Man Notices Shocking Detail in News Clip from 1983 Head of the Charles Regatta

A man watching archival footage of the 1983 Head of the Charles Regatta says he was startled to spot his family in the background. The October 1983 race on the Charles River in Boston drew tens of thousands of spectators. After a WCVB reporter posted the clip on social media, Alex Orsi commented that it looked like his mother and father “at the end.” The station contacted him, and Orsi said he recognized his dad, his brother on his shoulders, and later saw his mother rowing and chatting. He added that his grandparents were visible in the background as well. Orsi’s mother, Laurie Dickerson, had been interviewed for a segment and said she has no memory of the filming, only the race. Dickerson was on Boston University’s first all-female team, a milestone tied to Title IX.