Hi everyone and welcome to our Early Fall 2021 issue of Currents!

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

and more!

$40 adults, $15 teens (kids under 12 free), $90 families

Open to all members and their guests.

The club will provide crabs, hot dogs, sides, beer, wine, kids' drinks, and desserts.

Please RSVP to the Evite (sent via email) so we can plan food and beverages accordingly. To volunteer to help with setup or clean up, contact Lisa Ramm at entertainment@washingtoncanoeclub.org.

Remember: there is no guest parking at the club. Here is a guide to parking in Georgetown.

Due to COVID concerns, this year’s Biathlon will be greatly scaled back to eliminate crowding at the club. There will be no large gatherings and no opening, closing, or awards ceremonies.

Participation is limited to 90 racers total, so sign up soon if you plan to participate this year. Racers will be scheduled to arrive at the club in groups of 15 to paddle and run throughout the day beginning at 8 am and ending at 4 pm. All regular Saturday WCC workouts can proceed as usual.

Volunteers are being coordinated by Kate Morini at Team River Runner.

After a year of not being able to host racing in DC, the Washington Canoe Club is very excited to bring back the Middle States Regatta. It won’t be quite as big an event as in previous years, since we are still having to keep things on the smaller side, but it is on. This is an ECORA points race (Outrigger).

Register online at through Paddle Guru (Middle States Regatta Oct 9 2021)

$25. The registration fee includes a post-race BBQ.

The Boathouse Restoration Committee reports that we are progressing slowly and steadily through the regulatory review stage. Since our last report, we’ve met several times with the NPS and with staff from the DC historic review agencies. Our team of architects, landscape architects, and historic preservation specialists presented our concept-level plans and designs to the officials.

Not surprisingly from the historic preservation perspective, we received some questions about removing the East Bay entirely and replacing it with new, more functional space. The EHT Traceries team, along with the structural engineer and architects, evaluated the structural integrity and historic characteristics of the East Bay in a report that we have submitted to NPS. Our experts documented the poor structural state of the East Bay and its many changes over the years. They concluded that it is not nearly as historically significant as other sections of the building. If NPS and the historic review agencies agree with our experts’ analysis, this will enable us to reduce the extent of review our plans must undergo, thereby saving us several months and allowing us to remove the East Bay and get wonderful modern conveniences for club members.

The architects continue to refine plans for the rehabilitated and new building. The conceptual plans are exciting and provide us with greatly improved women’s locker rooms and with food preparation, meeting, and socializing spaces.

WCC is going to need a lot of money to undertake and complete this project. Club members are developing a plan to pay for the project, which will include a bank loan, events, and individual giving. Start thinking now about how you can generously contribute to the fundraising campaign so we collectively can make the rehabilitation a reality!

The WCC Board of Governors believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion should be integral to our club, and we aim to better reflect the community that we are part of. Toward that end, in early 2020 the Board passed a motion stating that improving diversity among our membership is an official priority for the Club and establishing a WCC Diversity Committee. That was a few weeks before the pandemic hit. Among the important efforts that were delayed as a result of the pandemic was this one.

The Washington Canoe Club was founded in 1904. American society was obviously very different then and the Club membership was composed exclusively of White males. This remained the case for many decades. Today, of course, membership is available to all, but despite that, our membership does not remotely reflect the rich diversity of the D.C. area. While there have been sporadic efforts over the years to improve our Club’s diversity, we have not had a strategy nor a sustained effort to reach out to so many people in the area who might (1) love to be part of WCC and (2) who could improve the club in countless ways.

We are now refocusing on this effort. A key part of this will be to leverage the good ideas, experience, and contacts of our membership. If you are interested in contributing to the Diversity Committee in any way, please contact me at krooney@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you are unable to attend regular meetings; we would still love to have your input! We will use a simple online polling tool to figure out the best day/time to meet in the next month or so and get some new and much-needed energy behind this important initiative.

On a warm July evening friends old and new gathered around the boathouse for a ceremonial blessing of WCC’s first-ever OC-6 unlimited racing canoe, an Ozone Puakea Malolo designed by Johnny Puakea.

