Rowing with East River C.R.E.W

From the Deck Log of Sea Scout Ship 243
Saturday, 26 August,2000

On Saturday August 26th, 2000, East River C.R.E.W. hosted two ships of the Sea Scouts of America for a Whitehall Gig Fun Rowing Event. David Mosher, skipper of the group headquartered at The Murphy Center at Asphalt Green, invited the other Sea Scouts to participate. Perfect weather, a convenient tide schedule, and 18 enthusiastic youth rowers made all our efforts worthwhile

The day began at 1PM when everyone met at the West Village Community Boathouse on Pier 40, West Houston St., Manhattan, the location of a Floating the Apple teaching, boat building, rowing, and storage facility.

The Regatta included a hands-on review of rowing skills, knot-tying, putting boats into the water via a davit, rowing games and exercises, a trip at slack tide onto the lower Hudson, and returning the Whitehalls out of the water and into the boathouse.

Participating Sea Scout ships are Ship 272 - New York, NY; Ship 243 - Seahorse - Rahway New Jersey; and Ship 101, Fairfield, CT. The Sea Scouts, BSA, work with boys and girls, ages 14 - 21, to promote better citizenship and to improve members' skills and knowledge through instruction and practice in water safety, boating skills, outdoor, social, and service experiences, and knowledge of our maritime heritage. Many thanks to: David Mosher of the Sea Scouts, Rear Commodore, Northeast Region, Chairman, Liberty Wardroom NY NJ, and Skipper of Ship 272, New York, NY.

Mike Davis, President, Floating the Apple, Inc. for help and support of this fun rowing event!

With special thanks to the Hudson River Trust for making this beautiful section of the lower Hudson River available for youth rowing and boat building programs!

Whitehall Gigs Present:

IV
Taxi
The Kate Walker
The Rachel Carson

The Whitehall Gigs are 25' wood rowboats, whose lines and form are based on the 19th century working and racing boats of New York Harbor. The Whitehalls use four rowers each, a coxswain in the stern to steer, and perhaps one or two passengers. Floating the Apple has built twenty Whitehall Gigs to date, working with students and community volunteers in several youth boat building and rowing programs.

East River C.R.E.W., (Community Recreation and Education on the Water), seeks to impart a love for, and an understanding of, the waters of the East River Community of New York City, with the idea that learning about and using the river will promote future generations' protection of it. Public access to waterways has been lost as boathouses and piers have deteriorated over the years, and C.R.E.W. hopes that can change.

For Additional Information on East River Crew, please conact:
Vice President Mary Nell Hawk at mnhawk@eastrivercrew.org
or visit the website at: www.eastrivercrew.org