Body of Julia Shew Recovered

Our thoughts and prayers are with Julia’s family, and with the many friends we shared with Julia at Occoquan Boat Club.

Following are links to updated reports:

• Body Recovered in Occoquan Reservoir
• Julia Shew’s Presence Missed at Sandy Run

-The Potomac Star

Update: Floyd B. Galler, Potomac Boat Club, Memorial scheduled for Oct. 2

UPDATE:  A memorial gathering to honor Floyd Galler will be held at the Cosmos Club on Saturday, October 2nd, at 2 pm. All are welcomed to attend.

[Posted July 17, 2010] Potomac Boat Club Senior Member William Lanouette wrote that Dr. Floyd Galler was a stalwart of their Sunday morning rowing group for more than two decades.  The group was very sad to hear of Dr. Galler’s passing, as were we all.

If you would like to add your thoughts and memories of Dr. Galler, please feel free to comment via the Comment form at the bottom of this post.  The obituary below was originally published by Lauren Wiseman, the Washington Post.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Dr. Galler’s family.

Floyd B. Galler, Psychiatrist

Floyd B. Galler, 76, a psychiatrist who had a private practice in Washington since 1968, died June 18, 2010, while snorkeling on vacation in Cancun, Mexico. The cause of death has not been determined.

Since the late 1970s, Dr. Galler had been a forensic psychiatrist for the D.C. courts, specializing in family court matters. He also was a consultant to the State Department in the 1960s, and to St. Elizabeths Hospital in the 1970s.

Floyd Bruce Galler, a native of Chicago, received a bachelor’s degree in 1955, and a medical degree in 1959, both from Harvard University. He moved to Washington in 1966, and spent two years as a commander in the U.S. Public Heath Service, in which he was head of child psychiatry at St. Elizabeths Hospital.

From 1986 to 1994, Dr. Galler was a psychiatric consultant for the Sleep Disorders Center at Georgetown University.  Since 1968, he had held teaching positions at Georgetown and Catholic University, among other places.

He was a lifetime fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. His memberships included the Cosmos Club and the Potomac Boat Club. He was a Chevy Chase resident.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Nancy Stowe Galler of Chevy Chase; three children, Eric S. Galler of Silver Spring, Heather G. Brandes of New York City and Rebecca M. Galler of Burlingame, Calif.; and five grandchildren.

– Lauren Wiseman, The Washington Post, Post Mortem

Support PBC’s National Team athletes!

Every little bit helps!  And it’s all tax deductible!

• Click HERE to go straight to your donation options!

In less than a couple of weeks, our Brendan McEwan will represent the United States in the Men’s Single Sculls at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in Brest, Belarus (July 22 – 25).  Brendan won his event at trials in June by 3.41 seconds, crossing the line in 6:59.294. He will be joined by Coach Reilly Dampeer, who has done a tremendous job helping him get ready.

And, hey!n  We’re proud to report again that Rob Rasmussen and Nader Al-Naji are on the Junior National Team roster!  Joined by Coach Deb Dryer, Rob and Nader will be racing in the double at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships in Racice, Czech Republic (August 4 – 7).

Crazy kids.  All that energy.  Makes you want to take a load off, doesn’t it?  Well, while you’re sitting there, you’re gonna earn a chance to  feel like you’re right there next to the guys when they step up to the winners’ podium … all without leaving your computer!

The charitable foundation created to support our National Team athletes, the Potomac River Sports Foundation (PRSF), figures our team still needs about $7,500 to fund our World Championships effort this year.  Basically, each boat costs about $1700 to rent and transport. The USRowing fee is $1,625 for each athlete. Add another $1300 for coach’s room, board, gear and flight. Well, you get the picture. Being an elite level rower ain’t cheap, folks!

Since we’re pretty sure none of us can cover the entire amount today, tax deductible or not, how about we do this thing together?  Fiddy from her.  A hundy from him. A couple Gs from you. And so on.  That way, we’ll all feel like we’re part of it when Brendan, Rob and Nader take those winning strokes across the finish line!

(Of course, if you do throw down the entire $7,500, just don’t tell us, so we’ll all still feel like we did something.  Thanks.)

Okay, so.  Got your credit card ready, PBC? (Come on! They need you! And it’s tax deductible!)  To give using PayPal, click here.

