Hello Paddlers!

Happy Day After Labor Day (aka Fall?)

The warm summer vibe at WCC is still going strong with big races and other social events happening throughout September and beyond.

In this issue, we have lots of good and timely content:

• A call for volunteers for the Boathouse cleanup next Saturday at 9am
• The upcoming Sunset Dinner is sold out but there is still a place for you as a volunteer or auction contributor
• An invitation for WCC parents to enroll their kids in Fall Sunday Bootcamp for Kids: Intro to Sprint Paddling
• WCC hosts community partner events for Team River Runner and the DC Preservation League in October
• Liz Pennisi’s terrific look back at the start of the racing season and the Clinton Relay
• Mary Stapp’s informative interview with Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks on our water quality
• A fun recap of our June Jazz fundraiser by Catherine Melquist
• The D.C. Public school Outdoor Pursuits program introduced kids to paddling at WCC
• A refresher on paddling the Potomac safely and hazards to avoid
• The WCC Beer Fridge undergoes a paradigm shift
• A call for volunteers to serve as Entertainment Committee Chair/Co-Chairs
• A report from Tim Johnson on the Juniors and Masters races in August
• Team announcements
• We remember Ruth (DeForrest) Colley and Roy Jobber

Save the Dates:

October 8 - Middle States Regatta

October 29 - Frank Havens 10k

We’ll send out more information and calls for volunteers as planning progresses.

Check the WCC Calendar for all events happening at the club. There's also a calendar feed on the home page. If you don't see any events listed, make sure you select "the club" tag on the lower right of the calendar.

The Sunset Dinner Fundraiser is Sold Out!

On September 17, Members of the Washington Canoe Club, as well as alumni, neighbors, and friends (all decked out in WCC Chic attire), will once again welcome autumn with a cocktail reception followed by an elegant sit-down dinner and program while gazing at the beautiful Potomac River. 

Tickets are sold out but you can still donate to the restoration fund on the WCC website. Funds raised from the event will help us move closer to our boathouse rehabilitation efforts.

The Dinner: This year, Michelin-Star restaurant Maydan will be premiering a 3-course family-style dinner from their newest concept "Tawle" (meaning Table in Arabic). Tawle, coming to the Mosaic District next year, is a casual Middle Eastern restaurant offering a kebab-centric menu. 

The Music: Legendary Washington DC entertainment venue  Eighteenth Street Lounge will immerse us in curated Middle Eastern inspired music throughout the evening.

Volunteers Needed

The annual Sunset Dinners are truly a team effort. Volunteers will be needed to pitch in and help with service during the dinner, set up, take down, and clean the club the weekend before the event to make our space beautiful and create a fun and festive atmosphere for our guests. Volunteers, please email Liz Wissner at [email protected] if you want to help out.

Wanted: Live Auction Items

We’re still looking for auction contributions for the evening of the dinner. 

Weekend Getaways: Do you have a beach house, lake house or vacation home that you would donate for a weekend?

Outings and Experiences: Donate a spa gift card, local brewery or distillery tour, sunset cruise, museum tickets or sports tickets.

Food and Wine: Restaurant gift certificates, catering service, cooking classes or food/wine gift baskets.

Consider donating your talent: Are you a chef that wants to provide a picnic lunch for some paddlers? A home cook who wants to host a dinner? Care to lead a paddling tour or class, and provide refreshments on the dock afterward? 

Please email Liz Wissner at [email protected] if you’d like to contribute.



Thank You to our Sponsors and Partners thus far:

SPONSORS:

Potomac Sponsor: Sarah Minard Residential Realty

Anacostia Sponsor: Jennifer Touchette, Senior Vice President, Compass 

Rock Creek Sponsor: Tim Johnson

PARTNERS:

Maydan Restaurant

The Eighteenth Street Lounge

Lillyth's Keeping

Fall 2022 Intro to Sprint Paddling: Sunday Boot Camp for Kids

Five consecutive Sundays, September 11 – October 9

9:00 – 10:30 am

Free of charge!

