NEREID
NEWS
30 October 2009
Old man winter attends HOC
Results from another
river
Chore day Saturday
Update on the soft bank project
Save the date
New boat names
Life after college
New members
USRowing news
Rowing in
the cold and dark
OLD MAN WINTER ATTENDS HOC
Unseasonably cold
temperatures, wind and that dreaded wintry mix added to the challenge of the 2009
Head of the Charles, but Nereid athletes rowed tough and strong throughout the two-day
event.
“Bittersweet” was the word that boat captain Gratia Pelliciotti
used to describe the performance of the Nereid Women’s masters 8+, which placed
13th for the second year in row, but far enough behind in time that
the boat lost its guaranteed entry next year.
The “sweet” part was the race itself: “While we might not have rowed as
fast as last year, we rowed better. It was a very solid race – great ratio,
great set and a strong finish,” according to Leigh Hermey, the seven seat.
With a record 8,800
participants, the Charles was packed both days from dawn to nearly dusk. Both Gus Stuart and Joe
Oliver, racing unaffiliated in the Grand-Masters’ 1x, launched in the dark for
their 7:45 a.m. start Saturday, when temperatures were in the 30s. Gus described conditions as “very cold, with
a painful headwind, but thankfully no snow.”
Out of 74 competitors, Gus placed 22nd, and Joe, a novice,
took 68th. “I thought I’d do better, but I will do it again and kick
butt,” he said, with classic Nereid determination.
Despite rowing 20 seconds
faster than last year, new Nereid star Mike Smith, and his Narragansett partner
Dan Gorriaran took 2nd in the Men’s Masters’ 2x,
snapping their six-year winning streak. “Alas,” said Mike. “Despite a
great row in difficult conditions, and increasing our margin over the rest of
the field compared to last year, Benning/Johnson were
just too big and strong for us…We were happy with our row though and will be
spending the winter training hard.”
Club Captain Sean
Cefalo, under NY Athletic Club, rowed Sunday afternoon, when a nor’easter
brought in periodic snow and rain, and lots of wind. Even so, he did very well, finishing 4th
out of 24 in the Men’s Lightweight 1x with a time of 19:42.
George Freimarck and
Frank Schaefer, rowing under Mannheimer RC in the Men’s Masters’ 2x, started out well: faster to Riverside Boat
Club then the five boats that ultimately finished ahead of them, and faster
than the next two boats ahead to Weld and Cambridge. But they were
hindered by steering issues, an uncharacteristic crab by the bowman, and a near
crash that sent another competitor’s bow number flying! The Mannheimers finished 20th out of 24,
16.6% slower than the winner's time.
Here are results for
other competitors:
New member Georgia Bullen, rowing unaffiliated in
the highly competitive Champ 2x, came in 20th with a time of 22:42.
Will Conceicao coxed a Masters 4+ for NY Athletic Club to 9th out of
24 with a time of 18:44.
John McKenna and Jason Stahl (cox) rowed
with Free Radicals Rowing Club in the Men’s Club 4+, placing 10th
out of 54 with a time of 17:54.
Lots of photos are
available on www.sportsgraphics.com
Congrats all!
RESULTS FROM ANOTHER
RIVER
A handful of Nereid rowers took part
in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta on October 24th and 25th.
Bob
Hoguet took 8th place in the Men’s Veteran 1X at HOSR. Rob
Welch took 3rd in the Masters Mens’ 1x (30-39) while Eric Hagberg took
9th and Charlie Johnston 11th in the Masters Men’s 1x
(40-49). Nereid Captain Sean Cefalo,
rowing for NYAC, took 3rd in the Men’s Lightweight 1x.
CHORE DAY SATURDAY
How about an early row Saturday and a 10 a.m. rendezvous for some
boathouse chores? Weather permitting, we
would like to finish up that south wall paint job, move some boats, remove the
air conditioners and move some furniture. Just one hour of assistance
would be a great help!
UPDATE ON THE SOFT BANK PROJECT
Work on the soft bank project
continues to move forward. Nereid has a
signed agreement with the Passaic Valley Sewage Commission for the labor and
equipment it will contribute to the project. A Project Development
Agreement was submitted to DEP Green
Acres for review and
approval. The site environmental investigation and remedial work
plan was completed by our consultants and submitted to DEP. Results of
soil testing in August showed that two underground fuel storage tanks appear
not to have leaked, seven to ten feet of “historic fill” appears to be
“typical” and not badly contaminated, and approximately 16 cubic yards of
sediment in the northerly boat ramp will have to be properly removed and
disposed of. To see the full environmental report, please email
John Van Der Tuin at jvandertuin@balberpickard.com
The
project involves a range of improvements to 350 Riverside Avenue including restoration and stabilization of the
river bank, new and expanded dock facilities and access ramp, new boat racks
and other club improvements, and the establishment of a public park. The Club
has obtained significant funding for the project from a combination of grants
and low-interest loans from the state of New Jersey through its Green Acres and IBoat programs. Major work is
tentatively planned for the winter.
SAVE THE DATE
The Nereid winter holiday
party will be held Saturday, December 12.
Don’t miss out – it’s the best party on the river.
NEW BOAT NAMES
Many boats in the club
fleet will be named or re-named in honor of the Nereids, the Greek sea nymphs
who give our club its name. Boats will
be re-labeled in the coming weeks; a complete list will be published in the
next Nereid News. A boat naming ceremony
is in the works to name the heavyweight 8+ after Sid Salomon, a former Nereid
member and World War II veteran.
LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Nereid member Jim Beattie hopes to
organize training for recent college graduates looking to maintain and advance
their rowing prowess. He is planning advanced
workouts throughout the winter, with the hope of putting together teams for
competition in 2010. Those interested in
participating should contact Jim at jfb2@leigh.edu.
NEW MEMBERS
Please join Nereid in
welcoming Paul and Angie Dietrich, long time rowers in California and Seattle who became acquainted with
Nereid through club member Bob Farkas.
USROWING NEWS
Registration is open for
USRowing’s annual convention, which will be held in Tempe, Arizona from
December 3-5. Please see
www.usrowing.org for more info.
DARKNESS
AND COLD WEATHER ROWING RULES
Cold Weather:
Do not row unaccompanied in weather of 45°F or less, or water temperature of 45°F
or less. There are thermometers on the boathouse (south bay door) and on the
dock for submersion in water.
Rowing in the dark: Boats must have proper bow and stern
lighting, as prescribed by USRA.
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Nereid Boat Club on Facebook
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out our at www.nereidboatclub.blogspot.com