Men’s outrigger team coach Nate Day had invited Kimokeo Kapahulehua, a Mau’i elder devoted to the preservation of Hawaii’s culture and history, and Kimokeo’s student Kapono Kamaunu to perform a Hawaiian naming ceremony for our brand new ultralight, carbon fiber OC6.

It was a uniquely WCC event that began with Kimokeo blowing a conch shell as a cumulonimbus cloud bloomed over Key Bridge in the late afternoon heat. Kamaunu sprinkled coconut water over the boat as he named her Kolea. Kolea is the word for a Pacific Golden Clover, a bird that returns to Hawaii in August and September, like numerous WCC members who return there as well, to race.

“The canoe will be used for training and racing by the outrigger teams,” Nate wrote in an email. “Almost all competition at the premier OC6 race in North America, the Catalina Crossing in California, happens in the unlimited division, and most clubs on the East Coast have at least one unlimited canoe by now, as well. We want to measure ourselves accurately against the abilities of other teams near and far, and this new canoe will help us do so.”

Nate further explained that “unlimited” means “a canoe that is not built to specified dimensions of length, beam, or weight – unlimited outrigger canoes are built first and foremost to go fast. They are almost certainly the future of outrigger canoe racing, and in Southern California competitions have already supplanted most of the older ‘spec’ canoes, which are built to specific dimensions and often weigh more than twice as much as unlimited canoes. Our new canoe is the outrigger equivalent of the carbon fiber racing shells we see rowers racing and training in.”

At under 150 pounds, Kolea is slender and scant. The old fiberglass boats are more like 400 pounds by comparison. Nate said she cost $20,000, half raised by the Board and half by some generous members.

Rachel Shackelford took part in the maiden voyage after Kamaunu performed numerous rituals involving chanting, singing, waving tea leaves over the new boat, and honoring Hawaiian gods with an offering of pork, fish, and sweet potatoes. Rachel explained that each of the offerings has meaning and that Kamaunu wrapped all of them together in a tea leaf, which they fed to the river. She said coconut water is used to christen boats because it is the most pure liquid, having been completely protected by its shell. She said participants received part of the coconut shells to keep as a symbol of their service and responsibility to the group.

It was all very different from videos we see of boat christenings where a giant glass bottle of champagne is shattered on a bow.

Kimokeo and Kamaunu came with families and friends who also participated in the momentous event. Nate’s connection, Anela Gutierrez, a proponent of the Hawaiian Renaissance who was integral to the ceremony, helped make this all happen by forging numerous connections along the way.

Hawaiian outrigger canoes, like ships, are thought to have individual identities and personalities – so names and formal naming ceremonies befit them. The name of an outrigger canoe often reflects and highlights the values of the organization she belongs to. When an OC6 is named, she stops being a mere object and becomes an integral part of a community, a member of a paddling and racing ohana or family.

Meet the relatives:

Ka Pueo – "The Owl"; the owl is the mascot of our club -- mentally sharp, fast in flight, and aggressive in competition.

Kaikuahine – "Little Sister" (with only 13 letters, the Hawaiian language is full of puns and double meanings); Kaikuahine is the second canoe the club purchased and is Ka Pueo's little sister.

Hanai'akamalama – literally "Foster Daughter of the Moon," which is the Hawaiian name of the Southern Cross constellation, prominent in the night sky much of the year in Hawai'i. This canoe was named by its original builder and co-owner, Ryan Pogue, who used it to run winter OC6 surf camps in the Hawaiian islands. We never considered re-naming her in part because of high-profile women's races won by wahine paddling her in Hawai'i; it is good to hold onto such mana ("power") by keeping the name.

Kamaha'o'anakupuna – "spirit of the elders" or "inspired by the elders"; originally named Kamahao'akimokeo after Kimokeo Kapahulehua (a Mau'i Native renowned for his work cultivating not only the culture and competition of canoeing, but also Native Hawaiian language, culture, and values) her name was expanded, with Kimokeo's blessing, to include other elders in the WCC paddling ohana as well.

