Congratulations to our new coxswains: Brian Chen, Mary Harvey, Marilyn Shi, Francesco Siniscaleo (all from Stuyvesant High School); Lee Berman, Barbara Garson, Christine McVay. Classroom portions provided by Deborah with assistance from David Shehigian and Marcel. Hands-on training by Dave Clayton: knot tying, cleating, line toss, moving a boat on the dock, tying to dolly, operating the electrics and davit. Breakfast and lunch provided by Sally, with grill manned by Dave Clayton. On-water training by Marcel and David Shehigian, with assistance from Ka Ming and Jackie Chen. Heartfelt thanks to the volunteers that made this a successful day.
Special Credit and heartfelt thanks to Deborah Clearman for organizing and coordinating this most successful cox training. Coxswains are the backbone of VCB and these seven new coxswains are a welcome and valued addition to our community.
Deborah Clearman, VCB Board Member, Cox Training Coordinator, and Educator ExtrodinaireDavid Shehegian Teaching On-water Skills to Eager Coxswains-in-training
Saturday was our third annual row from Pier 40 to the famous Mitsuwa Market in Edgewater. The row north was challenging with a contrary breeze and the start of the ebb tide, but the crews persevered. After securing the boats on the rocky beach it was time for well-deserved ramen and lychee ice cream and assorted snacks, and stocking up on some Japanese grocery essentials that can be hard to find in the city.
After eating and shopping were done, the team lingered on the beach, enjoying the fantastic view across to Riverside Park under a pure blue sky. We then pushed off for the trip home. The row back was a breeze on the strong ebb tide, taking half the time of the northward leg.
Great job, rowers! Kudos to senior coxswains Mackie and Frank for keeping everyone safe and organized. Congrats to new(ish) rowers Jing, Ryan, Dee, and Yoko. Thanks to unofficial junior coxswains Phoebe, Wenjie, Dorian, Dhruv, and Jim for sharing some boat driving.
This is a great longish row — we should do it more often! Next time maybe we’ll try landing on the beach by the old golf driving range that Frank scopes out — it’s a bit steep but without the rocks and old pilings by Mitsuwa.thatbFrank scopes out — it’s a bit steep but without the rocks and old pilings by Mitsuwa.
This mural on the south side of Pier 40 is the work of street artist Stephen (ESPO) Powers who was commissioned by the (RED) foundation and TheGlobal Fund as part of the campaign to eradicate AIDS worldwide.
Every year Village Community Boathouse participates in the Parade of Boats at Chelsea Piers, hosted by the Waterfront Alliance honoring the “Heroes of the Harbor.” Monday evening, due to a small mishap, our pilot gig King Tide nearly sank at the dock before launching. After some valiant pumping and bailing of the bilge we made it to the parade, at the head of human-powered boats. Dave Clayton coxed under threatening skies. The row back to Pier 40 against the current, a hard southerly wind, and big waves whetted our appetites. Michael Anton and Andrew Leung made it to the gala in time to meet honoree Congressman Jerrold Nadler
King Tide Bailing CrewDeborah Bailing in the Rain with Assistance from Michael AntonWaiting for the Paradeto StartCoxswain Dave Clayton At The HelmMichael Anton meeting withCongressman Jerold Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
VCB Crew: David Palsgrove, Dave Clayton, Jackie Chen, Andrew Leung, Melina Tsai, Ka Ming Wong, Annette Grimes
On September 14, a race crew from VCB journeyed to Gloucester, MA to explore uncharted territory and compete in the Gloucester Harbor Race, a three and a half-mile open water event. While this was the eleventh iteration of the race, it is the first time VCB has sent a crew, and it would prove to be a learning experience for us.
Competitors in this race row in six oared pilot gigs, a notable departure from the four-oared Whitehalls based in Pier 40. These traditionally built boats feature solid wood planking and solid wood oars, totaling to a craft more than double the weight of our sturdy Whitehalls. Fortunately, we had a brief practice session in King Tide — our own lapstrake plank Cornish pilot gig — to give us an idea of what to expect.
