From 2013-11-25

Two of VCB’s High School Rowing groups, Stuyvesant High School and Urban Assembly New York Harbor School sent three crews each to Hull, Mass to compete in the Icebreaker November 23rd. The Icebreaker, aka Northeast Region Open Water Youth Championship, is an annual event sponsored by the Hull Lifesaving Museum. Because of high wind conditions, with gusts up to 20 MPH, the race was relocated from the beach in Hull to Hingham Harbor. Traditionally, there are a series of three heats followed by the Nautical Mile, a one mile race, but because of the wind, it took more time to launch boats and row out to the starting postions for the heats, so the Nautical Mile had to be eliminated.

VCB Stuyvesant Second Sixes came in third in a field of twelve with a total time of 13:13 vs the winners, Cape Challenge, with a time of 12:51. NY Harbor School Second Fours A team won in their division with a time of 11:44. VCB Stuyvesant was second with a time of 12:22 out of a field of 11 boats. VCB Stuyvesant First Fours, came in second with a time of 11:07 vs Sound School who won with a time of 10:22. NY Harbor School came in fourth with a time of 13:04.

Thanks to Margarite, Don & Martha & Mary Betts for putting the Stuyvesant Crew up for the night and also thanks to all the Warren Whirley Gigs for driving us to Hull and helping to get us to the race. We would not have made it without you.

Click HERE for official complete Icebreaker Race results

Click HERE for a great video of the Snow Row coming up March 1st, 2014.

Twelve members of the Stuyvesant Rowing Club and five VCB adults traveled to Hull, Massachusetts for the Head of the Weir, a 5.5 mile open-water race open to all comers. Rowing conditions were perfect with no wind and mirror-flat water.

Results: Stroked by Brian Tong and coxed by Dave Clayton, the Lady Moody (Don Betts’ gunning dory) took first place in the mixed adult-youth four category with a time of 52:56. Joe Fung and Rob Buchanan, racing in the sliding-seat East River Flyer, finished tenth overall in 46:26. A Stuyvesant crew in the Warrior (our gunning dory) took second in the youth four race in 56:00, losing out to the Sound School by a little over a minute and setting up a rematch at the upcoming Icebreaker (Nov. 23). Stuyvesant’s six-oared crew, rowing Don’s pilot gig Cady, finished in a relatively sluggish 1:01:21, but that might have had something to do with breaking the handle off of an oar on the first stroke of the race (put another way, they won the five-oared category).

A BIG thanks to Don, Martha and Mary Betts, and to Riley Hall, for food, lodging, boats and a lot of towing and support driving–it would not have been possible without you!

By Hua Joe Fung

From Drop Box

The Warrior, VCB’s gunning dory, crewed by rowers from the Stuyvesant Rowing Club, took first place in their category in Come Boating’s annual Rowing Regatta in Belfast, Maine.

On August 17th, The Village Community Boathouse sent their gunning dory, the Warrior and a Whitehall gig, the Notorious GIG, to race in the annual rowing regatta hosted by Come Boating in Belfast, Maine. Two crews of rowers from the Stuyvesant Rowing Club raced valiantly against other crews from Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine on the 3.6 mile course in Belfast Bay.

The Warrior, coxed by Dexter Tong with its crew of Stuyvesant rowers: Brian Tong, Curtis Bezault, Kristina Pan, and Joe Fung, won with a time 40 minutes and 15 seconds, winning the 4 oared boats category.

The Notorious GIG, coxed by Joann Omar with its crew of three Stuyvesant rowers, Sungmin Kim, Eric Cerny, and Anna Juchnicki and a local rower, Erika, took second place in the 4 oar category with a time of 44 minutes and 10 seconds.

VCB’s East River Flier, crewed by Rob Buchanan, VCB board member and Ormando Watson, captain of the Banneker High crew placed first in the Gowanus Challenge out of a multifarious fleet of 30 human powered watercraft. The VCB Honeydippers, rowing Warrior, a stretch gunning dory, appeared to have finished second but the 94 year old timekeeper was uncertain of the exact times.

This was the first regatta ever to be held in US Government Superfund Site. The objective of the 2.5 mile race, organized by two Brooklyn paddling groups, the Gowanus Dredgers and the Red Hook Boaters was to raise money for the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, and the point of the Dredgers is to see the Gowanus Canal cleaned up.

From Gowanus Challenge-61513

Winners Rob Buchanan and Ormando Watson, the Wallabout Channelers, rowed the East River Flyer, a Don Betts design based on a Finnish racing skiff.

From Gowanus Challenge-61513

The winning Wallabout Channelers and The East River Flier

From Gowanus Challenge-61513

The Honeydippers with protective gear- Deborah Clearman, Emily Pierrel, David Shehigian, Emily Travis, Hua Joe Fung

From Gowanus Challenge-61513

From Gowanus Challenge-61513

The Honeydippers at the finishline in Warrior, the stretch gunning dory designed by Don Betts

Click here for link to WPIX Channel 11 News report featuring interview with VCB board member David Shehigian

On Saturday, May 11, the Village Community Boathouse sent two boats, a Whitehall gig, the Notorious GIG and a stretch gunning dory ,the Warrior to be raced in the 1st Annual Elm City Open Water Rowing Event hosted by the Sound School in New Haven, CT. The two crews sent by the Stuyvesant Rowing Club raced valiantly on the three mile course against the Sound School and Bridgeport. The Warrior and its crew placed first with a time of 22:41, beating not only First Constitution and its crew but the two six oared gigs as well. The Notorious GIG placed first out of the Whitehall gigs.
Warrior crew – Dexter Tong, Curtis Bezault, Kristina Pan, Eric Cerny, and Joe Fung
Notorisis GIG – Junze He, Brian Tong, Alex Grattery, Willie Xu, and Sungmin Kim
by Hua Joe Fung

From Sound School Race

(Front Row) Sungmin Kim, Brian Tong, Willie Xu, Christina Pan, Eric Cerny
(Back Row) Dexter Tong, Curtis Bezault, Junze He, Hua Joe Fung, Alex Grattery