I thought our photographers weren't going to make it because of the weather but much to my surprise, Matt Wilkinson showed and took some great photos from the boathouse and from Save The Bay headquarters featuring the snow cone turn. Here is the link:
I also have some very amatuer video I will post at some point over the next few days when I have a few minutes.
Enjoy,
3:00 pm August 30, 2009
Final JCR North Result Thanks again to everyone who showed the flexibility and the gusto to make the move north and race in spite of the predicted tropical storm. I admire all of you for your fortitude. Even though is was flatter than most days on the Seekonk and it turned out to be a triple length flat water head race rather than and open water marathon, it was still a great course with superior competition. We've run that course many times in practice and those were some fantastic times.
Thanks again to the amazing members of NBC, family and friends for volunteering your time and making this possible! It never would have happened without you.
Below are the final results. I will follow up with an email blast shortly.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! Below is the final heat Sheet for the JCR including bow numbers, launch and race time.Please go to registration between 6:00 and 6:30. If you have not signed a waiver, you will need to do so then. Also, if anyone has a balance due for race fees it must be paid then. Remember, you must have a PFD, a whistle and a chart with you.
Each competitor will get an ultra cool JCR tee and each team will get a registration pack with bow numbers, chart and meal ticket. Please attach your bow number on the most visible part of your boat with duct tape so it stays on. When you complete the race you will get a JCR water bottle for your acheivement. Massage will be available for competitors in the erg room (south room). We will follow up with food, drink, fun and awards presentation.
See you at 6:30.Cheers,
3:00 pm August 27, 2009
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! As you all know by now, Tropical Storm Danny will most likely be passing through the area this weekend. The forecast is unclear at best but regardless of when or if the storm hits, there will be big surf and lots of wind. I’ve spoken with the Coast Guard today and their general feeling is they would rather not have to rescue anyone who has voluntarily put themselves in harms way so they think we should not have the race in Jamestown. There is no potential rain date available as the venue is not available Sunday or over the next four weekends. Thankfully, we have some very clever people on the JCR Committee. Our plan, as of this morning, is to move the race to Providence and have the race on the upper bay that is more protected and significantly safer. We are calling Narragansett Boat Club headquarters/launching/landing and post-race party location. With this storm coming, I think the upper bay on Saturday morning will be much like the lower bay on a windy day. It will be challenging but, hopefully, reasonable. Our current plan is to assess the conditions early Saturday and modify the course as needed. We have a terrific 8 mile, 10 mile and 12 miles course. Depending on the conditions, we will designate the appropriate course on Saturday morning. As we were all planning on meeting in Jamestown at 6:00am, let’s plan on meeting at NBC at 6:00 – 6:15. We will have a captain’s meeting at 6:30, launch at 7:00 and race by 8:00 latest. There is a beautiful launch for the big boats at CollierPointPark down river, the rest of us will launch from Narragansett Boat Club. The website www.rownbc.org has directions and I will post new information on the JCR website as soon as possible.I know this is not ideal and it is a let down as Jamestown is a perfect race course and venue. After 9 months of planning and coordinating to make this event happen, we are also very disappointed but safety has to be our primary concern. However, we have run the course on the upper bay many times and it rocks, it is a challenging and interesting course and we’ll have a great place for the party so it will still be a ton of fun. And we really know how to throw parties. Volunteers, I hope you will stay on board to assist us at the new location.Please forward this note to anyone who may be involved with the race. See you Saturday at 6:00 sharp,
August 21, 2009
Entries close tomorrow. The numbers look good and very, very competitive is a few classes:
23 paddlers and 86 rowers so far. The men's single scull and Men's HPK have a good number of entries but I think we need more kayakers. Let's get the word out, 1 day left!
August 17, 2009
We just added two new categories for boat classes; Multi's and fixed seat singles. A few gigs will be coming to town and there is a competition brewing amongst the local life guards. Here's your opportunity to show them who's boss.
Registration closes this Saturday. If you plan on mailing registrations we must have them by Saturday. You may also register online until 12:00 am Sunday.
August 7, 2009
For those of you using GPS, here are the waypoints. See the video below for course details.
We had another beautiful row this morning over the race course. Diane Davis and Rich K. joined me to review the course, waypoints and create the video, below, that details the course. I hope you find it useful and please drop me a note if you have any questions.
We're only 5 weeks away!
