Thirty-one alumni and current Mathews High School/Mobjack rowers braved the damp, cold, cloudy and foggy weather last Wednesday to participate in the 20th annual Mobjack Rowing Association Christmas Eve Row at Williams Wharf.

Although fog was socking in most of the East River, the water from the starting line of the race course to the finish at Williams Wharf was clear and the rain had diminished to a light drizzle. An eight, two fours and two doubles launched, rowed up to the start line and raced back to the wharf. The rain held off until the last boat was lifted from the water.

Former Mobjack and Gloucester rower Tucker Witt, a Naval Academy graduate, came all the way from his duty station in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, to participate. Witt also wanted to talk to the young attendees at the annual meeting that follows the row and tell them what rowing has meant to him and how it opened opportunities he never would have had if rowing hadn’t been available to him. He listed t...