RSVP: [email protected]

WCC member parents and kids (and friends) are invited to participate in a weekly 90-minute introduction to sprint canoe and kayak paddling geared for WCC kids and their friends. The sessions will be held at WCC and will be run by WCC leadership volunteers.

The Intro to Sprint Boot Camp is open to all children of current members as well as members’ friends between the ages of 10 and 13. Please email the WCC Commodore ([email protected]) with questions or to let us know you’ll be attending. We want to make sure we have enough volunteers and boats ready for each weekend’s program.

The sessions will start on Sunday, September 11th, and run thru Columbus Day weekend (October 9), this group will meet from 9 to 10:30 am each Sunday and have fun on the river!

The purpose of the camp is to introduce new kids to sprint paddling in a low-pressure, fun, manner. They will learn the basics of sprint canoe and sprint kayak and begin to feel the fun of going fast in tippy boats. The timeframe selected was purposeful in that the end date, Columbus Day weekend, is the WCC Annual Middle States Sprint regatta so the kids in this program would be able to participate in that Saturday race on Oct. 8. Ultimately, if some of these kids get hooked on paddling they will be invited to join the WCC sprint racing team when training restarts in the fall.

Parents are welcome to stay for 90 minutes and help but are not required. Start and end times are fixed so parents will need to be back at the club to pick up kids at 10:30.

This is going to be a fun time! 

Thanks to the Washington Canoe Club Commodore and aquatics committee for offering this excellent free program.

The Team River Runner Annual Biathlon returns to WCC

Sunday, October 2, 2022

7 am – 3 pm

The 18th Annual Biathlon is TRR's biggest fundraiser of the year. Their goal is to raise $100,000 to support TRR's mission.

Consider forming a team or racing solo! It will be a crowded day so please plan your use of the club on Oct. 2 accordingly. Parking will be limited.

Volunteers are being coordinated by Team River Runner.

Register to race

DC Preservation League and Capital Pride Alliance - Crab Feast 8

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Noon – 3 pm

$75 per ticket.

Washington Canoe Club in the News

The Georgetowner published an extensive article about the Washington Canoe Club boathouse history and its rehabilitation needs and progress thus far (including our Sunset Dinner).

Team Madruga 2020. Photos by Tom Lane and Bonnie Havens

WCC returns to win the Clinton Relay, again

Even newcomers find the race fun.

By Elizabeth Pennisi

After a COVID-enforced hiatus, 43 WCCers and their friends headed to Oneonta, New York, Memorial Day weekend for yet another series of victories in the Grand Prix Relay, a 30-mile stock-aluminum canoe race that’s part of the General Clinton Regatta (which includes a 70-mile race the day after the relay). Gloria Vestal and Kimberly Lane, two relatively new WCC members, were part of the crew, experiencing an event that has been a WCC tradition since 2006.

Gloria and Kimberly at the Havens race 2021.

A SUP paddler who joined the WCC less than a year ago, Kimberly was intrigued when Blaise Rhodes told her last fall to set aside Memorial Day Weekend in 2022 for the relay. “I had no idea what he meant,” she recalls. But she signed up when Blaise approached her again in March and paired up with Bill Woodruff to be a “bumper boat” in the first of five legs, a 3-mile jaunt that seemed quite doable at the time.

Only later did she realize she had a second 4.5-mile leg to do as well. Her goal was to not be last, as her boat had been in the 2021 Frank Havens race. So, when a canoe started to pass in that second leg, “I channeled Kelly Rhodes,” the women’s outrigger coach, she recalls. Rather than pick up the pace as her partner advised, Kimberly just started putting more power into each stroke as she does when the outrigger team practices “under-stroking.” Her team wound up a respectable eleventh of nineteen boats.

Canoes lined up at the race start.

