Register to race … only 6 days left! And volunteers still needed!

Crews head to the finish and through the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge during the SHOP.

• Click here to register! Final registration closes this Saturday, Sept. 18!
• Looking to volunteer?  We love you! Read Ed Ryan’s note below. (Instructions included!)

The 30th Annual Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac (SHOP) will be held this year on Sunday, September 26.   Regular registration closed on Saturday, September 11, 2010, but you can still register until this Saturday, September 18, by going to Ronin, registering, and by paying a small late fee, in addition to your registration fee.

After Saturday, not even your saddest puppy-dog eyes, most emphatic “pretty pleases,” or largest offers of cash to the Potomac Star at largeoffersofcash@potomacstar.com (now accepting PayPal) will get you racing at the SHOP.  No Race Day registration anymore, either.  So, go ahead.  Register already.

And don’t forget, PBC, we need you to help make the 2010 another success!  Volunteer today! Here is the how-to from our SHOP volunteer coordinator, Ed Ryan.

Yes, PBC members, spouses and friends, WE NEED YOU to help run the ONE SINGLE REGATTA that Potomac Boat Club sponsors each year. It takes a village to run this show, about 75 volunteers in total, and if you’ve been racing for Potomac, using Potomac equipment, have pride in your Club or just want something good and fun to do on a nice autumn Sunday, this is your chance.

I’m particularly interested in getting our competitive teams to respond as groups, and we’ll find fun and exciting group activities. For example, last year, the Masters Rowing Program (MRP) handled all of the launch preparation, and it was great. One big job and they independently figured out who could do it and when.

Here’s the background. The Regatta is on SUNDAY, September 26th. We need volunteers who can work (i) morning shift – 7:30 a.m. – noon, (ii) afternoon shift – noon – 4:00 p.m., or (iii) all day. Good intentions aside, please don’t say you can work in that 45 minute gap between the masters 4 and your spa appointment – you get no good conscience points and it doesn’t help us. AM, PM or all day.

So, if you can take us up on this Call to Arms, PLEASE DO THIS (and read carefully): send an email to headofthepotomac@gmail.com, and state whether you can work morning, afternoon or all day, whether you can drive a launch, and include your cell phone number and email address. Then save the date on your calendar, and you’ll hear back from us.

 Finally, our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all of the great and good-natured volunteers from last year.  It was a terrific day that went ultra smooth — it was wonderful for Potomac Boat Club to host such an event.

Many thanks,
Ed Ryan, on behalf of the Regatta Committee

30th Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac – Register now!

Men's Eights jockey for position as they approach Key Bridge during the 2008 SHOP.

• Click here to register!

Ms. Samantha Byrd, chair of Potomac Boat Club’s Regatta Committee, is proud to announce that the 30th Annual Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac (SHOP) will be held this year on Sunday, September 26.

The regatta is held in memory and honor of legendary rowing coach, Charlie Butt.

Once considered a tune up for the Head of the Charles held in mid-October, the SHOP includes more than 40 sweep and sculling events, and today is considered its own milestone on the fall racing calendar.

To register, please visit the Scullers Head of the Potomac online registration area on Ronin Racing. Entries must be received by Saturday, September 11, 2010, to avoid the late fee. Please note that once registration closes on Saturday, September 18, 2010, it’s closed. There will be no race day registration this year.

Still have a question about the SHOP? Please send it to our Regatta Committee at headofthepotomac@gmail.com.   And if you can volunteer to help out on race day, make sure you let them know at this address, too!

The Charlie Butt Scullers Head of the Potomac is a true test of physical endurance and mental toughness for sweep crews and scullers alike. Don’t miss a chance to race down one of the Nation’s most historic rivers!

JL Racing Team Store returns in May! Stay tuned!

PBC JL Racing Team Store is closed for now!

RETURNS IN MAY!

The Potomac Boat Club JL Racing Team Store opened until midnight (PST), September 12, 2010.  The planned ship date for those order placed prior to September 12 is October 12, 2010.

• PBC JL Racing Team Store (now closed)
• Order your own JL uni right here.
  

If you have questions regarding your order, please contact Sylvia Frayne. (Her email address was sent today in a message to the Yahoo group.) Or visit the order FAQs on the team site!

Happy shopping, PBC!

Potomac Masters make a run for gold at the border

Perennial favorites Camilla Durfee and Cal Sutliff will try to bring home the gold once again in the mixed 2x. (Pictured above in 2006.)

