Most high school races are 1,500 meters in length.  This is slightly less than 1 mile.  A race takes approximately six minutes to complete.  Races are divided into men and women, singles, doubles, fours, eights, junior varsity, varsity, and sometimes novices.  Hampton only races fours and eights.

What you need to watch for.
Besides the boat that is leading the race you want to watch to see if all the rowers in the boat hit the catch together (all oar blades enter the water at the same time).  With each stroke, the rowers are trying to maintain an excellent run (distance the shell goes in one stroke cycle).  Watch the bodies of the rowers; do they move in unison?  All the rowers in a boat should move and act in total unison.  All crews must have power to move the boat through the water.  During the race, the number of strokes per minute will vary - from 38 to 46 at the very start, 30 to 36 in the middle of the race, and 36 to 44 at the finish.  Each race is followed by a referee in a motor boat behind the last crew.  Referees judge whether the competitors are following the rules.

Depending on the race course you most likely will not be able to see the entire course from start to finish and unless you are a very fast jogger or bring a bicycle with you you will not be able to follow the boats along the course as they are much too fast when racing.  

What to do???  Team up with a 'seasoned' parent that can explain what is going on!  

The following is a list of things you need to bring to a race:
Binoculars
Folding chairs
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Hat
Dress in layers depending on the weather
Extra shoes, socks, clothes depending on the weather
Rain gear!
Cameras
Pocket or wrist watch
Newspaper and/or book to read to kill time
Food as assigned by the food committee chair
Cooking utensils as assigned by the food committee chair
Games, balls, etc for younger children
Driving directions to the race course