Our crew of six consisting of Sally, Dave Clayton, Lissa Wolfe, Rene, Margaret, & Karl Schuman, set out on the first leg of the voyage from Pier 40 at 8:00 Am on Thursday, 6/16 bound for Alpine, NJ. The river was smooth and quiet with little wind and we arrived in Alpine in flat water under a blazing sun. After a siesta, the crew took a hike along the old Alpine trail used by the British troops under Lord Cornwallis in 1776 in pursuit of General Washington. Although the weatherman predicted thunderstorms and hail, we decided to leave Alpine at 5:00 AM Friday morning. We sailed into Croton Point Park at 11:00 AM and never felt a drop of rain-or hail.
We set up our table and helped Harbor school with waivering for public rowing on the Working Waterfront of the Clearwater Festival. We lost Karl and Lissa but picked up two new volunteers- Andre Knights from City-as-School and his friend Aboul, who joined the crew for the return voyage along with Fabian, a passing cyclist recruited by Margaret. Over the two days we were working the Clearwater waterfront, 125 people signed waivers and went out in our gigs.
We departed Croton at 4:00 PM, arriving back at Alpine just before dark at 8:00. We feasted on beans and veggies in the dark and set off at 4:00 AM for Pier 40. We caught the ebb, arriving at 9:30 AM, 76 miles and five days later.
On Sunday, 12 rowers, including five Stuy Rowing alumnae, led by Rob Buchanan delivered two VCB Whitehall gigs to their new homes in Brooklyn. The trip included a stop at Governors Island for lunch and then on to Brooklyn Bridge Park where Bird was left in the shipping container just south of pier 1. Traveler was then deposited on the new floating dock constructed in Wallabout Channel in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Long, narrow and fully protected from the wind and tide, Wallabout Channel is a perfect location for learning to row and scull. This feels like the beginning of a new era for VCB. Thanks to Rob for making it happen!
this is the dock that will be towed to wallabout channel in the brooklyn navy yard sometime in the next few days, there to serve as a summer home for one of the village community boathouse rowing gigs. thanks to aaron singh, tizoc gomez and the new york harbor school for the loan of the modular sections, and to lou wright, ace mcnamara, huey reed and leo miller for putting it together. on to wallabout!
Around 25 people showed up for coxswain training and a good number of dedicated volunteers helped Phil Yee run the day-long training. Hopefully, all passed the test and can proceed with the on-water portion of the VCB Coxswain Training Program. Memorial Day BBQ followed the training with a record turnout of more than 100 people.