From Camden to Canada, Potomac Boat Club’s most experienced this week head north again to St. Catherines, Ontario, for the 2010 FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta.  The four days of racing starts tomorrow, September 2nd, and culminates on September 5th, with a usually rowdy party. (And we’ve seen pictures of our MRP at this party from years past, fully enjoying their time away from home waters. Let’s just say that one year, they got the cops on the dance floor … to dance!)

But with over 2,700 entries and 300 clubs participating, the racing does get serious, folks. See for yourself!

Camilla strikes again, this time with Kathy Hughes in the G-J 2x. Thanks to Debbie Charles Chisholm for the pic!

Draws are now available here.  Click here to visit Regatta Central for a list of PBC entered events and the names of those competing for the club.  For real time results throughout the event, make sure you click here. (Refresh your browser often to ensure the latest results are visible.)

Not enough schedules and results for you?  Visit a link below to find results for each day of the regatta:

• Thursday’s Results
• Friday’s Results
• Saturday’s Results
• Sunday’s Results

And maybe we’ll get lucky again and have more guest reporting from the event.  Check back over the next few days for updates!  [Update: Folks are writing us! (Squeal) See who below!]

Good luck to everyone and … GO, PBC!

Winners of the Women's H4+: Potomac's Marilyn Means, Camilla Durfee, Gretchen Ellsworth, Sarah Grady and Sally Sternbach.

Making weekend plans? Let’s go to MatNats!

[This is a retread of sorts.  What can we say? It's Masters Nationals in Camden, again!  We have members saving people during practice. Juniors winning medals in Eastern Europe. The postcard is what we could do for now. Next year, MatNats will be in Oklahoma City. Maybe we'll stick a cowboy hat up there or something.]

* * *

Hey!  With most folks headed down to the Carolina beaches this time of year, why not head up the road instead?  This weekend, a short 2-3 hour drive north on 95 will land you smack dab in the middle of some hot race action. Where? Why, in always-lovely, ever-effervescent (drum roll) … Camden, New Jersey!

From Thursday, August 12, 2010 to Sunday, August 15, 2010, PBC’s Masters rowers will join almost 1800 others out on the Cooper River for Masters National Championships 2010.  We’re pretty confident our folks will be leading the pack in more than a few events, so go cheer them on!

[We even put together a little map for you and directions to the venue. Scroll down to see it. We wouldn't want you to end up in Philly.]

To find out who will be wearing the white star, and in which of 200 events, visit the PBC Masters Nationals lineups page on Regatta Central here.  Click here for live race results.

And fine. For those of you who would rather watch from the air conditioned comfort of your own homes, USRowing will stream live video of the finals at http://rowing.teamusa.org/live. (We were planning to tell you eventually!)

2010 USRowing Masters National Championships Finals Live Feed Schedule

Thursday, August 12, 2:45 p.m. – 6:09 p.m.
Friday, August 13, 2 p.m. – 5:32 p.m.
Saturday, August 14, 1 p.m. – 4:28 p.m.
Sunday, August 15, 1 p.m. – 4:32 p.m.

* * *

Map to the venue (directions are below):

Directions to the venue:

From the Ben Franklin Bridge:
Merge onto Route 30 East
Merge onto Route 30 – 70 East
Bear right after overpass onto Route 70 East
Turn right @ first light (McClellan Avenue)
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From the Walt Whitman Bridge:
Take the Route 130 North exit towards Route 168 North
Keep right @ the fork in the ramp
Bear right onto Route 130 North
Follow route 130 North to N. Park Drive
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From 295 South & North:
From 295 South take exit 34A (Route 70 West)
From 295 North take exit 34B (Route 70 West)
Take Cuthbert Boulevard (South) exit
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From NJ Turnpike North:
Take exit 4, Berlin – Philadelphia
Take Route 73 North to Route 38 West
Take Cuthbert Boulevard (South) exit
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

From NJ Turnpike South:
Take exit 3, Bellmawr
Merge onto Route 168 North
Bear right onto Route 130 North
Turn right onto N. Park Drive
End @ Boathouse: 7050 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, NJ

You’re invited: USRowing Town Hall Meeting on Mandatory Membership

In a tough economy and with many rowers and rowing programs operating on the slimmest of budgets, participants in our sport have started to question the cost of a USRowing membership and its value. In his August 2010 letter to the rowing community, chief executive officer of USRowing, Glenn Merry, outlined several of the issues associated with a proposed mandatory membership in USRowing. Thus far, formal and informal discussions on the subject have been heated.