For Kimberly, the first leg was the most memorable. Boats line up perpendicular to the current in assigned spots, and when the race starts, there’s a mad scramble to get ahead of the inevitable jam up of canoes that ensues. Not hoping to win, her boat’s goal was to help other WCC teams—there were seven in this year’s relay—get a good position. And that meant not hesitating to push off the thwarts of boats so close there was no water in between to get a paddle into. “We were log-jammed for quite a while,” she recalls. 

This was Gloria’s first relay as well, and both women found the change outs quite exciting. Each team’s pairs of paddlers, which consist of one guy and one gal, must switch out at specific exchange point buoys. Coming into that spot, WCCers and relay veteran Jimmie Ross screams “Over here, over here,” and as soon as the incoming paddlers get out, he and a junior flip the 18-foot-long aluminum canoe to get the water out before the next crew gets in. For one leg, exiting the boat meant jumping out onto a muddy slope. “It was intense,” says "I was caked with mud and bruises". 

“Absolutely!” Both women say when asked if they will do the relay again. “It's a nice blend of those who are in it to win and those in it to have a good time—but still go hard,” says Kimberly. Her husband, a golfer, was so taken by the spirit of the race that he, too, wants to try it next year.

The dumping of the canoe.

“And WCC won all the beer,” Gloria boasts. Her team came in ninth (no beer for them), but other WCC crews took the first three top spots, the prize for the top five is really good beer from a local brewery. This winning strategy is Blaise’s doing. He first organized the relay in 2006 in memory of former WCC paddler Mitch Madruga, a U.S. service member and winner of the 70-mile race as a solo kayaker who passed away earlier that year while training for another Clinton endurance event. Twenty paddlers participated that year, and in subsequent years there have been up to three times as many joining in.

Blaise starts early in the year by recruiting dozens of men and women to make the trip north and figuring out the best combinations. “A lot of magic,” goes into setting up the pairs and the crews, he says. He tries to match partners according to their personalities, talent, weight, and ambition, with at least one of the pair being a good steerer.

Lineups are not usually ready until a week before the race, just in time for partners to get a paddle in on the Potomac to work out any kinks. But some partners are together year after year. Even the juniors field a team. The WCC makes such an impression that our club is even talked about on the local radio. And says Gloria, “it’s a great time.” So, if interested, mark your calendar to reach out to Blaise in early 2023 and say “I’m in for the Clinton”.

Relay 1st Place

Relay 2nd Place

Relay 3rd Place

Relay 5th Place

Before You Swim, Check the App

Potomac Riverkeeper Network monitors water quality

By Mary Stapp

For a recreational paddler the mysteries of the river are bottomless: the surface can be a mirror or it is entry to impenetrable depth; its color morphs from deep green to yellow to steel gray; it can be waxy smooth or jagged and rough. The same surface on which the light lingers long into a summer’s night is infinitesimal were you to count equivalent layers down to the bottom. And that surface betrays equally little to the naked eye, compared to all the life that exists below it.

But actually, what lies beneath?

Lurking just upstream from our club, and right off our dock, there is often bad water. Readers may recall Kathy Summers’ Spring 2021 WCC Currents story wherein the competitive prone paddler encountered sewage. In October 2020, she paddled right into it. She reported the shocking event to DC WASA, but Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks said it wasn’t until his organization followed up, and the Environmental Protection Agency installed a camera, that they found a construction site to be responsible. Even though this kind of discharge of sewage is supposed to only happen after heavy rain, that particular issue was a dry weather event, and it is still under investigation.

The Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a non-profit whose work is beneficial to all canoe club members, especially those who swim (perhaps unintentionally) in the water. They monitor Combined Sewer Overflow discharge, the permits to use them, and the quality of the water throughout the Potomac and Shenandoah. There are two CSO’s just upstream from the club, #28 and #29, and the water around them - particularly in the hot summer months - is often unsafe to swim in.

PRKN performs weekly tests all along the Potomac and Shenandoah River, from May 1 to September 18, and publicly shares the results in the Swim Guide. This is an amazing resource because until this organization began testing in September of 2018, all we had was general guidelines: Don’t swim in the water for at least 48 hours (preferably 72) after a heavy rain event. Now, we can have actual data.

