Anyone interested in a boat from CRI or trailer space for a personal boat must fill out the CRI Regatta Boat Request Form no later than 10 days prior to the event.

It is available here:

Last week was a busy one for corporate rowing at CRI.  We were able to welcome over 200 clients to row through the hosting of two team-building rows and the final week of the Charles River Rowing League (CRRL), which culminated in all 12 boats racing in a final on Friday evening. The preliminary heats of Friday's racing were live broadcasted to the community room through Periscope and can be re-watched via the following link: https://www.periscope.tv/RenegadeRowing/. The grand final race was also held in front of the CRI docks for all to view. Congratulations to the Buff's Pub Crew on their victory in the final race, and an honorable mention to the Arsenal Crew for their close second. The first week of CRRL Session 2 begins this week!

 

If you are interested in volunteering for the CRRL, follow the link below to sign up for Session 2! We are currently looking for more volunteers and coxswains to help on Tuesday nights.

 

 

If you know of a company that would like to field a team to row in Session 3 (August 9th to September 17th), please put them in touch with Patrick Larcom and he will get them on the water - patrick.larcom@communityrowing.org

 

On Thursday the 16th, CRI hosted a volunteer group from Tufts Health Plan that worked on projects to make CRI more accessible for disabled rowers.  Some of the projects included: the installation of wheelchair ramps on docks 1, 2, and 3, and the painting of a white stripe down the center of each boat bay to guide visually-impaired rowers. The group also helped CRI repaint the handicapped parking spaces and fire lane designation in front of the building.  A big thank you to everyone from Tufts Health Plan and CRI who volunteered their time and talents towards these projects, and for helping CRI continue its mission of "Rowing For All."

 

CRI also hosted a group from Slalom Consulting for a team-building row on Friday the 18th. After an exciting session on the ergs with Coach Mary Foster, the group was eager to get down to the dock and begin their first row. With great weather and two volunteers to help out in bow pair, these new rowers picked up the basics of the stroke on the water very quickly. A big thank you to Mary Foster for coaching! Another big thank you to Emily Dwyer and Hannah Frankel for volunteering for the event as well.

 

Saturday the 19th was another great day at CRI with the hosting of IMMY, an Oklahoma-based company that develops new medical diagnostic tests, for a team-building row. Here in Boston for a convention on Microbiology and Microbial Science, IMMY used their time at CRI as a fun and relaxing way to see more of the city. Coach Coree did a fantastic job of teaching the group the basics of the stroke in the erg studio, and was followed up by a great session on the water coxed by Hannah Frankel. A big thank you to Coree and Hannah for volunteering for the event!

As part of our move on to the Upper Charles waterway, we want to work with the local community and help and support where we can. The 5000m of new waterway is going to be hugely beneficial to us and also the many, many people that will experience this amazing stretch of water.

With that in mind, we are working with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) to help promote their 10th season for water chestnut removal on the Upper Charles River. We are asking of there are any people that would like to offer their help.

• The two current methods for water chestnut removal are hand-pulling and mechanical harvesting.
• Water chestnuts are an invasive species native to Eurasia that was brought to the US in the 19th century. Water chestnuts are problematic because they grow in thick mats, blocking sunlight from reaching the water and absorbing dissolved oxygen. Water chestnuts out compete native vegetation and use up the oxygen for other aquatic life, such as fish. Moreover, when water chestnut growth becomes too thick, the river becomes unnavigable.
• Water chestnuts generally starting growing in late June and drop their seeds into the river in August. The hand-pulling season, therefore, occurs between early June to mid-August.
• For CRWA's Canoeing for Clean Water program, CRWA staff lead groups of 30 volunteers in kayaks onto the river to hand-pull water chestnuts. The events last 2-3 hours and generally occur in the morning to avoid extreme heat and severe weather events. CRWA and Boating in Boston provide all necessary equipment and training.
• On average, CRWA leads 25 events and 500+ volunteers per season. In 2015, 40 tons or 80,000 pounds of water chestnuts were removed from the Charles.

• All questions can be sent to Caitlin Chiquelin, by email at waterchestnut@crwa.org or by phone at (781) 788-0007 ext. 235
• To sign up for a public event, volunteers must register by filling out this form.
• The public events leave from the Boating in Boston location at Newton Historic Boathouse. The address is 2401 Commonwealth Avenue, Auburndale, MA. Directions can be found here. It's important to note that volunteers park off site, but there are ample signs directing people to the parking lot, which is just across the river and about a 2 minute walk. 

• The public events for the rest of the season are: