - also will offer bird's-eye views of the boats gliding past. Just be wary of vehicular traffic.> Riverbanks: Try anywhere along the Tennessee Riverwalk or Coolidge Park, a quieter location across the river from the finish line and also closest to the rowers as they head upstream to the staging area.> Finish line: Ross's Landing. The grandstands at Ross's Landing will provide not only the best viewing of the finish line but will be the center of the action where tents and boats and crowds are concentrated.By the numbersSeats rowed in the Head of the Hooch since the rowing regatta relocated to Chattanooga:> 2005: 4,566> 2006: 5,654> 2007: 5,776> 2008: 5,676> 2009: 7,548> 2010: 8,134> 2011: 8,605> 2012: 8,694> 2013: 8,903> 2014: 9,293Source: headofthehooch.org

An event that helped shape Chattanooga's reputation as an outdoors destination marks its 10th year this weekend.

The Head of the Hooch, one of the world's largest rowing regattas, returns to Ross's Landing on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2, with 9,293 registered rowers, more than double the number who launched the race here in 2005. By that time, the Hooch had twice outgrown its namesake, the Chattahoochee River.

The race was organized in 1981 by the Atlanta Rowing Club, with 500 rowers in 100 boats taking part. For 16 years, the regatta was based at Roswell River Park in Roswell, Ga. When it outgrew that space, the regatta was held at the 1996 Olympic rowing venue in Gainesville, Ga., on the upper part of the Chattahoochee.

By 2005, say the Hooch's head honchos, large increases in entries necessitated the move to Chattanooga's 21st Century Waterfront, which could more easily accommodate the legion of rowers and spectators.

More than 2,000 boats will race over two days, with 1,200 competing on Saturday alone, more in one day than any other regatta. Participants will represent more than 200 organizations and come from 28 states. They'll race two types of boats, or shells. In sweep rowing, each rower has one oar about 12.5 feet long. In sculling, a rower uses two oars, each about 9.5 feet long.

The regatta is technically a head race. Competitors - most of them high school and college crews - will row a 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course on the Tennessee River, ending at Ross's Landing. All boats start sequentially by event and race against the clock. They'll cross the start line in each race about 15 seconds apart.

Races start at 8:40 a.m. Saturday and at 8:15 a.m. Sunday. About an hour before race time, boats will begin launching from the docks at Ross's Landing and rowing to the starting line upriver.

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