PKRN volunteers test water every Wednesday and upload the results to Swim Guide on Thursdays.

“Our data is showing that when we're sampling near these combined sewer systems, we're frequently seeing bad water quality, even if it hasn't rained,” Naujoks said. “I don’t want to discourage people from using the river. People can go on the Swim Guide, and they can check.”

Every Wednesday they test and upload the results by Thursday night, in time for the weekend. From the Swim Guide homepage click “See All” to compare results from location to location or from week to week and month to month. Here is the WCC page of the Swim Guide.

Naujoks explained that all the old parts of D.C. (from Georgetown to Capitol Hill) were built on the combined sewer system, whereas the newer parts have storm drains that go straight to the sewage plant at Blue Plains. “D.C. releases two and a half billion gallons a year of combined sewage and stormwater into the river,” Naujoks said. Alexandria’s Old Town releases “only 150 million,” by comparison. The fix for this is a massive tunnel project that has been under construction for years and is slated to be completed by DC Water and Sewer by 2030. (The construction along Water St. in Georgetown is part of that project.)

What about across the river on the Virginia side? We don’t know where we don’t test. Naujoks says bacteria typically doesn’t travel far but because the water is tidal there, it gets pushed around four times every day. PRKN would very much like to test in more places, especially high-use areas like around Three Sisters, but they depend on volunteers for this.

Please consider volunteering to help test. They can always use more people, and although the testing happens every Wednesday, they have a schedule so you would not have to be here every single week. Contact Naujoks at [email protected].

It is the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and did you know that it is illegal to swim in the D.C. waters of the Potomac? While no one is getting arrested for splashing around Three Sisters on a beautiful summer day, the Riverkeepers are on a campaign to lift the swim ban so that the city will be more vigilant about keeping the water clean and safe.

It’s quite possible that Kathy Summers has spent more time in the river than anyone (she said she finishes every workout using her prone board like a kickboard and kicks 1.5 miles back to the club), and she has never had a problem and doesn’t know anyone who got sick from the water.

It’s up to all of us to take note and make a report if we see bad water. Email [email protected], or call the PRKN Pollution Report Hotline: (336) 809-6041. Take pictures of what you are reporting and record the date and time, in addition to the location. Please copy [email protected] on all communications.

The river is beautiful and ever-changing, and it rewards those who endeavor to know it.

The Panorama Jazz Band fundraiser brought the spirit of NOLA to WCC

By Catherine Melquist

It starts with a vision! And according to Mary Beth Ray, it has been her husband, Sheldon Ray's dream for Panorama, his favorite band from New Orleans, to play at the Washington Canoe Club. On Sunday, June 12, that dream came true – thanks to generous seed funding from the Rays, matched by an outpouring of creative talent and support from the WCC's can-do member community.  

Over 300 members and guests grooved to hip acoustic jazz under warm sunny skies. Panorama touts itself for delivering "brass band music of the world played loudly on the streets of New Orleans" and, in our case – WCC! And they certainly brought it! Plus, there was more – muffulettas and red beans & rice, delicious homemade desserts, killer Bloody Marys and Hurricanes, an Experience Marketplace, plus a first-time-ever Voodoo Canoe Garden, and more!

By all counts, the event was a great success. Over $20,000 was raised for the Boathouse Restoration (minus a few expenses), and everyone seemed to have a perfect time! Photos of the festivities can be found on the WCC website photo gallery.

Panorama settles in under the awning for a hot afternoon of cool jazz.

Jay Gopal, Mike McEarlean, Doug Brooks and friends set up a nice hydration station.

