Dougherty Survives Eagle in Single

[True story by Jon Dougherty. Jon graduated LTR this spring, and rowed the infamous Eagle in a Peinert 26]

Well, the first one is out of the way.

It was a cold windy day, and yes. As everyone told me, it is a large body of water. Just getting in the single was a trick as the wind and waves were crashing me into the dock and filling the boat with water (note to self, next time put your boat in on the side of the dock opposite the wind).

Anyway, making my way to the bridge (first 1500K) was an exercise of determination, making sure not to flip the boat and figuring out how to manage the choppy water. The next 3000K to the start line, made me think of shipwreck survivors on the open sea, wondering if they would ever be found (or find, for that matter, the starting line) it was survival rowing for me. I was thinking to myself, if I just make it to the start line I will be a happy boy. Once I made it to the start and was around others, my nerves calmed a bit, but now it was time to GO!

I did exactly what everyone told me "not" to do and I went to port side and followed the shoreline, instead of tracking straight down the course. The nice thing about this was that the tree line cut the wind, so the water was actually much nicer over there. I figured that I would take advantage of this while I had it, and for about 2500K it felt pretty good! I did beat Richard to the bridge (he started 10 seconds behind) but I did just beat him. The wind pushed me very close to the bridge so I had a bit of an issue underneath and had to push off with my starboard oar, and this slowed me down a bit. Coming out of the bridge, Richard did take over the lead, but that gave me the rabbit to chase.

Again, I veered off course toward the port side again, which screwed me up a bit at the finish, however, I DID FINISH!! 8 in a field of 8, but finished all the same, and without going into the water.

ON NOVEMBER 3, VOTE "YES!" FOR METROPARKS

Greater Dayton Rowing Association enthusiastically supports the MetroParks Levy. Don't forget to vote on November 3rd, and when you vote, make it YES for MetroParks on Issue 4! For more information, see Protect Our Parks

LTR Class of 2009 Makes Splash at Row-Deo

A good splash, not the big bad splash that involves getting back in the boat.

There are 6 new grads from Wilfred's class: Lori, Jon, Austin, Ellen, Steve P and Steve R. Let's get them rowing! I've posted some profiles of schedules and interst. If your schedule works and you are willing to mentor a new rower... send me an email!

• Ellen: 1x, 2x, 4x for Fitness, Recreation & Socializing. When: M-W-F Evenings, Weekends
• Steve P: 1x for competition and fitness. When: Tuesday-Thursday Evenings
• Lori: Any boat for every reason! When: Tuesday-Thursday Evenings (and more when possible)

GDRA has Big Day @ Midwest Sprints

12 boats, 12 medals, 6 Gold medals.

A strong performance placed GDRA 4th out of 16 teams in the points standings. Mark Salzler has provided an outstanding sweep report below... Here is a summary of our sculling results:

Women's Ltwt 1x - Bronze: Paula S
Men's 1x E - Bronze: Richard
Women's Ltwt 2x - Gold: Paula S/Peggy
Men's 4x E - Silver: Mike M/Jim W/Ed W/Bill I
Mixed 2x C/D - Silver: Ed W/Denise
Women's 4x - Gold: Beth K/Paula S/Peggy/Denise
Men's 2x E - Bronze: Mike M/Bill I

Misc. Notes: This race made for an impressive novice debut for Peggy and Paula. Doug has each of our races on video, and will try to have a DVD available before July 4th.

THANK YOU: Doug for trailering, Mike for derigging/loading/unloading/rigging/loading.... and thanks to all rowers for teamwork off and on the water.

Keep reading for the sweep report...

Midwest Masters Sweep Report

[Race Report by Mark Salzler]

Congratulations to all on an incredible day of racing.

Men's 4+ Silver (Bill, Steve, Mark, Max and Mary). This race was our current Sweep team's first attempt at a non rec race. The boat lived up to the challenge, taking a Silver with a blistering (literally) raw time of 3:21.99. The first place Western Reserve Crew (Cleveland) had one of the fastest times of the day on the water.

Mixed Rec 8+ Gold (Bill, Steve, Mark, Max, Beth M., Alison, Lauren, Karen and Angie). Angie coxed this boat to an impressive start which it held to claim an 11 second margin over the nearest competitor. A great example of teamwork to make it look easy...practice pays off! Great job also by Bill in setting and maintaining a consistent stroke rate in both of the first two
races.

