WeCanRow DC

Potomac Boat Club is very proud to host WeCanRow DC, a volunteer-directed, not-for-profit, educational and support organization offering breast cancer survivors an introduction to sweep rowing, and ongoing recreational and competitive rowing opportunities.

Below is our WeCanRow DC photo gallery! If you have WeCanRow DC photos to share, please send them to Penelope at editor@potomacstar.com.

For more information about WeCanRow DC, please visit their web site at http://www.wecanrowdc.org.

Watch a replay of the 2010 Boat Race!

If you missed the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race live yesterday on the BBC, you missed a good one!  But no worries!  Click here to watch the blow by blow replay on the Theboatrace.org!

We have a date! PBC Annual Meeting, April 7th

On Wednesday, April 7, Potomac Boat Club will hold its 144th Annual Meeting.  If you’re like us, you’re probably asking yourself … 144th?  How did 144 annual meetings happen in a span of 140 years? But if you’re normal, and without a lot of time on your hands, you’re probably just wondering whether or not you really have to be there. The answer?  Yes.  You do.

Here is the schedule of important events:

• 6:30 - 7:30 PM - Social Hour (a.k.a. Happy Hour … you know, with food and drinks and stuff)

• 7:30 – 9:30 PM - Elections (senior members vote on three Board seats and Officers), Committee Reports and Other Business

Okay, the truth is, you don’t have to be there … but you should be. We make much better decisions when you’re around.

See you soon!

PBC Members: Don’t be left out in the cold!

The access code to the boathouse changes on January 1, 2010.  After that date, existing keys, FOBS, cards, and shared codes will no longer get you into the club. 

But guess what?  You have until December 4th to choose a new access code of your very own!  Exciting, isn’t it?  (Just nod your head “yes.”)

If you’re a member, you should have received an email from the Security Committee on Sunday, November 22nd, explaining how to get your new access code.  If you didn’t get the message, please contact the Security Committee immediately at security@potomacstar.com, so you can be sure to meet the December 4th code application deadline.

We just chose our new code!  It’s the birthday of the mother of the person who rowed 6-seat behind us in ‘91, plus 1869, minus 12, divided by pi, and multiplied by the number of cupcakes we ate for lunch today.  Easy!  Now, go get yours.

Potomac grabs third overall at 2009 Masters Nationals

Congratulations to all of our Potomac Boat Club masters for an impressive showing at the 2009 Masters National Championship Regatta! Their combined effort pushed PBC out of a crowded field of almost 150 competitor clubs into third place in overall team points! Great job, everyone!

This year, our women’s Masters Rowing Program (MRP) sent 22 more athletes to nationals than it did just one year ago. And the numbers paid off. The 26-member team added 122.75 points to the scoreboard for PBC, and finished strong with the seventh highest women’s point total of 84 clubs.

The PBC Men’s Sweep Team fielded fewer athletes than we might have expected for an east coast located championship. Still, with only 14 rowers in heavy rotation, the team managed to pull away with several national titles. Along with PBC scullers Peter Pietra, Cal Sutliff, Ed Ryan, and Bill Cox, they earned 204.50 points, and finished third out of 95 clubs in total men’s points.

If there was a standout club performer throughout the four days, it had to be MRP member and perennial PBC favorite, Camilla Durfee. Camilla raced to five gold medals and one silver in a combination of women’s, mixed and comp boat events. She gets our vote for regatta MVP!

Hard fought battles aside, in the end PBC was no match for sheer size … club size, that is. With a whopping 831.50 points, Saugatuck Rowing Club’s cast of hundreds easily walked away with the overall team title. Minneapolis Rowing Club finished second with 399.75 points, followed closely by PBC in third with 342.25 points.

(We’re not bitter, but um … maybe there should be a category for clubs without full-service dining? Oh. That sounded bitter. Sorry.)

With 147 clubs competing for national titles in more than 200 events, this year’s Masters Nationals was the largest in history. Check out our top results below.

(They’re pretty good considering we just row around here … and make our own food! Oh. Sorry. There we go, again.)