Wait, there are (a lot) MORE TO THANK: Andrew Soles, Jim & Linda Ross, Bonnie Havens, Erica Bell, Joel Rynes, Tom & Kimberly Lane, Cheryl Zook, Blaise & Kelly Rhodes, Cindy Kacher, Christina Carter, Jud Nirenberg, John Ben Soileau, Linda Aragon, Liz Wissner, Lisa Man, Stephen Weiss, Doug Brooks, Maribel Jimeno, Denise Schlener, Helen Quick, Holly Stewart, Stephanie Solari, Malen Link, Derek Campbell, Suzanne Zweizig, Trish Riggs, Alexander Rasmussen, Carrie Klein, Colleen O'Connor, Amy Erwin, Mary Stapp, Larry Martin, Julie Ryan, Gavin Ross, Martin Lowenfish, Joseph Cafferata, Claudia Grinius, Michele Perrin, Stephanie Judd, Rachel Shackleford, Kathy Summers, Christina Potts, Coralie Miller, Kim Stewart, Kevin Wolfe, Carissa Smith, Caitlin MacKenzie, T.Wilkins and anyone else I may have missed!

Many thanks to all, and let's do it again!

Editors note: Thank you to Catherine Melquist for organizing this event.

Serving Our Community - WCC Hosts D.C. Public Schools Outdoor Pursuits Program

Students and volunteers from three middle schools in D.C. gather at WCC for a fun morning of paddling.

Back in July the WCC Juniors Coaches Gavin Ross and David Podloch, along with several Juniors team members and volunteers hosted D.C. public school students from several area schools over the course of three consecutive Wednesdays as part of the Outdoor Pursuits program.

Outdoor Pursuits introduces middle school students to various outdoor adventures such as hiking, rock climbing, and paddling.

Once everyone was safely fitted with a pfd, Coach Gavin started with an introduction to paddling and the various racing craft used at WCC followed by basic kayak instruction on the dock. Then it was time to hit the water!

Learning to SUP at Three Sisters.

The juniors team paddled SUPs along with the group to Three Sisters for a little fun on the sandbar and SUP instruction for those who wanted to try it out. Once everyone was safely back at the club it was time to break out the Alumacraft canoes and do a little racing followed by a swim to cool off.

Sam's canoe takes the lead from Helen in the splash race.

This lucky group got to pet a snake.

Paddling the Potomac Safely

As you enjoy the last warm days of the season, please continue to prioritize safety on and off the water. This means understanding your paddling limits, knowing the waterways and conditions you are paddling, and being aware of others sharing the space around you. Even though the Potomac River off our docks may look beautiful and serene, there are hazards that all WCC paddlers should know about and avoid.

We encourage all members to review the Potomac River Safety Committee’s (PRSC) website and guidelines. These include a mapped “traffic pattern” to help standardize rowing traffic and safe spaces for paddlers. In the traffic pattern, the area along the DC shore between Key Bridge and Fletchers Cove is reserved for paddlers to safely operate. Remember, though, to stay aware of your surroundings no matter where you paddle, as not all craft follow or know these patterns.

The PRSC shell traffic pattern and hazards for paddlers.

The PRSC is comprised of liaisons from various clubs and organizations (including WCC) that use the upper Potomac River area for paddling and rowing.

Additional USCG and ACA resources:

• US Coast Guard Auxiliary Paddlecraft safety and AUXPAD
• The American Canoe Association Safety Series

Finally:

• If you are on the water and need help, signal to other craft with a whistle or by yelling and waving your arms. It is USCG regulation that others must assist those in need. Conversely, if someone needs help and you can assist safely, please do. WCC has a strong culture of helpful service on the water.
• If you observe unsafe behavior on the water that is not an emergency, please report this to [email protected] so that it can be reviewed and shared with the PRSC. Please feel free to send any questions you have about safety as well.

Enjoy the rest of the paddling season safely!

The WCC Beer Fridge is Under New Management

It’s official, Bill Woodruff (aka Augie Del Corona) has retired as king of the beer fridge. For over 12 years, Bill did a great job replenishing the fridge with tasty cold beers while keeping the price at one dollar per beer. Thanks for all the beers, Bill.