If you would rather pay by check, just make it payable to Potomac River Sports Foundation, and then mail it to Paul Knight at the following the address:

Paul Knight, Treasurer
Potomac River Sports Foundation
c/o Nossaman LLP
1666 K Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006

By the way, you can give to the PRSF all year long!

Best of luck to Brendan, Rob, Nader, Reilly and Deb! GO, PBC!!!

Stay tuned for a charitable group hug mid-August.

The Race for Steve Vermillion

Steve Vermillion’s brother, Ryan, sent the following update earlier this week through the Potomac Boat Club Yahoo Group.  We wanted to be sure to share it with all of Steve’s teammates, friends and supporters out there, so we reprinted it below.

We’re thinking of you, Steve.  Hurry back.

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I wanted to bring you up to date on Stephen and ask for your special thoughts and prayers tomorrow. As many of you know Stephen has been battling leukemia for over 18 months. That is a long time, for someone to stay strong, upbeat, thankful and appreciative for everyday he has while battling a disease that ultimately wants to kill him.

Stephen has been a real warrior, trooper, stud or whatever adjective you want to use during this period of time. Think of what you have been through the last 18 months, we have had 2 Christmas’s, 2 New Years Eve’s, 2 St. Patty’s Days, we have all had our birthdays and some of us have had 2 birthdays since Stephen’s diagnosis. We have had births, deaths, times to smile and times to cry, good times and bad times. We wake up and complain about the rain, the snow, our jobs, our class work but we wake up and move on with our day. Stephen wakes up with leukemia every single day. He has to go through another day of chemotherapy, blood transfusions, bone marrow biopsies, spinal taps, platelets, IV antibiotic drips,  CT scans, radiation, skin biopsies and coughing down more pills than 10 people should take.

At times he is his old self, talking, laughing, teasing but other times he is tired, quiet, reserved, in pain, dizzy, nauseated, cold, hot, irritated but he pushes forward not knowing where this journey will take him. He has been declared cancer free, he has been told he beat it, he has received a bone marrow transplant that was supposed to be the answer. He has been told he is strong and not the normal patient, that is body is in great shape and the chemo has not had any detrimental effects on his organs but … he still has leukemia. He has done everything the doctors have asked him to do. He told me one time he would give his left leg if that would cure him, he is willing to do anything to continue to be a husband, father, son, brother, cousin, and friend.

Tomorrow Stephen will be receiving his second bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. This time he will be receiving his bone marrow from his 13 year old daughter Sarah. Can you think of a better gift you can give a parent, life. We would all want to give our parents the gift of life, they gave it to us and how great would it be that we could give it back, well Sarah will be doing just that tomorrow morning. Sarah will give her father the gift of life through her bone marrow. Tomorrow morning think of and pray for Stephen and Sarah, that their day will go well and that ultimately this bone marrow transplant will cure Stephen. I know that is what Sarah wants and she believes she is going to save her Dad. We all have busy days, we are pulled in many different directions, demands on our time are always there. When you think you are having a bad day think of what Stephen and Jennifer have gone through the last 18 months.

Tomorrow morning  think of and pray for Stephen, give him the strength he needs to continue the fight. The Doctors are amazed at Stephens physical condition, his ability to tolerate chemo, his mental fortitude they can’t understand it and they don’t have an answer. There is someone who has the answers, our mother. She knows where Stephens strength comes from, it comes from your continued prayers and thoughts. There are thousands of people praying for Stephen, please keep it going, it is working. One day Stephen will finally be able to say he is cancer free.

Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do for Stephen, Jennifer, Sarah and Joe.

I know I have missed family and friends with this email, please forward it on to any of Stephens friends that I have missed, the more people praying the better.

God Bless you all,
Ryan

Ryan P. Vermillion
Head Trainer
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, NC

I love the water.

I love the water. By Dick Schwartzbard

Senior member Dick Schwartzbard has been retired from the federal government for more years than many of us have been alive.  He was a sailor, who loved the water, but got tired of driving all the way to the Chesapeake Bay from Arlington. He tried sailing on the Potomac, but quickly got tired of getting his boat stuck in the gunk.

