Dear Members:

I am reporting to you on last night’s Board meeting:

Docks: All hands on—we will be taking out the downtown docks this Saturday, November 13, 2004, at 9:00 AM. We need everyone’s help to make short work of this. Please bring gloves, sturdy shoes, and a willing hand. We anticipate finishing by 10:30 AM at the latest.

Christmas Party: Mark your calendars for Saturday night, December 11, 7:00 PM. Fran Mason has graciously agreed to host our party at her Ginter Park home. Details and invitations to follow. The Club will provide a main dish, wine, beer, and soft drinks, and will ask members to bring a dish—appetizer, main dish, or desert. Rumor has it that super heavyweight Barry Peirce has researched and thoroughly tested seven cheesecake recipes and will share the results with us. Please plan on coming, bring your spouse or significant other, and enjoy a night of feasting, toasting, and good cheer.

July 4 2005 Weekend: The Richmond Sports Backers has invited the VBC to participate in the 2005 James River Festival. Accordingly, we will host our own regatta, our absolutely unique Deep Water Run, a 9 mile stake race from our docks downtown to the Deep Water Terminal and back. Last held in the mid-90’s, this race has attracted a large number of scullers looking for a different racing experience in the summer. We’ll need both regatta volunteers and racers, so start erging. Stay tuned.

Winter Rowing: Our current downtown dock is badly in need of repair and in some sections, full replacement. Given our history of winter flooding and the fragile state of the dock, the Board has voted to remove the entire dock on November 13 to avoid risking the loss of valuable flotation. Those few hardy souls who would like to row this winter have the option of rowing out of the Robious facility, which will remain open under winter rowing rules. The Club has several club boats available at the Robious boathouse for your use. If you would like a key or want to inquire about racking your boat at Robious, please contact Hank Holswade at 320.2984.

Winter rowing rules include 4 oars on the water at all times, and only during daylight. That means that you either row in at least a double or if in a single, keep an on-the water buddy always within eyesight.

Our Treasurer reported that we are running a slight surplus for the year due to some careful budgeting, a successful learn to row program that brought in new members, and a slight surplus from the Rockett’s Landing Regatta last Spring. The Board is recommending for next year the purchase of a mid-weight 2x. We are currently researching the purchase of a used 2x. We anticipate larger than usual expenses since we likely will be re-building much of the downtown dock. The annual expense of insurance will be reviewed to compare the competing programs of the USRA and Masters Rowing Association. While service has been an issue with the USRA, our membership with the USRA enabled the Club to request and receive USRA referees at our Rockett’s Landing Regatta last spring.

Members should note that Club insurance provides no property damage coverage to member or club boats. It does provide general liability coverage to include some medical coverage and liability coverage for club events and practices, excluding regattas. ( We purchase a separate policy for any regatta we sponsor.)

Facilities: Hank Holswade reports that the Robious site is being well-used, with rack space nearly full with 3 club boats, a number of James River High School boats, and a number of private 1xs owned by our members. Hank has requested the addition of electric power and this request is under consideration by Chesterfield County.

Our downtown situation is status quo. The current publicity regarding the rezoning and permitting of Rockett’s Landing pertains to the Henrico portion of the property immediately downstream from our boathouse, and not our boathouse, which is located in the City of Richmond. We do not anticipate any changes in our boathouse and environs in the near-term. Nonetheless, Board members and key Club members are actively exploring boathouse options in the downtown area, including but not limited to our current site.

Partial HOTO race results are in: Kudos to Gwynne Williams and Tom Blake on their gold medal finishes at HOTO, to Belcher/LeBlanc 2x for their strong third place finish, to the Solidowski 4 for their second consecutive strong finish following their success at the Head of the Lafayette, and to Coach LeBlanc’s plucky VCU crews who garnered a gold and several other strong finishes.

Please lend a hand this Saturday with the docks and plan on opening your holiday season with our VBC Christmas Party on December 11.