June 13, 2009
The first row over the course:
We set out bright and early this morning to go over the entire course, check for obstacles, establish waypoints and basically have a fun get together, which seems to be the Narragansett Boat Club way. I sent out a note last week to about 20 people hoping 4 or so would join me. To my surprise15 boats joined in. Wow! what fun! We had a bunch of singles, two doubles and three surf skis.
The morning was perfect; 65 degrees with a light northerly breeze. It was as calm as it ever gets in the southern bay this time of the year. We lined up at the starting buoys and off we went. The first part of the race out of the cove is spectacular. After 1 mile, a quick left turn brings you past the cliffs of Fort Wetherill then another quick turn and you are on the longest leg of the race with an almost direct shot through the Newport Bridge to the top of the island. After the long gradual turn at the top of the island, it is a straight shot to the Jamestown Bridge. From there, a 3 degree turn sets up a straight line to the finish line, skirting the very edge of Dutch Island.
Here's the crazy part; Dutch Island does not show up on any online maps including the one I feature on the website. I think I'll do some Photoshop work to get it posted or I'll scan a printed map but it's confusing on approach as this island appears that it is not on the map. I think on race day we will post a launch with a buoy to point you in the right direction. It's very clear where to go once you pass the island.
My GPS measured exactly 15.5 miles so I'm happy about that. It seems like a civilized distance and the good news is you finish directly at the Pavilion where the massage therapists and cool drinks will be waiting.
After our row, we dashed across town for outdoor showers and a spectacular breakfast at Carol Browning's house which really made the day complete. Hey, make sure you schedule some time to hang out when you are in town as Jamestown is just great this time of the year.
I'll post the Route once I get the waypoints out of my GPS.
Thanks to everyone for a great day!
Check out the photos courtesy of Frank Kahr
Pre-row chart review
Launching for the practice row
Post-row party
June 8, 2009
Medal Update:
Tahdah! The 2009 medals are complete! We are very pleased with the outcome. Even though we thought it would be cool, it is way better than expected. Click in the image below for a full size version. This is the first place medal for the Surf Ski Class.
We landed a new sponsor this week so we are going to expand the awards for all classes. We'll have gold medals for all winners plus silver and bronze for all classes with at least 5 boats. And we are also going to present a gold medal to the fastest 50+ boat from each class, unless, of course, the old farts win it out right, which is a distinct possiblity with some of the hot shots that are planning to attend.
The 2009 JCR completed medal
June 1, 2009
Hey, for all you hard core fixed seat fanatics, there's a brand new race at the end of the season that promises to be great, the East Coast Open Water Rowing Championship will be held on November 7 in Plymouth, MA. This is a 3.5 mile stake race with 3 turns designed for fixed seat dories and whale boats. How cool is that?
May 29, 2009
The Jamestown Press ran a nice article in today's paper, check the link:
So we've finished the die pattern layout and cut the die. Today we just squeezed the first production sample to check for design flaws or production difficulties. All looks exceptionally well done. Our die cutter has really out done himself on this die. Let me back up a bit; die cutting has become highly automated and most dies can now be cut using CNC machines and other computerized toys which we all really dig but there still are limitations to this process. A true work of art requires some final hand cutting and "modeling". This is the process where the die cutter, with a steel hand tool, cuts out and rounds off fine details you see in the ocean waves and muscles in the fist. Yes, this can be done fairly well by machine but nothing compares to this artistic approach to die cutting. We've found again and again this it what separates a high quality medal or badge from a garden variety version that you see out there. Once we saw this great artwork, we decided it was the way to go, the result is way cool.
The die is off to heat treating now and we will be striking the first pieces early next week.
This is the final die pattern used for cutting the basic design. Click for full sized image.
This is a piece of test lead squeezed into the die while it is soft to check quality. Click for full sized image.
May 18, 2009
Medal Design Update:
After countless bad sketches on cocktail napkins and scrap paper, I finally surrendered and turned to J Hogue, my trusted designer to come up with a medal design. I decided to completely stay out of it and gave him a few simple elements I wanted included on the front: The name, the date, a rower and a surf ski in action and something to capture the spirit of the event. He immediately understood the double entendre of the name and simply said "I got it". Below is his first attempt at it. I never thought it would be so easy but he really captured what I wanted to convey, I just love it, I hope you do too.
Here is version 1, click for full sized image
Here is version 2, click for full sized image
Here is version 5, the final version, click for full sized image
May 12, 2009
Race Day Transportation Shuttle
As we have about 1/2 mile from the parking area back to the starting line at Mackerel Cove, we decided to do somethnig a bit different. We're pleased ot announce that Side Hill Farm will be providing our shuttle on race day. check out the photos below.