This fall, USRowing will hold a series of town hall meetings to gather input from the community on the subject of mandatory membership and other related issues. The first one scheduled for the Mid-Atlantic Region is on Tuesday, August 17, at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria.

More meeting details are below, followed by a reprint of Glen Merry’s letter. Whatever your opinion might be, this is your moment to be heard and to influence the direction of our sport. Please consider attending. (Not mandatory.)

Recently, there have been animated discussions taking place in the rowing community about USRowing membership, its value and its cost. The debate should elicit many thoughts.

As I reviewed how other sports handle their membership, I found that most provide the same general benefits: insurance, newsletters, discounts, information, competitions, rules, safety programs and perhaps a magazine. The major national governing bodies (sports like triathlon, swimming, gymnastics and volleyball) have mandatory requirements for individual membership. If you participate in the sport, you pay to do so. USRowing does not currently require individual membership for the sport of rowing.

Why do most [National Governing Bodies] (NGBs) mandate membership? In many cases, it has been driven by risk and insurance. Frankly, anyone participating in a sport, from the novice to the Olympian, adds to the perceived liability risk, and it is more economical for everyone when an NGB shops a policy that covers all of the exposure rather than have each team, club or person to do so on their own. In conjunction with this, the NGB then provides the infrastructure to safely run the sport, things like rules, referees, coaching education and safety regulations.

For two decades, USRowing has not mandated individual membership. This was not always the case. When I rowed in college in the late 1980s, everyone was a member of USRowing. The change took place in 1990, kind of. USRowing dropped individual requirements, but the requirement shifted to organizations. If a club participated in registered regattas, then it had to be part of the structure.

Fast-forward 20 years. The sport has grown to five times the size. We had three major accidents in the mid-2000s where rowers died, changing our perceived risk. Insurance premiums quadrupled. Organizational dues reformed into tiered insurance categories. The sport survived, and five years later, we are out the other side. But, we need to think about our structure moving forward.

During the past decade, the sport has grown by a factor of three. We are now pushing up against constraints of an aged system from an era that supported the 30,000 who rowed in 1989, not the 150,000 active participants of today. Much of the recent growth in our sport has been driven by the NCAA and its addition of women’s rowing to its program. This, in turn, has pushed the growth of high school rowing. High school rowing has exploded into thousands of participants and hundreds of regattas annually.

As this growth occurred outside the control and stewardship of USRowing, some of these growth areas have not paid proportionally into the infrastructure of the sport. We also face other issues of rapid growth such as the deficit of experienced quality coaches. Programs are faced with hiring “coaches,” many of whom have only the experience of being an interested parent or having rowed for three or four years. Do these issues seem like a sustainable model for a safe and professional sport?

I would argue that the answer is no.

Currently, 16,500 individuals pay into the system that supports the entire rowing population. It’s true that the 1,050 organizational members also pay dues of $350, but we are not seeing the scalable support required to take rowing to the next level. In addition, we have no idea the exact scope of the sport, and we need to know this in order to assess our combined risk, attract and activate new sponsors and appropriately program services.

It has been rumored that USRowing is planning to take over the sport, to mandate individual membership. In some regard, we aren’t taking it over – we are the sport. Love us or hate us, we provide the backdrop for the sport to exist (albeit we could do a better job in many areas). Where would we row without liability insurance, referees, rules, safety standards, or basic coaching education? The better rumor that I am starting is that USRowing seeks to become a better NGB. We want every rower to support a system and organization that fulfills his or her needs as a member.

So that takes us to mandatory membership. It has to happen to survive and to meet the growth of our community. What mandatory membership will look like is still up for debate. What we offer to our members needs to be redesigned. But, we are at the beginning of this conversation, with the target of January 2013 to roll out a finished product.

Let’s open the conversation about mandatory membership by describing some common models for consideration. Set aside the issue of how much dues cost right now; we will address that in relation to the value of services rendered to the members. There are two primary models commonly used to implement mandatory membership by NGBs. The first is a direct model where every individual joins and pays his or her dues directly to the NGB. This is close to what we do now with our full-privileged members. The NGB then provides regattas and clubs a roster of eligible members that can participate and compete. USA Swimming uses such a model, with about 400,000 members. The second model is indirect, where an individual is a member via his or her organization. Each athlete pays dues to the organization, and the organization then submits its roster to the NGB with funds to balance its account. USA Curling uses such a model and has about 15,000 members.