70 miles—From the Washington Canoe Club, that’s all the way to Columbia, Maryland, and back, or round-trip to Manassas. But that’s what three WCCer’s paddled in late May on the headwaters of the Susquehanna River in upstate New York. Typically, about 60 WCCer’s head up Memorial Day weekend for the 35-mile Clinton Relay, and then a few hardy souls stay over and race double the distance in the Clinton Regatta. This year, there was no relay, and the 70-miler was “asynchronous.” But after putting more than a hundred hours, though cold, rainy weather and rough water conditions, Kelly Rhodes and Dan Havens didn’t want to pass up even an informal run. Both have done this race before, Kelly many times over, and in 2016, Kelly and Dan did it as partners, with Dan finishing up and saying “I will never do this race again” (because he was so beat up).

However, in early March, they decided to pair up again, using Kelly’s new JD Pro 2 marathon boat. This time around, “it was becoming an issue of not overtraining,” says Kelly, as they got together at least three times a week no matter what the weather, averaging 12 miles a workout. They spent a lot of time in the boat working on compatibility to be a smooth, efficient team.

Even so, it can take a lot more than training hard to do well in this race. Take equipment: new seats “were a game-changer,” says Dan, as he was able to keep the pressure on his butt from building up too much. And sustenance is also essential: “I learned a lot more about eating and drinking” in the weeks leading up to the actual race. Over the almost nine hours, whenever he started to flag, “I’d scoop up a handful of [food] with my cold, wet glove” from a basket sitting between his legs and “feel much better.”

And for that, pit crews are key. They are friends or relatives who wade into the river to restock the racers’ supplies. This year, Kelly’s son Sam (age 13) and daughter Erin (age 18) took up that challenge, with their father Blaise and Dan’s wife Bonnie as backup. This was Erin’s fourth time, and “she regularly goes above and beyond to get you what you need,” says Kelly, including wading up to her neck to pass food off. “If you are really racing, that’s really important.” Sam had helped before but had never been the person handing off supplies. “I felt there was a lot more riding on my shoulders,” he says. “And it was a lot colder and wetter.” It rained, hard, all day and never topped 46 degrees.

Erin’s big worry was getting lost and missing a pit—something that happened her first year on the job. Now she knows the roads well. Nonetheless, their first pit was a bit shaky, literally. With her arms full and knee deep in the river, Erin slipped and went careening toward the oncoming boat, barely keeping from tipping it as she deposited the supplies.

But the next four pits, they made up for it, successfully navigating back roads and at times mile-long hikes through woods or meadows to get to each stop. Erin had it easier than Sam. Prior to the race, Kelly packaged up what she needed and labeled the designated pit stop for each set of supplies. “It all has to be in a specific order,” said Erin, and could be just a filled water bottle, or a half a banana. Dan was more on the fly, telling Sam each time what he thought he needed next. It could be flat coke, orange slices, grapes or more vitamins and gummy bears. Sam also carried a rain jacket that Dan never asked for. Sometimes, he and his sister would be in the cold river for 20 minutes waiting. But the demands were not as outrageous as another crew’s, where the paddler asked for a cheeseburger and six ibuprofen. To the contrary, “sometimes they would just go by” and not take anything, Erin says.

Ultimately the two crews made it down the river in 8.75 hours. Erin and Sam were glad to see them at the finish line. Sam thinks he will pit again but hopes next time the temperature will be in the 60s and the sky cloudy but without rain. Pitting “is not exciting except for little moments and I’m always glad when it’s over,” Erin says. “But I look forward to pitting again.”

70 miles – stroke by stroke. Think about that the next time you head out Route 66 or drive around the Beltway.

In July we moved the two Port-a-John units to the downstream side of the building and built a 6’ wooden viewshed shield around it so that the units would not be visible from the Capital Crescent Trailside. It seems to be working and it certainly improved the viewshed and space use of the upstream boat area. The units are now also out of the sun for much of the day so the smell has been reduced. Many thanks to Gloria Vestal who had the great idea to make the move.

We re-arranged the stand-alone boat racks of the upstream boat area to make them more user-friendly and better spaced for general boat use/maneuvering. They look nicer too.

We also moved the final (last) freestanding boat rack from the downstream side of the club to the upstream side. Many thanks to Juniors who assisted in the move. All boats are now out of the downstream side per NPS request in the 60 year lease.

We also were able to move the small tin shed and the platform into its final home and we did a general clean-up of the back-40. It is finally looking less like a yard sale back there and more like a boatyard. Thanks to the Men’s outrigger team who assisted in the final move.

