To stay informed, check out valuable information posted almost daily on the private WCC member's Facebook page. Make sure to check out 😍 Our Instagram 😍

Congratulations to our WCC OC-C coaches and crews that raced in the Monumental today! Photos of Monumental are up on the WCC gallery page! Thanks, Sam Rhodes.

Technical note… Gmail “clips” lengthy email messages. When you get to the clip, please select "view entire message." You will know you’ve come to the end when you get to the shout-out!

WCC's fleet of recreational canoes, kayaks and SUPs can be reserved, on a very limited basis, for paddling on the evening of July 4th! Reservations are on the honor system and are made by taping a piece of paper with your name on it to the boat you'd like to use. No more than 2 boats can be reserved per family. Reservations can only be made on July 4th beginning at noon.

We’ll send a detailed email from the Commodore before July 4 on the reservation process, use of “the big boats,” and night paddling river safety.

Volunteers and board members will be at the club on the 4th and happy to help.

🛜 WCC Wifi 🛜

Membership Chair Kelsa Gabehart is currently seeking enthusiastic individuals to serve as Tour Guides and Orientation Leaders. Tour guides will meet with potential members and provide them with a brief tour of the club. Orientation Leaders will give new members a comprehensive walk-through and discussion of the club's layout and operations. Orientation Leaders will attend a training orientation and be provided with a handy cheat sheet for reference. Typically, the orientation session lasts for one hour, while tours tend to be shorter. If you are interested or want to learn more, please contact Kelsa

at membership@washingtoncanoeclub.org

A group within WCC has been working on establishing an OC-6 Team Building program. This program offers corporate firms and other groups a unique opportunity to get their teams working together in the OC-6's. The organizers of the program are seeking volunteers to assist with the following:

If you are interested in contributing as a volunteer in either of these roles, please contact Tom Cooney at Thomas.Cooney@klgates.com.

We need experienced paddlers to assist local school groups and community partners in getting kids out on the water in canoes, kayaks and SUPs. The events typically take place on weekday mornings and last approximately 2-3 hours. If you are interested, please contact Jim Ross at frailey.ross@gmail.com and he’ll put you on his go-to list of volunteers.

For several years, WCC has been working with Don Gregory of Cox, Graae, Spack Architects, John Matteo of 1200 Architectural Engineers, Laura Hughes and Alyssa Stein of EHT Traceries historic preservation consultants, and Kevin Fisher of Rhodeside & Harwell landscape architects, to develop a comprehensive, multi-phase plan to rehabilitate WCC’s historic boathouse and site. This architecture-engineering-landscaping team prepared a “concept level” plan that anticipated doing the work in several phases, which would have included:

WCC and the design team presented this concept-level plan to the National Park Service (NPS) and the DC area historic preservation review agencies in 2021 and 2022. Those agencies tentatively approved the plan, subject to further plan development. While we were seeking approvals of our plans, the COVID pandemic hit, the stock market tanked, interest rates doubled, and the global supply chain for building products forced prices through the roof. The estimated price of our project skyrocketed from about $4 million for phase one to almost $8 million for a much-reduced phase one project. The WCC Boathouse Rehabilitation Committee worked with the design team to scale back the initial phase of the project to meet WCC’s financial situation.

After much deliberation, the WCC Fundraising Committee and Board believe that we can raise about $2.5 million for this project. $2.5 million is a goal on what the initial phase of the project can cost and we hope to have a successful capital campaign that raises more.

With WCC’s financial capacity in mind, the Boathouse Rehabilitation Committee went back to the design team. The design team developed multiple initial phase concepts in hopes of reducing the costs. Each alternative would have improved the Boathouse in various ways (structurally and aesthetically) and provided many benefits for members (like bathrooms). However, given the rising costs, WCC still couldn’t afford them. The bottom line is, that, within our current financial constraints, after much analysis and review, WCC cannot at this time either:

The Boathouse Rehabilitation Committee then began considering a new approach for protecting the historic building from further deterioration and providing benefits to WCC members. Our objective has been to work with WCC membership and the Fundraising Committee to develop a plan for the boathouse that will meet our obligations to NPS for historic protection and that we can afford. That plan will:

This represents a big shift in WCC’s thinking for next steps for the Boathouse. We must face the reality of where we are relative to WCC’s financial capacity and plan accordingly. We must develop details on each of the above project components, determine the cost of each, and present the package to NPS. And, we MUST raise the money to do this. We anticipate having a Boathouse which members are proud of that (1) can store many more boats inside, (2) is structurally secure until the Club can raise funds to take the next steps to fully rehabilitate the building, and (3) provides amenities to enhance members’ and guests’ enjoyment of our exceptional Boathouse.