Two groups of VCB rowers arrived in Gloucester Friday afternoon and evening and were welcomed into the home of our Gloucester Gig Rower (GGR) host. Situated within walking distance of Plum Cove Beach, we were advised that this was a popular spot to view sunset, and indeed it was! On Saturday morning, the crew woke early to help GGR taxi their gigs from their pier to the race site at Niles Beach. Under the watchful eye of a GGR coxswain, we followed the long-stroke ideal for pilot gigs, but unfamiliar to us in Whitehalls. After this welcome practice row, there was race strategy to be discussed.
Fortunately, we were assigned to the third heat, so we were able to watch the first two groups launch. One of our rowers was a former GGR and recruited one of their racing coaches to give us a few pointers. After some deliberation and spirited discussion, we decided to adopt a stoke pace that was a compromise of our familiar Whitehall stroke and the new pilot gig stroke we had just learned.
When our turn to race came, we were assigned to the Annie B., a beautiful blue and orange pilot gig named after the founder of GGR. The race featured an on-water start, so we boarded our craft and eagerly waited for the starter’s pistol to sound and send us on our way. The wind was considerable and all boats in this heat rowed to stay in place, lest one of us prematurely cross the starting line and force a reset.
After the pistol sounded, we rowed southwest hard into a headwind, alongside another gig and with one chasing our tail. There wasn’t much separation in the pack as we raced towards the Dog Bar, a view tower at the end of a jetty protecting Gloucester Harbor from the pounding waves of the Atlantic. The two sharp turns in front of Dog Bar broke apart the pack, as none of the coxswains wanted to come into contact with the racecourse markers and take a time penalty. We slowed to take the turns single file and ended up as the second boat of three.
With about one-third of the racecourse behind us, we finally had the wind at our backs. How were we doing on time? None of us could tell you. Time has a habit of ceasing to exist during races, lost in the consistent stroke and words of encouragement shouted by the coxswain.
The final boat behind us on the course crept closer as we both stroked on towards Ten Pound Island. Our cox decided it was time to push for some separation before we went into the last turn north of this island to avoid being stuck on the outside of two turning gigs there. “Power ten!” he shouted. Then twenty. Then thirty. After we reached forty, one of our crew shouted “Unlimited power!” and was met with laughter from the crew. This plan worked, and we were able to reach the turn first and maintain the lead to the finish line.
Overall, VCB finished third in the men’s category and brought home a new medal for the trophy case. Not bad for fifteen minutes of practice. One might even say we did well, considering that our GGR coach told us it could take up to a year for new rowers to perfect the longer pilot gig stroke.
On September 10th the boatbuilding crew at VCB hosted a class of special needs young people from the JCC “Connections” program. Thirteen young men and women spent two hours learning about rowing and boatbuilding on Pier 40. It was a high energy afternoon that was experiential and hands-on. When it was all over there were lots of smiles. Andrew, Marcel, and Lorne were the “teachers” for this class, which came downtown through the efforts of Lori Rosenfeld and Hannah Badain of the Jewish Community Center. Helene Richter, a friend of the JCC and an autism advocate, helped bring us together. A number of other adults accompanied the young people. The VCB team propped up the King Tide out on the walkway in order to introduce the class to the experience of rowing. Andrew supervised as students took turns shipping and sweeping an oar. He also took the young people, carefully, two by two, down onto the floating dock to feel the roll of the waves and the flow of the river. Marcel and Lorne set up a number of stations in the shop to introduce basic woodworking/boatbuilding skills. The students were introduced to drawing with a batten, using a hand saw, pushing a block plane, and smoothing with files and sandpaper. When they were done each student had a miniature oar. Painting the oar was the last step. When we were all done we gathered for a group photo. But there was one more lesson! Dave was using the power lift with a scale; suddenly he became the center of attention. There was a quick lesson in addition and subtraction as heavier and lighter loads were hoisted up and down. We “teachers” learned a lot about lesson planning and time management, what works and what doesn’t. Should the JCC and VCB schedules come together in the future we can all build on this very positive experience.