When the weather is warmer, don’t be surprised to find Dick up on the porch at the club. It’s one of his favorite places to just sit, relax, and watch the river and the world go by. He recalls one of these days for us.  -The Potomac Star

I love the water.  It’s peaceful and tranquil.  Well, usually.  I was quite an avid sailor back in the day, but I am willing to admit that these days, I’m probably way too comfortably ensconced in old fartdom to ever become an avid rower.  All I know is that I love the water.  I love looking at it.  I love being near it.  I love watching the shells glide over its surface, especially from the porch of Potomac Boat Club.  If I have to do a little rowing every now and then to be able to watch the sun set over the river from the porch, then so be it.

Truth be told, conditions have to be pretty close to perfect for me to go for a row.  A few months ago, I went down to the boathouse on a Sunday and found less than perfect conditions.  Too much wind.  Too much chop.  The air was a bit too cold.  Just the kind of opportunity I look forward to!  A day to get comfortable on the porch and watch the world go by on the river.  It didn’t take much for me to head straight to my favorite place upstairs.

I wasn’t on the porch long before someone else was on the dock below to survey the scene.  Unlike me, this brave soul decided to go for it.  He disappeared into the house, reemerged with a boat on his head, proceeded down the ramp, and carefully placed his boat in the water.  I’ll call him Rower 1.

Rower 1 got his oars in the oarlocks, and then got himself in his boat and situated.  In a few minutes, he was ready to shove.  Unfortunately, when he did, he didn’t quite give it enough “oomph” to clear his starboard oar.  This is usually fine, but it didn’t seem like he knew how to use his oar to push off from the dock, either.  Worse yet, after this “misfire,” he wasn’t able to maneuver back into a position that would allow him to try to shove again.  Every stroke Rower 1 took with his port oar only angled the bow of his boat closer to the dock and the stern farther away … the opposite position he wanted to be in.  In fact, it looked like he was inadvertently working his way down the dock to where the coaching launches were tied up.  I thought if he got there, he’d really be in trouble!

So, at this point, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t get up from my comfortable vantage point on the porch to go help poor Rower 1.  Well, I thought about it.  Briefly.  But as you know, rowers are a determined lot, and Rower 1 was no different.  Back and forth, inch by inch, little by little, he kept at it.  I wasn’t going to deprive him of achieving success on his own.  Finally, his oar cleared just enough to let him take a bite and he was off!  Good job, Rower 1!

As I watched the first rower make his way up river, another one showed up on the dock.   This guy was a bit quicker off the dock than the last one. He grabbed his boat and launched.  I’ll call him Rower 2.

On the water, Rower 2 looked skilled and smooth.  In fact, it wasn’t long before he caught up to Rower 1 and passed him.  Now, I’m not one to take pleasure in another person’s misfortune, but the ease with which Rower 2 overtook Rower 1 … well, it made me feel pretty good. I thought, hey, maybe I’m not the slowest rower at the club after all!

I continued to watch as Rower 1 and Rower 2 disappear upstream, and then turned my eyes back to the water, sky and birds.  Soon, another rower showed up on the dock.  This one was about half my age, but definitely no youngster!  Like the last two fellows, he surveyed the scene and then disappeared for few minutes to get a boat.  He emerged with a club Maas, and set it in the water.  I’ll call him Rower 3.

A Maas is a shorter and wider type of boat than a regular racing single, but it is also more stable.  It’s the kind of boat I like to use, so I assumed that, like me, maybe Rower 3 didn’t have a lot of experience.  Given the trouble Rower 1 had getting out there, I thought this might get interesting!

I watched as Rower 3 mounted his oars, but something wasn’t quite right. It seemed to me that he put them in with the oarlocks backwards!  Why didn’t I say anything?  Well, I thought, what do I know?  I still consider myself a novice rower, so I resisted giving advice.  Besides, it looked like a friend had shown up with him.  Certainly, his friend would say something if his oarlocks were indeed backwards.  His friend shoved him off the dock, but once he got out there, I could see that his backwards-looking oarlocks were giving him trouble.

Anyway, Rower 3 sure wasn’t making much progress, and the progress he was making sure wasn’t in a straight line.  He took the boat around another 270 degrees or so before he finally started going straight.  The problem was, he was headed straight for the dock!  I don’t know if it was a good thing or not that the wind suddenly blew him down river, but it did.  He missed the dock by about six feet … and went right into the shore between the dock and Jack’s.