We’ve taken the initial steps down this path. We’ve hired an engineer to assess the structural integrity of the building and to point out what we would need to do to occupy the ground floor of the boathouse. At this time, we are awaiting his report. When we get the analysis, we will develop boathouse improvement plans with our design team to achieve the Club’s common objectives. Once we have those plans, we will present them to NPS for its review prior to beginning construction. As always, we appreciate members’ support as we continue to develop and implement workable plans for the rehabilitation of our remarkable historic boathouse!

Chris is thrilled to be working with the WCC to support the work of Board Chair Andrew Soles and of Board Member Grace Hong, who leads the Fundraising Committee. Chris is a longtime SUP, recreational paddler, and surfer from Mount Pleasant, DC (who now enjoys the waves of the Guanacaste province in Costa Rica, where he and his spouse Jessica and two daughters Mei-Kim and Josephine relocated during Covid). He is very enthusiastic about helping us build a community of supporters around the Washington Canoe Club and connect members of the DMV with our precious natural resources.

“Having been an advocate, resident, and parent in the District of Columbia for nearly 15 years, I know what a tremendous asset the WCC is to its members and to the city at large. Our family became members and were active in preservation, clean-up projects, and social activities for professional athletes and recreational paddlers alike. My children loved to jump from the dock and I would paddle with fantastic members. In the evenings we would relish the true gift of the good fellowship that comes from a common passion for the WCC.”

Chris is committed to community impact through the power of the entrepreneurial spirit that is inherent in our communities. In his role as Capital Campaign Manager, Chris explains that the Phase 1 fundraising goal this year is $1M, encompassing a blended model of gifts from members, legacy members, major gifts donors, and corporate/foundation support. He notes that the fundraising team recently brought in Melissa Webster, whose focus is on data management. Her expertise and efforts will provide in-depth data analysis necessary to achieve our fundraising goals.

Chris views the WCC as unique in its member involvement and commitment and believes that our members’ involvement and contributions in many forms will be of the utmost importance in the boathouse rehabilitation project. In early June, Chris met with many members and hosted a meet and greet at the club where the campaign team provided information about roles on the campaign committee and its short-term and long-term objectives. He looks forward to recruiting more members to work with the Campaign Committee.

If you are interested in working with the Campaign Committee, please shoot Chris a quick email at chrisbrowncs@gmail.com

We are grateful for all the hard work of Chris Brown, Grace Hong, David Cottingham, and everyone else who is working to turn our boathouse dreams into a reality!

Chris Brown #2 recently shared this testimonial from Tyrhee Moore, Founder of Soul Trak Outdoors, to our Facebook page:

A warm welcome back to Erin Rhodes, who will serve as WCC’s club steward for the summer. Erin will be at the Club on Friday evenings, as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons, to assist new members, answer club equipment questions, and provide friendly and knowledgeable support to anyone in need of information or assistance.

On days that Erin is off, Alistair Leith will be stepping in as steward.

Upon joining WCC, you gained access to club facilities and equipment. Please honor this privilege by adhering to the club rules, taking proper care of our equipment, and cleaning up. As an all-volunteer club, we rely on the dedication and efforts of our members to handle tasks like cleaning, repairing, and maintaining the equipment and the facility. We don't have paid staff for these responsibilities, so it's up to all of us to fulfill these duties by:

We are very fortunate to be where we are doing what we do. Thank you for your cooperation in helping to preserve and enhance our shared space.

As always, WCC's Board of Governors welcomes feedback. Feel free to send your comments or questions to feedback@washingtoncanoeclub.org.