The current system used by USRowing is a hybrid of the two models. We have non-privileged members who sign waivers and are part of USRowing through their clubs, but without paying dues and without USRowing gaining access to their information. Our full-privileged membership is used by the 16,000 who have typically raced at one of the USRowing-owned regattas such as a national championship, or by those who want to receive the yearbook and newsletters.

There are some pros and cons to both systems and perhaps a hybrid is necessary for USRowing to meet all of the needs of our community. However, the current hybrid needs to be revised, so that we more actively engage those members coming indirectly through their organizations.

Now turn your attention to the issue of value and cost. Let’s assume for the purpose of this example that the status quo is sufficient for the service and programs provided by USRowing. If it is an accurate assumption that there are 150,000 active rowers and we keep USRowing’s expenses relatively the same as they are now (no new programs, some build-out costs for automated member systems, add someone to answer the increased calls and e-mail, etc.), then one could project a drop in individual dues by a significant amount. Five times as many people paying into the current system could result in half the dues per person.

But let’s take this to another level. What if we said that USRowing should be better (and it really should be.) We should offer new programs, say for example … a recruiting clearing house for youth members and college coaches, advanced coaching education systems, masters rowing camps and real marketing tools for clubs to recruit and engage their local communities. What would that look like? What would that cost with 150,000 rowers paying into that system? Could we do those things and others while reducing the per-person cost of dues?

I believe this is a conversation that we must have. We must address the question, “Is USRowing good enough.” This is the conversation USRowing is beginning with focus groups like the newly formed youth task force. We also will bring this conversation to the people in the rowing community through town hall meetings this fall at local boathouses nationwide.

When the board hired me in 2005 as the new CEO, USRowing was precipitously perched at the edge of collapse. We had run year after year of overspending. Our cash reserves were spent, and our balance sheet was a disaster. Our governance was out of date. We lacked revenue diversity. We were an unstable organization. I have spent the last four years rebuilding the internal structures and stabilizing the association with the help of the board and key stakeholders such as the NRF. We are no longer in triage mode, attempting to keep the association alive. It is time to move forward to not only assure that our sport has a future, but to create a robust future.

I have taken some criticism recently for again asking for input from the members and the community on these issues. It has been said that people have already screamed about what is wrong with USRowing, and how could I not know by now. It’s true that I have heard complaints about USRowing from some key individuals year after year. I guess what I wonder is if the people who have been screaming the loudest really represent what’s best for the masses of rowers or if they are just the loudest one-issue complainers?

I have to admit that after 24 years in the sport and five years in this role, I am more interested in hearing from, and working with, people who want to make USRowing better, stronger and fresher than those who revel in pointing out our missteps.

As I wrote earlier, we are about to embark on a series of town hall membership meetings nationally. If you would like to host a meeting at your boathouse, contact me and let me know. You can reach me at 609-751-0701 or glenn@usrowing.org.

Potomac’s 2010 Quaker City Masters Results

The beer mug: International symbol of laid back.

The Quaker City Masters Regatta held on the Schuylkill in Philadelphia, July 31, 2010, is billed every year as the world’s most laid back regatta.  Laid back or not, we sure came back with a lot of gold.  (Or did they give out mugs?)

Check out our results below.  Congratulations to Nick Holland, Ed Ryan, Bill Cox, Cal Sutliff and the rest of the PBC folks who went up to Philly and cruised to first place finishes.

To see all the results from the regatta, click here.

Potomac’s Results for Diamond States 2010

The record setting temps gave an all new meaning to the heat medals awarded today at the Howard B. Smith Diamond State Regatta (aka “Diamond States”) held on Noxontown Pond in Delaware.

Below are the results we found on Ronin earlier in the day.*  (Wha …? Interference with Lane 4?! Pfffbt.)

To see all the results, click here.

* Events 38 and higher were canceled due to unsafe conditions (read: the storm, not the temps).

Potomac Boat Club – Diamond State Masters Regatta 2010

Women’s E-J 8+

Women’s D-J 2x Lightweight

Women’s A-J 2x

Men’s A-C 4x

Men’s E-F 1x

Women’s C-D 2x

Men’s A 4+

Women’s C-D 8+

Men’s C-D 1x Lightweight

Women’s E-J 2x

Men’s D 4+

Men’s G-J 1x

Women’s C 4+

Mixed D-J 2x

Men’s B 4+

Men’s A-B 8+

Women’s E-J 1x

Men’s E-F 2x

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!

I love the water.

One of Dick's favorite places.

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.

Dick took this photo from the bow of a boat slightly larger than the ones we're used to.

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!

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