Just like Rower 1, Rower 3 persevered and finally extricated his boat from that awkward location. His friend helped him back to the dock. Clearly frustrated, he got right out of the boat to search for someone who could tell him what had gone wrong.  Unfortunately for him, there must have been a regatta that day because most of the folks I usually see around the club weren’t there.  Eventually, one of our most experienced members appeared, and I watched as the three of them went over the boat from bow to stern.

It’s interesting how experience sometimes blinds you to the obvious. Here was a unbelievably experienced member, who has probably forgotten more about rowing than I will ever know, yet he couldn’t see the backward oarlocks.  Maybe I was tuned in to the problem because I’ve made the same mistake putting in my own oars.  Finally, I decided to get up from my seat on the porch, and went down to the dock to offer that the oarlocks might be backwards.  And they were!  I felt smart.  They got the oarlocks facing in the right direction, made some adjustments to the foot plate, and soon, Rower 3 was back on the water and headed upstream.

About that time, Rower 1 was coming back down river. I watched from the dock as he rowed under Key Bridge, and I watched as he turned to cross the river behind the arches to come back around to the boathouse.  But then, nothing. That was odd, I thought.  I waited and waited for what seemed like forever, when finally something slowly came into view.

I couldn’t really tell if what I was looking at was just a shadow or a log or a boat that was barely moving. It turns out it was a boat.  And it was barely moving because it was upside down with a rower clinging to it. The bridge supports, the wind, and the current do strange things to the water close to the bridge.  More experienced rowers go down river a bit before making the turn. Rower 1 turned too close to the bridge, an error I daresay he won’t make again.

Right away, someone in a powerboat noticed the plight of Rower 1 and rushed up to help.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t seem to get Rower 1 out of the water.  Soon, a couple of rowers rowed up to the poor guy and it looked like they were offering him advice on how to get back into his boat, but to no avail. Eventually, they must have decided that one of them would tow – as in row – Rower 1 and his shell back to the dock.  And that’s precisely what they started to do.

Now, as you know, we pay some pretty high taxes in the DC area and the beneficiaries of those taxes like to show that they are earning our tax dollars.  Just as the situation was under control, the Harbor Police came roaring up to the chain of rowers and boats, their lights flashing. They managed to pull the wet rower on board and tow his shell the remaining few feet to the dock.  Just as I caught the bow of the rowerless shell, more flashing lights appeared on the river as a fire department boat came roaring in for its part of the rescue. And finally, it wouldn’t have been complete without a club member running down onto the dock all excited to find out what was happening. It seems that she had just pulled in to the club parking lot as three fire engines, two ambulances and a rescue van of some sort were arriving under the freeway with lights and sirens blaring.

Well, it certainly wasn’t the nice relaxing day on the porch I thought I was going to have, but I learned some valuable lessons.  On a superficial level, I watched a couple of novices make novice mistakes. On a more substantive level, I saw two men courageous enough to accept the challenge of a new activity.  They clearly had the determination and perseverance inherent in most rowers, so I am sure they will succeed.  I also learned that rowing is not only physically and technically challenging, but it can be downright dangerous, and even life threatening, on a river as unpredictable as the Potomac can be.

So, yes. So much for my peaceful day on the river. I probably would have stayed to watch Rower 2 and Rower 3 return, but at that point, I decided I had enough peace and tranquility for one day!

Safety lesson learned the hard way

A couple of weeks before the ice set in, but after PBC’s winter rowing rules went into effect, senior member Nick Holland and his single had a run in with a log.  Upstream without a personal flotation device (pfd), with a water temperature below 45F, Nick would be the first to tell you that he was lucky to make it back to the dock alive.  Below is his story.  Sharing it with you is his penance for breaking the rules.

Before we get to Nick’s story, at the bottom of this post you will find links to Hypothermia and Cold Water Immersion – Information for Rowing and Coaches and Clubs by Jane Blockley of the Leo Blockley Memorial Campaign. Leo Blockley drowned on December 29, 2000, in the River Ebro while rowing with the Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club during winter training camp in Amposta, Spain.  About fifty meters from the dock, Leo disappeared as he attempted to swim back to the boat. He was 21.