Mixed 4+ Gold (Vicky, Steve, Mark, Beth K and Mary) Racing in the highly competitive AA-B race, this boat fought for a hard earned raw score .35 second victory over a boat with a 12 year younger average age. A tremendous start which placed the boat in early command of the race was negated by a false start by one of the competitors. The restart saw the young Western Reserve (Cleveland) boat jump out to an early lead. GDRA chased the youngsters down and was inspired by Mary's quote (from Russell Crowe in the Gladiator ) " On my command "...UNLEASH HELL". The ensuing sprint resulted in an exhilarating finish that was too close to call...until final results were posted several hours after the race.

Women's Rec 4+ Gold (Lauren, Beth M. Alison, Karen and Mary). Making her stroke seat race debut with the GDRA Masters, former GDRA Junior Lauren started the race with an impressive 42 stroke rate. Very impressive also that her boatmates were up to the challenge. Expert coxswain Mary settled the boat to a strong consistent rate that enabled the finesse and power of the rowers to build a 5 second lead over the nearest competitor as they crushed the competition.

Mixed Rec 4+ Gold (Vicky, Max, Beth M., Ron and Angie). Waiting patiently for most of the day for his GDRA racing debut, rookie Ron made it look easy with a calm and controlled start. (You never forget your first race and glad it was a great one for Ron.) Being the only boat in the race hit by a strong launch wake, Angie calmly guided the boat through the over the gunnel
(gunwale) wake to maintain its composure.

Iron woman Beth M. won her third gold of the day as she hot seated from the Women's Rec 4+ to assist Ron, Max and Vicky to an outstanding and hard fought race.

Many, many thanks to all of those who assisted us in such a great day:

• Doug, Linda & Mike for the boat coordination and hauling and on site
  assistance
• Denise and John W. for their coaching
• Max's wife and newly designated Team Mom (Candi) for the invaluable assistance
  at launch and recovery.
• Our sculling brethren (who also had great success on the water) whose spirit
  and assistance made our races so enjoyable...after the initial pain was gone!

Next up.....Regional Midwest Master's Sprints in Indianapolis on August 1st...

See you all on the river,

Mark

P.S. The Juniors need to be told that coaches Vicky and Beth K, can truly "walk the talk"...ferocious competitors

2009 Captain's Tests / Regatta Update

Congratulations to Alex Caswell and Jamie Irvine. Alex is a Junior Rower, and he will be competing at Junior Nationals on June 13th. Jamie started rowing last year - a quick study!

In 2008, Steve Zondag and Elizabeth Reed passed the test. Want to see who else? Take a look above the sign-out log in Bay 3!

Regatta Update!

• Doug and Mike will be loading and driving the trailer to the June 20 sprints in Columbus
• Please contact me or Doug to assure a boat and space on the trailer
• We will load the trailer on Thursday evening prior to the race
• David will not be trailering. If you plan to participate in the races on June 27 or August 1, please let me know.

Regattas & Boats

REGATTAS: June 20 is the Midwest Master Sprints in Columbus. The deadline to enter is June 14 - see RegattaCentral.com. We are taking a trailer... [UPDATE - see above]. If you plan to race, please let me know before the registration deadline - otherwise we run the risk of boat conflicts.

ADJUSTING BOAT RIGGING: You are free to move foot stretchers for fore/aft position and to move snap-on washers up/down for oarlock height. If you wish to make any other boat adjustments, or re-rig Panther as a pair, or if you think that a boatis no longer rigged with standard club rigging, please contact the adult rowing director (me). Otherwise, chaos will surely ensue.

Suggested rower weights for various boats are posted above the log book and are attached to this email.

QUADS: If you like rowing quads, note that the number of captains required for Falcon has been reduced to 2. Captain or no, if you've never rowed a quad before, I recommend getting together with experienced quad rowers for the first couple of times.

Welcome LTR 2009

Learn-to-Row 2009 started on May 12. Today's LTR student is tomorrow's teammate or rowing partner... so be sure to say hello and extend a helping hand. Wilfred is the head LTR coach for this session; Jon and Alex are the assistant coaches.

This session's class has nine (9!) students. They will be using the zephyrs, aldens, and Lisa Marie. Many thanks to Wilfred for rehabilitating Jaws II.

Check out the new arrival...

The adult program has purchased a 2006 Kaschper Custom 30 double. This boat is a midweight (average rower weight up to 180 pounds). It is stored in bay 3, and will be rigged as a double sometime next week. It is wired for speedcoach, bow and stern.

It is also convertible to a pair, and we have the pair riggers and steering. It will be rigged as a pair for the benefit of our junior crew, until after Midwest Regionals on May 16-17.

This purchase also included a pair of C2 smoothies and a set of blue slings (bay 1).

OH NO! WE NEED TO NAME THIS BOAT!