Kyle Kosinski has graciously stepped up as the next keeper of the beer fridge. Kyle has added the option to pay via Venmo in addition to accepting cash in the “till” hanging on the wall above the fridge. Just scan the QR code hanging on the fridge (and posted on the microwave) to pay online. Cheers, Kyle!

Don’t forget to pay for your beers (cash or Venmo) so we can keep this unique little perk of WCC membership going.

Editor's Note: Now is a good time to revisit the humorous history of the legendary fridge written by Augie for the Summer 2020 issue of Currents.

WHO’S UP FOR A WCC CRAB FEAST?

Or an oyster roast this fall? Or just looking for an excuse to get our community together?

If you answered YES to any of the above – then we encourage you to volunteer to organize a communal gathering of fellow members and friends.

The Entertainment Committee is responsible for planning and hosting several club-wide events throughout the year including Crab Feasts, Oyster Roasts, Annual Banquet, and club meetings – events that we all enjoy and that bring us all together and build a sense of community among members. The Chair also manages requests from members and outside groups wishing to hold parties and events at the club.

If you like planning parties and organizing events, please contact [email protected] and we’ll get this party started!

WCC remembers 2 Honorary Lifetime Members

Sadly, WCC lost two honorary lifetime members back in June. Roy Jobber and Ruth (DeForrest) Colley. Honorary Lifetime Membership is only bestowed on those few who have advanced the sport and/or the club in an immensely positive way.

The editors of Currents would like to pay tribute to each in a future issue. If you have a story or photos of Ruth or Roy, please forward them to us at [email protected].

Roy Jobber

Ruth (DeForrest) Colley

Our condolences to both families and their friends from everyone at the Washington Canoe Club.

We need volunteers for the boathouse cleanup this Saturday morning from 9 till noon.

Meet your fellow WCC members and help get the club and grounds ready for the Sunset Dinner. Bring your energy and enthusiasm (and work clothes).

David Podloch, Turner Moore, Alastair Leith, and Gavin Ross

Juniors and Masters Raced and Achieved Great Results for WCC

By Tim Johnson

2022 USA Canoe & Kayak Sprint National Championships - Clermont, Ohio

WCC was third overall, finishing ahead of far larger teams from around the country.

WCC paddlers included: Stephen Weiss, Charlie Johnson, Lisa Ramm, Helen Quick, Larry Schuette, Blaise Rhodes, Kelly Rhodes, Mike Grachev, Erin Rhodes, Gavin Ross, David Podloch, Mirek Podloch, Alastair Leith, Graham Leith, Ava Zahler, Helen Schuette, Riley Johnson, Sam Rhodes, Turner More and Cooper More. Also racing with WCC was Archie Akchurin.

While USA Sprint Nationals was underway, Ian Ross was with Team USA at the 2022 Canoe Sprint World Championships (Halifax, Nova Scotia), racing against the fastest paddlers in the world.

Helen Schuette, Liam Schuette, and Alastair Leith

The 2022 Racing Season Continues

The WCC Coaches, Teams, and individual competitors are still training, paddling hard, winning all over the place, and making us proud. It takes a lot of 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!

Results:

Kumu ‘ohu Challenge

Little D on the Monacacy

(no results online)

General Clinton Canoe Regatta

Monumental

Blackburn Challenge

(Blackburn photos)

Hudson River Cup

Cayuga Lake Crossing

Broadkill River Canoe and Kayak Race

(no results online)

Chesapeake Bay

(change practice)

MAPA James River Crossing

Upcoming:

• Catalina Crossing
• Bay Bridge
• Minimental
• Chattajack

Look for a detailed racing season recap in the next issue of Currents! Apologies in advance if we missed a race. Please let us know if we did.

Congratulations and good luck to all!

Huge shout out to our Summer Steward Erin Rhodes for all her hard work done well and with a smile! Enjoy your sophomore year in college, Erin.

Thanks to everyone who takes out the trash, wacks the weeds, sweeps the slick algae off the deck and rolls in the awnings on a regular basis.

If you know of a WCC member who should get a shout-out (and there are many), let us know.