Please visit the Leo Blockley Memorial Campaign web site linked here for information that could save your life.

And now, a few words from Mr. Holland ….

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As many of you know, I had what can only be called a lucky escape a few weeks ago when my single hit a large submerged log up river near the Hens and Chicks. Had it not been for some fortuitous circumstances, I might have ended up with a very cold swim to the Virginia shore.  I want to let you know what happened and hopefully draw out some valuable lessons for you all.

Following the collision, my boat was still afloat, so I elected to try to get back as close to PBC as I could.  Assisted by wind and stream, I started to row with one eye on my bow as the boat took on water.  When I could see that the bow ball was about to sink below water level, I spun the boat around and continued down river by backing down at the compressed catch position in order to keep the bow up as much as possible and to keep my weight as close to the stern as possible.  As I passed Three Sisters, the water came pouring over the gunwales and I was no longer able to row.

Knowing I could get very cold and wet – or worse – I took out my feet and got as far to the back of the boat as possible. After a second or two, I realized that maybe I could surf paddle the hull closer to PBC.  I wedged my scull handles under my stomach with the blades flat to hopefully steady the boat a bit more.  At that point, only my legs and lower torso were wet.

Straddling the hull with one leg on either side and lying forward on the tracks and foot stretcher, I was able to paddle the boat okay, but the wind blowing against the stern made it difficult for me to get to shore. I headed to a point up river of the Canoe Club, so that if I passed out, the wind and current might move my boat down onto the Canoe Club dock. As it turned out, I remained conscious and was able to paddle the hull all the way to the PBC dock, where some very nice people got me and my boat out of the water.

The lessons I learned are as follows:

1. It doesn’t matter how good I think I am, ACCIDENTS CAN AND WILL HAPPEN, when I least expect them.

2. DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE CONDITIONS. I had on decent clothes which helped to minimize my heat loss a bit, especially the superb under armor beanie, which looks stupid, but certainly kept my head warm. Pogies kept my hands warm, but eventually they were lost in the ordeal. In retrospect, I should have had on a pfd or wetsuit, or both. I would have increased my buoyancy, retained more body heat, and bought myself a little more time should I have needed it. And you never know when you’re going to need it.

3. DON’T PANIC. Assess the situation and make a decision. Obviously, the best decision is the one that will get you out of the water and on shore soonest. My boat was still afloat and rowable for most of the time, but every situation will be different. Try to have a plan before you go out. If it comes down to saving the boat or you, just make sure you do what it takes to save yourself. You can always replace a boat.

Nick Holland

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So, folks, once the ice has melted and those of us who simply must row – no matter what – are back on the water, please remember to follow the winter rowing rules and take basic precautions. Cold water rowing is an inherently dangerous activity. We don’t want you to do it, but if you do, don’t make us have to explain to your spouse/parents/kids that you didn’t make it back to shore because you were simply too stubborn to wear a pfd or wetsuit.

• Hypothermia and Cold Water Immersion – Information for Rowing Coaches and Clubs (ENG) (132KB – MS Word)
• Hypothermia and Cold Water Immersion – Information for Rowing Coaches and Clubs (ENG) (314KB – Adobe PDF)

Vote by 9/15 to help kids learn to row!

Deadline to vote is Tuesday, September 15th.

Margot Zalkind, member of Potomac Boat Club and executive director of the Foundation for Rowing Education, needs our help!

Nike is investing up to $650,000 in grants across the nation to unlock the potential of young people through the power of sports.  Margot’s foundation has applied to receive one of these grants in order to help its youth outreach program, Row4All, continue to grow the sport of rowing among the underserved kids of western Massachusetts.  The application period is over, but now Nike is asking folks to determine the grant winners by voting.

This is where we come in.  Please visit Nike’s Back Your Block site here to learn more about the Foundation for Rowing Education and to vote for Nike to support Row4All.  You will have to confirm your vote via email, but the whole process took us less than two minutes … two minutes that could make a positive difference in the life of a child.

And sure, we realize western Massachusetts isn’t exactly “our block,” but encouraging youth rowing has been a definitive part of Potomac Boat Club’s history for 140 years.

Help carry on this important Potomac tradition by voting to support Row4All before the September 15th deadline.

Club Stockholders, Crack Oarsmen, and PBC Heavyweight Wrestling

Happy 140th Anniversary, Potomac Boat Club!