Special thanks to Dan Havens who cut 7” of steel off the NPS vehicle gate pin and redrilled a new hole for the WCC lock on it. Using the shorter pin is a lot simpler and the new hole is not nearly sheared through. Sometimes it’s the little things we don’t have to fight with that make all the difference in life. THANKS Dano!

The dock that holds two of the OC-6’s was in desperate shape and so we pulled the trigger on an emergency dock build over Labor Day Monday and I’m happy to say that a good crew of maybe 20 folks came out and we cut up and trashed one dock and re-used the hardware and built an entirely new dock all in one day. Well done all!

Over the summer, the water flow into the building along the back wall has increased, and unless we keep up with opening the drains to the river and sometimes even washing off the decks, sections of the deck become very slippery. We’ve placed rubber mats on top of the wettest areas, but please be careful when stepping onto wet areas as they can be very slippery. The Board is working with the NPS regarding this issue.

We are planning to move all the bike racks to the grassy area on the downstream side of the club near the new Port-a-John units in September. The idea is to build and paint a viewshed shield, similar to what was used for the Port-a-John units to block the view of the bikes from the Capital Crescent Trail and the front of the club.

From the Editors: Many thanks to Jim Ross, Dan Havens, and everyone else who contributed to these important efforts! Thanks, Mercedes Baird for the photos via Facebook.

WCC Coaches: Kelly Rhodes (Women’s Outrigger), Nate Day (Men’s Outrigger), Joe Cafferata (Novice Outrigger), Kathleen McNamee (Junior’s), TBD (Master’s Kayak), and Kathy Summers (SUP)

Fall racing season is still in full swing. Look for more comprehensive race results in the next issue of Currents!

Several Juniors and two Masters (Kelly and Blaise Rhodes) participated in the 2021 Sprint Kayak/Canoe Nationals in OKC. Despite the heat and the unending wind, we brought home more than our fair share of medals. Special acknowledgment goes to (Coach) Gavin Ross who distinguished himself as a world-class sprinter during the Super Cup portage race. Results are as follows:

Kelly Rhodes Silver in K-1 Masters 500 and 200

Kelly Rhodes – Gold, masters 5k K-1

Kelly Rhodes - Gold / 1000m Masters K-1

Sam Rhodes - Silver C4 Bantam 200m

Erin Rhodes - Bronze K1 Junior 1000m

Men’s Senior C4 200 – Silver (Gavin Ross, Alistair Leith, Turner More, Anuar Akchurin)

Men’s Senior C4 500– Silver (Gavin Ross, Alistair Leith, Turner More, Anuar Akchurin)

Blaise Rhodes - Gold Masters C1

Gavin Ross - Silver c1 senior 5000

Gavin Ross - Silver c1 senior 1000m

Gavin Ross - Bronze c1 senior 500m

Gavin Ross / Anuar Akchurin - Gold Senior C2

Silver C4 Senior (Becca Schuette, Helen Schuette, Ava Zahler, Anna Rhodes)

Anna Rhodes - Bronze Juvenile C1 500m

Turner More / Alistair Leith - Bronze junior 1000m c2

Turner More / Alistair Leith - Bronze junior c2 200m

Erin Rhodes - Silver, k1 junior 5k

Alistair Leith - Silver c1 junior 5000

Alistair Leith - Silver junior men’s c1 200m

Turner More - Bronze C1 juvenile 5k

Becca Schuette - Bronze C1 1000 senior

Helen Schuette - Bronze C1 1000 junior

Helen Schuette - Silver C2 Junior 200m

Becca & Helen Schuette – Gold / C2 500 senior

Helen Schuette / Emma Albrecht – silver / C2 500 junior

Helen & Becca Schuette - Gold, C2 1000m senior

Sam Rhodes - Bronze C4 500m bantam

WCC took 6th out of 16 clubs participating – a great result considering our contingent was much smaller than most.

Huge thanks Huge shout out to our outgoing social director Lisa Ramm. Even when she’s not “on duty” at a WCC event, she’s always quietly “getting it done,” making sure club stuff is in the right place, driving the club OC6 trailer, and helping new members.

If you know of a WCC member who should get a shout-out (and there are many), 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, please reach out to one of your newsletter team members:

Gloria Vestal | Dawn Nunziato | Mary Stapp