Watching the races from the Allston side of the Charles, Sarah appeared to be having a good time, dangling her feet at the edge of the water.

Barry said the family has a rowing machine at home that Sarah often uses. A future regatta participant, perhaps?

"I think if she wants to do it, she can do it," Barry said.

Sarah could learn from Anne D. Browning '00, captain of the Radcliffe heavyweight crew, who strolled along the banks before her race, the last of the afternoon.

This was the first Head of the Charles for Browning. She was the starting goalie on the women's soccer team for the past three years before giving up the sport to concentrate on crew full-time.

"I'm pretty fired up," Browning said. "This will be the biggest crowd I've ever performed in front of."

Browning spent much of the weekend with her family, who traveled from Chapel Hill, N.C., for the regatta.