The boat is black, animal names are preferred. "Panther" has already been suggested. Please email your suggestions to me, and I'll post a voting gadget with the nominations.

Goodbye, Sand Bar!

The sand bar under the Keowee Street bridge has apparently washed away.

We are re-opening the upper section of the river, up to, but not under, I-75. Check the river map in Bay 1. There is one shallow area that we know of. It is marked on the map.

Thank you to Mike, Jim, Bill and Karen for clearing snags and plumbing the water depth. If you have any questions, please ask Doug.

GDRA Junior Crew Returns from First Spring Regatta with Medals in Hand

Dayton, Ohio—In their first regatta of the season, Greater Dayton Rowing Association Junior Crew brought home three medals. The Hoover Invitational Regatta was held April 18th at the Hoover Reservoir in Westerville, Ohio. Rowers from 32 clubs, 22 cities and seven states competed.

“We’re thrilled about our first competition,” said Elizabeth Reed, junior head coach. “Both our experienced and novice rowers performed well. I look forward to a great season for us.”

The following junior rowers received medals:

**Women’s 4 scull, Silver: Lauren Sobol (Oakwood HS), Katie Woodie (Oakwood HS), Jenny McCarthy (Oakwood HS), Annie Scott (Stivers HS).

**Men’s 4 scull, Bronze: Hye-Seung Kim (Centerville HS), Jon Wittoesch (Oakwood HS), Ryan Deffet (Oakwood HS), Alex Caswell (Centerville HS).

**Women’s double scull, Bronze: Merideth Snead (Oakwood HS), Julianna Struble (Vandalia-Butler HS).

[Report courtesy of Alison Bour]

spring has sprung!

Just in case you haven't been down to the river lately... the docks are out, except for the double ramp. We currently have two single ramps. Also, all ergs have been moved from the RTA and returned to the boathouse.

Sweep practices have started on Tuesday & Thursday evenings at 6pm, and Saturday mornings at 8am. Contact Mark S. for more information.

Scullers and sweepers, mark your calendar on June 20 for the Columbus Midwest Sprints.

GDRA is offering Learn-to-Row classes again this season. Download our brochure (see "Forms" on the right) to see the schedule and sign-up. Classes fill fast!

the brave ones

The time trial is the race of truth. Four GDRA seekers of truth, on the erg:

2k time . ages .. USA Rank
6:51.2 .. 19-29 . 358/780 steve zondag
7:31.1 .. 50-59 . 224/696 Robert Weiskittel
7:35.5 .. 50-59 . 256/696 Max Sharp
7:35.5 .. 50-59 . 257/696 michael mccarty

Midwest Master Sprints GDRA Times

03:21.99 - 08:40 AM - Mens Masters 4+ (Bill, Mark, Max, Steve)

03:24.59 - 09:36 AM - Mixed Masters Rec 8+ (Karen, Lauren, Alison, Beth M, Max, Mark, Steve, Bill)

03:28.24 - 11:28 AM - Mens Masters 4x (Mike, Jim, Ed, Bill)

03:41.10 - 11:04 AM - Mixed Masters 4+ (Vicky, Beth, Mark, Steve)

03:52.65 - 02:12 PM - Mens Masters 2x (Bill, Mike)

03:53.94 - 12:52 PM - Mixed Masters 2x (Ed, Denise)

03:56.90 - 01:32 PM - Womens Masters 4x (Beth, Denise, Peggy, Paula)

04:08.43 - 01:48 PM - Mixed Masters Rec 4+ (Ron, Max, Beth M, Vicky)

04:13.36 - 01:24 PM - Womens Masters Rec 4+ (Karen, Beth M, Alison, Lauren)

04:11.37 - 10:25 AM - Mens Masters 1x (Richard)

04:20.01 - 10:55 AM - Womens Master Lwt 2x (Peggy, Paula)

04:20.65 - 08:15 AM - Womens Masters Ltwt 1x (Paula)

FASTEST RAW TIMES OF THE DAY

02:50.50 - Mens 4x (GCRA)

03:02.44 - Mixed 8+ (GCRA)

03:04.09 - Mens 4+ (Western Reserve)

03:20.43 - Mens 2x (Rockford, Anderson)

03:23.00 - Mixed 2x (GCRA, Hobson)

03:28.50 - Mens 1x (Thames, T. Quigley)

03:30.31 - Womens 4+ (TRRA)

03:41.10 - Mixed 4+ ***GDRA***

03:45.88 - Womens 1x (TRRA, K. Spiker)

03:42.49 - Womens 2x (Clermont HS, Heekin)

03:56.90 - Womens 4x ***GDRA***