Thanks to the Library of Congress’ Chronicling of America tool, we were able to put together a few archived mentions of Potomac Boat Club dating back to 1882, just for you!

From club stockholders to champion wrestlers, the pages linked below are chock-full of interesting, if not weird, bits of PBC history from the turn of the last century.

We listed the headlines “newest” to oldest. When you find a story you would like to read, click on the link and zoom in!

 

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Regatta Ends (The Washington Times, August 14, 1910)

Best Entrants in National Regatta Are Rowing in Today’s Events on the Potomac (The Washington Times, August 13, 1910)

A.A.U. Championships Regatta on Potomac, Has Attracted the Greatest Gatehring of Oarsmen Ever Held In America (Palestine Daily Herald, Texas, August 12, 1910)

Crack Oarsmen from All Over The Country Are Arriving for the National Regatta, First Out-of-Town Arrivals for National Regatta on Potomac (The Washington Times, August 10, 1910)

Regatta Entries Are Now All In, Sixty-three Crews to Take Part in Big Event, Ottawa Rowing Club Coming (The Washington Herald, August 8, 1910)

All Is Set for the Big Regatta (The Washington Herald, August 7, 1910)

Potomac Boat Club in the Society Page (The Washington Herald, July 17, 1910)

National Rowing Regatta to Be Great Event (The World of Sports, July 17, 1910)

Potomacs Sign Middies’ Coach, Dick Glendon Succeeds Pat Dempsey at Local Club (The Washington Herald, June 30, 1910)

Great Regatta May Come South, Potomac Boat Club Will Make Effort to Land National Amateur Rowing Event (Richmond Times Dispatch, March 6, 1910)

Wrestling Bouts Draw Slim Crowd, Mueller Champion of the Heavyweight Title (The Washington Times, February 25, 1909)

National Regatta May Be Held Here, Potomac Club to Make Strong Bid for Big Event, Prominent Men to Take up the Plans (The Washington Times, December 24, 1908)

Seventeenth Regatta on the Potomac, Prussians Who Competed in Olympics Games Row With Americans (The San Francisco Call, September 8, 1908)

Potomac Juniors Win Their Event, Washington Eight Beats Baltimore and Middle States Regatta (The Washington Times, September 7, 1908)

German Contenders In Two Sculling Events (The Washington Times, September 6, 1908)

Editorial Comment on High School Rowing (The Washington Herald, May 10, 1908)

Gossip of the Oarsmen (The Washington Herald, March 4, 1907)

Oarsmen on their Mettle for the Big Rowing Event (The Washington Times, September 2, 1906)

Don’t Want Jamestown For National Regatta (The Washington Times, December 16, 1906)

Labor Day Regatta Has Record Entry, List Opened Last Night Contains Names of Many Crack Oarsmen (August 30, 1906)

Finest Regatta Ever Pulled Off On The Potomac, Forty-five Clubs Represented (The Washington Times, September 7, 1905)

Washington Oarsmen Making Great Plans for Next Year (The Richmond Times Dispatch, September 11, 1905)

Potomac Boat Club Makes Firm Denial, Says Statements by ex-Member Concerning Organization and Its Methods are Untrue – An Explanation and Some History (The Washington Times, August 20, 1905)

Rough Water Interfered With National Regatta, Oarsmen Unable to Do Their Best Work Because of Choppy Condition of Course. McGowan of Potomacs Was Fouled. (The Washington Times, August 12, 1905)

Have Regatta on James River, Virginia Boat Club Perparing for Interesting Event This Summer, Engages Capable Coach, Dr. Joseph A. Reilly of Georgetown Will Train Local Crew (Richmond Times – Dispatch, May 7, 1905)

Washington Should Aid Its Coming Regatta, More Money Required to Accommodates Crew at Coming Potomac Regatta (The Washington Times, August 7, 1904)

Titus Defeated by Vesley in the Senior Single Race (The Washington Times, September 8, 1903)

Noted Oarsmen Row For Prizes, Middle State Regatta Is Witnessed by Large Crowd, Medals and Silken Badges Are Distributed Among the Victors (The San Francisco Call, September 8, 1903)

Visiting Oarsmen Arrive on Scene (The Washington Times, September 6, 1903)