All club rules and by-laws can be found on the website.

Every Monday night, Coach Joe Cafferata, along with Jay Gopal and Doug Brooks, will take groups out in the six-person outrigger canoes (OC-6) and teach basic paddle strokes, and timing. Stephen Weiss will be available to work with kayakers, and Trish Riggs will be there to work with SUP paddlers.

There is a rec OC-6 email list and Google sign-up sheet. To be added to the list and get the link to the sign-up sheet, email Joe at josephlrc@yahoo.com. Please sign up ahead of time rather than just showing up so Joe can plan accordingly.

WCC Coaches: Rachel Shackelford, Cheryl Zook (Women’s Outrigger), Nate Day (Men’s Outrigger), Joe Cafferata (Rec Outrigger), David Podloch, Gavin Ross (Junior’s), Thom Crockett (Master’s Kayak), and Kathy Summers (SUP)

It takes a lot of good organization and support to get teams and boats to away races so a huge thanks to all who support and participate in our racing programs!

Great racing Kelly Rhodes, Lisa Ramm, Theresa Haught, and Samantha Stewart!

The Kumu'ohu Challenge 2023

Mother Nature brought the challenge to the race this year with stiff winds. The paddlers were certainly up for it because the race was well attended and a huge success. Thanks to all who raced and volunteered. Special thanks to Lisa Man for organizing the race. Proceeds from the race and auction will go towards boathouse rehabilitation and the WCC outrigger program.

Kumu’ohu results. Photos by Joe Cafferata are here and in the WCC photo gallery.

THANK YOU SPONSORS: Quickblade, Premier Paddle Sports, High Noon, OluKai, Patagonia

The Little D on the Monacacy

April 29, WCC paddlers enjoyed swift high water for the 10th anniversary of the Little D on the Monocacy race, held on the historic Monocacy River in Frederick, MD. The race is held in memory of Little D, who bravely fought metachromatic leukodystrophy until December 28, 2018. It was a perfect day to raise money to help the lives of terminally ill children. Way to go WCC!

Race results and more info on Little D.

Every Memorial Weekend, many folks from the club travel to Central NY to attend the 5-leg, 30-mile Grand Prix Relay every year in honor of Mitch Madurga, a Navy vet who died on the Potomac while training to defend his win in the K-1 class of the 70 miler.

This year WCC raced seven teams, including a juniors team who came in fourth by a very narrow margin. Team Hype, racing in memory of friend and teammate Hype Mattingly, took first place. Team(s) Madruga 1-5 raced in memory of Mitch. Madruga 1 got second!

Since 2006 Blaise Rhodes has been organizing teams for the Grand Prix Relay. He says “It’s fun and we often win beer”. He’s right!

This year, WCC Vice President, Jim Ross (right), presented Blaise (left) with the first-ever Herb Howe Spirit of the Paddle award in tribute to long-time WCC member and friend Herb Howe who has completed the 70-miler 25 times! Congrats Blaise and Herb.

The following day, three crews from WCC took on the 70 miler! Congratulations to the C-2 crews Martin Lowenfish and Kelly Rhodes, Becca Rhodes and Stephanie Knabe and the C-4 crew Lisa Ramm, Marshall Hoskins, Lisa Man, and Emilia Rastrick.

Lots of great photos have been posted to the WCC member's Facebook page and the website photo gallery.

Big shout out to Jim Ross and his handy helpers for building the new SUP rack. 🔨

If you know of a WCC member who should get a shout-out let us know.

The WCC Squad Locker stores have a wide variety of club-branded items for members of all ages (including infants and toddlers). All items allow for personalization through the ordering process. With embroidered items, you can put your name (or mantra) on the sleeve. If an item has a printed logo, you can get your name (or nickname) on the back or sleeve. Hats are personalized on the back band area. Both shops are periodically updated and changed, so keep checking back. If there’s something you would like to see offered, let us know.

Visit the Spring/Summer Store

Visit the Fall/Winter Store

Thanks to Bonnie Havens for all her hard work on the stores.

If you have an idea for a contribution to the next issue of Currents, get in touch at Newsletter@WashingtonCanoeClub.org.

We love hearing from you!