Row BOC Blog

RowBOC Committee early on a Saturday

On May 15, the RowBOC Committee met for the first time this season. The committee members – Graeme, Anne, Kendall, and Linda – were joined by Margery, Rachael, Patty Johnson (the newly elected president of Putney Rowing Club), and Oliver Brody (the Green Mountain Head 2010 Coordinator). All were surprisingly bright-eyed for 7:30 am on Saturday, perhaps because it was the first day of the spring clinic and on the agenda was a veritable spree of boat buying.

The committee is also looking into adding to the club racks by borrowing a Vespoli single, owned by the Putney School, and saving for a Pienert 25.  Last fall, a used Peinert 25 cost about $3950. The priority, said Anne, is to find two or three boats for advanced beginners and up.

Committee members are on the hunt for good, used  hatchet oars and advise all members to keep their eyes out. Graeme has offered to help design new racks for the upcoming acquisitions. The club will need someone to coordinate purchasing materials and rack building.

Dear rowing friends, and wonderful coaches, crew, and coxes:

I mentioned to a few folks that my sister is a seasoned stroke for the masters women 8+ boat out at Marin, and she sent me this link to a story done recently about her friend, Ariel. You can see Ann at stroke, obviously, and when she hugs Ariel at one point ( 30 seconds of fame!) .  I just wanted to share this. Plus, I can watch the great sweep rowers’ style in the video and learn from it. The clinic is wonderful and thanks to all!

On Saturday, May 29, two sweethearts will exchange vows on the RowBOC dock. The wedding will be for 15 minutes between noon and 1 pm.

We at RowBOC can’t think of a better place to get married. Rowers: please schedule your rowing times to give the wedding party room.

Our best wishes to the bride and groom!

A reminder to all our novice rowers, the first Beginner Rowing Clinic of 2010 starts this week!

Held at RowBOC and the Putney Rowing Club boathouses, the beginner clinics are a chance for novice rowers to learn about the sport, area clubs, and rowing opportunities.  This year’s May 12-June 9 clinic will be run by Head Coach Kristin Dawley and a rotating cast of assistant coaches, including: Elizabeth, Laura, Anne, Kendall, Rachael, Carolyn, Carol, Peter, Meredith, Patty, Basha, Reme, Sara and Kathryn.

The 2010 clinic filled quickly, with 13 beginners signing up for spring training.  Saturday clinics are held 8-9:30 am; Sunday clinics from 8 – 10 am; and Wednesday clinics are 6 – 7:30 pm.   The first session (Wednesday, May 12) will be held at RowBOC in Brattleboro.  The rest of the clinics will be held in Putney, unless otherwise notified by Kristin Dawley.  (Weather and river conditions rule.)

The Beginner Rowing Clinics are:

Wednesday, May 12
Saturday, May 15
Sunday, May 16
Wednesday, May 19
Saturday, May 22
Sunday, May 23
Wednesday, May 26
Saturday, June 5
Sunday June 6
Wednesday, June 9

The clinics are one way that novice rowers can be approved to join RowBOC and begin using the facilities. Other options are to take private lessons from a BOC approved rowing coach or, if you’re an experienced rower, to have your skills observed and verified by a RowBOC member. Clinic participants must complete the course and submit both their membership application forms and fee before they are permitted to use the club boathouse, boats, and facilities on their own.

RowBOC is currently determining if there is sufficient interest for a second novice clinic for this year. If you were waitlisted for the first clinic, or weren’t able to make the May-June dates, please contact RowBOC for more information.

THANK YOU  to all who helped on DOCKS IN DAY! Fantastic turnout in the cold rain.  April 17th 2010 we set the docks for the start of our 2010 season. Blog and Photo album  will be up soon – so check back for that!

The Brattleboro Outing Club Rowing Program known as “Row Boc”  finished a successful 3rd season of sculling and sweep rowing from our boathouse on Spring Tree Lane on the West River last November.

Our membership expanded  with youth rowers, novice adult rowers and experienced rowers returning to the sport. The 2009 season began the first week in May on the West River and continued through November 15th with both Connecticut River and West River rows. We are so fortunate to have access to these two rivers that allow for rowing in varied conditions.

We have active local members who travel from Northfield MA and Bellows Falls to row with us!

Membership in Row Boc entitles rowers to use club equipment depending on their proven individual skill level and on a “first come first served” basis. We do not use a reservation system for certain boats at scheduled times. There are planned group rows throughout the season and we welcome all members to join in.

Each spring Row Boc joins with Putney Rowing Club to offer a Novice Clinic to attract new rowers in the area. The clinics take place at both locations with 10-12 lessons over three weeks. A variety of boats and combination are available for individuals to learn both sweep and sculling in singles, doubles, pairs, quads, and fours. Emphasis is on safety and correct rowing form, as well as care for the boats and equipment. We even had some coxswain training this year, and hope to attract an experienced coxswain for weekly group rows in the summer months. The clinics are volunteer run by highly trained and experienced coaches and are essential to our growing program.

Our Row Boc coach is available for private lessons for a fee to those who cannot attend the clinic but wish to become skilled enough to join the club.

This year Row Boc acquired three new boats bringing our fleet to include:

• Vespoli 4+ – purchased from Putney School
• Vespoli Double – from Williams College
• King – racing single/ late 80’s model. A rare and fine wooden single shell built by local master Graeme King of King Boatworks and purchased from a private owner from a BOCEF grant.

Adding to:

• Maas 24 – single training boat
• Van Dusen – Double
• Schoenbrod 4+
• Zephyr – training/learning single

Plus a couple privately owned boats that are shared with our members and some Putney Rowing Club boats that spend time in our boat house at start and end of season.

Some Statistics:

• Our sign out sheet revealed that a total of 57 people rowed 617 times this season, including 10 junior rowers
• RowBocMembership reached 44 and we welcomed 13 guests who rowed with us
• The most active 15 rowers accounted for 70% of the activity, not counting the clinic time, private lessons or junior program
• 22 different people participated in weekly sweep rows – with 7 of those only coming for the sweep rows
• The Vespoli double was taken out the most times at 111, with the single trainer coming in second at 102 times out
• The “Curtis” (King single) was rowed by 9 people, who pre-qualified to take this boat out

We are in the early stages of planning our first race on the Connecticut River – The Eakins Bridge to Bridge Pairs Race. This course would be round trip between the Chesterfield and Hinsdale Bridges with spectator viewing on the Chesterfield Bridge at the turn around. Other plans in 2010 include adding a couple boats to our fleet, further developing the Junior Row program and increasing our membership.

Anne Latchis
Row Boc Program Director
rowboc.members@gmail.com