Pat Dempsey To Coach Potomac Boat Crews, Services of a Veteran Trainer Necessary, Local Crews Working Hard (The Washington Times, August 31, 1903)

Frank Greer Wrests Sculling Championships from C.S. Titus (The Saint Paul Globe, August 16, 1903)

Championship Regatta of National Oarsmen, Preliminary Races Are Successfully Rowed Off at Lake Quinsigamond (The Saint Paul Globe, August 15, 1903)

Potomacs Again Win Double Sculls (The Washington Times, August 13, 1903)

Plans Perfected for Potomac’s Regatta, Races Tomorrow Evening to Terminate With Dance (The Washington Times, July 17, 1903)

A Day on the Water with Georgetown’s Aspiring Crews (The Washington Times, May 17, 1903)

Announcement of Performance to Benefit the Potomac Boat Club Building Fund (The Washington Times, April 26, 1903)

Potomac Regatta A Brilliant Success, Races Witnessed by Thousands of War Veterans (The Evening Times, October 6, 1902)

Labor Day Regatta Officials Named, (The Washington Times, September 2, 1902)

Entries for the Annual Regatta of National Amateur Oarsmen’s Association (The New York Tribune, July 11, 1900)

Harlem Regatta, Arrangements for the Meeting of Amateur Oarsmen Completed (The Saint Paul Globe, July 10, 1900)

Potomac River Regatta Is Successfully Pulled, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia (Richmond Dispatch, August 2, 1896)

From the Capital (The Salt Lake Daily Herald, May 27, 1888)

The Potomacs Win the Cup (The New York Sun, September 6, 1887)

The Passaic Regatta, Interesting Contests Between Crews from Many Cities (The New York Sun, June 12, 1887)

Miscellaneous (The Salt Lake Daily Herald, October 8, 1882)

Let’s be less gross this year – Help keep PBC free of H1N1!

The H1N1 virus is supposed to make flu season 2009 especially nasty, so cleaning up after ourselves and doing whatever we need to ensure our best chance at staying healthy is no joke.

For the sake of your teammates, your family, and even yourself, please remember to take the following precautions around the boathouse:

Wash your workout gear daily, and only wear laundered gear to the Club.

Wash your hands with soap and water before and after practice, especially when using shared equipment. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective, and disinfecting wipes are already available around the boathouse.  Look for them, and use them!

On and off the water, make sure to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and do it with your arm or shoulder instead of your hands.

After you erg, use the spray disinfectant and paper towels available in the Ballroom to wipe off the erg handles, the seat, and wherever else you may have shed biological material.

And by the way, please don’t forget to wipe your sweat off the floor when you’re done on the erg. Making a big pool of sweat may be proof you worked out incredibly hard, but leaving it there for someone else to deal with only means you’re an incredibly inconsiderate you-know-what. The photo (left) of the running river of sweat was taken on Saturday, August 22. There were paper towels and a squirt bottle full of disinfectant not ten feet away. We say, check the security cameras!  The person who did this probably took the crap in the launch a month or so ago.

[Yes. That's right. Someone defecated in one of the launches.  Don't blame the messenger. We are as disgusted are you are. Hey, erg-sweat-leaver-launch-crapper ... Stop it already. It's not funny. It's just wrong on so many levels.]

Finally, if you are sick with a flu-like illness, stay home until you have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours or diagnosed as non-contagious by your physician.

For the latest on the H1N1 flu virus, including symptoms and what you can do to protect yourself, your family, and your community, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm.

Give to the Potomac River Sports Foundation

Support Potomac Boat Club’s National Team athletes with tax deductible donations to the Potomac River Sports Foundation (PRSF)!  The PRSF is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity.

To donate through PayPal, click here.

Donations made by check should be made payable to Potomac River Sports Foundation, and mailed to Paul Knight at following the address:

Paul Knight, Treasurer
Potomac River Sports Foundation
c/o Nossaman LLP
1666 K Street NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006

Any donation – whether large or small – is greatly appreciated, so let’s help all of our deserving athletes and coaches realize their National Team dreams!

Erik Meyers, President, PRSF
Paul Knight, Treasurer, PRSF
Matt Madigan, Head Coach, PBC Open Sculling Program and Director, PRSF

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