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Nereid News, 9/14/07
In this issue:
- Rowing in the dark
- Head of the Passaic registration opens
- Route 3 construction update
- Nereid bulkhead flooding damage
- Newsletter editors needed
- Q&A with George Freimarck
- Passaic River cleanup in Garfield
- Welcome to new member
- Saturday morning open row
Upcoming
events schedule
- Head of the Passaic
Regatta
October 14
Membership Report & August 6 Directors Meeting minutes attached
==================
Rowing in the dark
warning
As Fall approaches, early morning rowers will find themselves starting
their row in the dark. Rowing in the dark can be hazardous if
common sense safety precautions are not taken. Nereid
requires
rowers to affix bright lights to both the bow and the stern of each
shell when rowing in the dark, in compliance with international boating
rules.
Lights may be purchased from e.g.
http://www.rowingboatlights.com/lights.html.
Thank you for your cooperation. Safety should be our primary
concern on the water.
==================
Registration open
for Head of the Passaic Regatta
This year’s Head of the Passaic Regatta will take place on
Sunday, October 14. It will be the 7th edition of the race.
We
are looking forward to a great day of competition and sportsmanship.
* Registration
Registration for the HOPR is now open at RegattaCentral,
http://www.regattacentral.com/. The registration deadline is
October 7. Last year the regatta was close to capacity in
many
races, so we encourage everyone to register early. We may not
be
able to accept late entries for some races.
* Racing club
boats
Please contact captain Frank Schaefer if you want to row a specific
club boat in the HOPR.
* Sponsorship
There are many sponsorship options for Nereid members and
affiliates. Please contact Phil Gartenberg
(nereidjoin@hotmail.com) for more information.
* Volunteering
A volunteer signup sheet will be posted in the boathouse near the door
to the south boat bay. Please consider volunteering
– we
will need everyone's help! Let us know if you are interested
in
specific jobs.
More information is available on the regatta website,
http://www.hopr.org/. Questions may be sent to
regatta@hopr.org.
==================
Route 3
construction update
There is no work on the bridge deck scheduled for this
Saturday.
Beginning on or about Sept. 17, work will shift to night time (10:00 PM
- 5:00 AM).
Rowing below Rte 3 may commence this Saturday, but rowers must exercise
all due caution, as workers or equipment may be present at any
time. Early morning rowers should proceed with extra caution,
in
view of 5:00 AM quitting time.
George
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Nereid bulkhead
flooding damage to be inspected by borough
As reported separately, recent flash flooding has left serious, deep
gouges several feet deep on the left side of the boathouse to the
bulkhead. Rowers using the outside racks need to exercise
extreme
caution. Doubles and Quads should go around the front of the
boathouse.
The Directors are in contact with the borough engineer who will inspect
the damage.
==================
Nereid News needs
reporters!
We are looking for a few volunteers who can commit to producing news
items once a week or once every few weeks for inclusion in the
newsletter. Reports on rowing technique and rigging are
welcome,
as are stories about the various forms of wildlife we observe on the
river. And anything else of interest to the
readership!
Please email nereidsec@hotmail.com if you are interested.
Thank
you for your help.
==================
Q&A with
George Freimarck
How long
have you been a Nereid Member?
Since 1994, when the boathouse was a functioning wreck in transition
from derelict marina to a working rowing club house. I had a
tip
from a friend (Adrian Shoobs) that a bunch of die hards were
trying to make a go of a rowing club on the Passaic. Gratia
and
and were expecting our second child. I had a single I kept at
Columbia. We had to move from Manhattan. The
proximity of a
rowing club was a powerful hook. The men and women of that
pioneer group were hard working, fun loving and welcoming.
How and
why and when did you start rowing?
Winter of Frosh year at Columbia ('73). I'd played frosh
soccer
and needed a winter activity. I heard the Heavyweights got
two
free meals a day during the season which included the winter
months. Into the indoor rowing tanks!
What do
you like most about rowing?
Being on the water, poetry in motion. The infinite play of
forces
during the rowing stroke. Show up, shut up and row!
How did
you get involved with being on the board?
I was asked to stand for a position. Aside from pitching in
with
a shovel or paint brush, I had not done much for the club till
then. It was time to give back.
What is
the biggest change you've seen since you joined?
The boathouse, literally. It was the exposed beams, near tear
down you see in the photos on the walls. Back then, the
founders
envisioned a small club with equal parts sweep and sculling, with some
youth rowing, but no where near the size to which we've grown.
Does your
family row?
Wife Gratia, yes; daughter Olivia (16) is a junior at Glen Ridge HS,
which has no crew, divides her time between Field Hockey and Nereid
Youth Rowing. In spring, she plays lacrosse.
Youngest
daughter Averyl (13) has been taught to row, but is awaiting entree to
the Nereid YR.
What is
your day job?
Sales and account management for a global risk catastrophe services
company, in the insurance and financial institutions sector.
Where does
your interest in the fauna of the Passaic come from?
I like the flora too! It's fascinating to note the wildlife
that
is not only surviving but flourishing on what was once one of the most
notoriously polluted rivers in the country. William Carlos
Williams, one of the great American poets, Rutherford native
and
lifelong resident and MD, once called it "the sewer of the western
world". No more. You never would have convinced me
back in
'72 what a debt of gratitude we'd owe Richard Nixon for the Clean Air
and Water Acts, but back then the only wildlife on the Harlem were sea
gulls. Now you can see swans, mallards, herons, egrets which
are
surviving on a resurgent marine food source. The Passaic is
much
the same. Thanks, Dick!
What is on
your Wish List for the club?
New 50 year lease with town of Rutherford, new bulkhead and park, third
floor erg room (hot tub optional). We have been dealing with
issues on a lot of fronts. Once we get obligations for the
first
two straightened out, which will occur this year or early next, we can
focus our energies on turning Nereid into a truly nonpareil NY area
rowing club for the next 50 years.
Interview by Alice Matthews
==================
Passaic
River Clean-up Tuesday, 9/18, Garfield, NJ
Eastern Mountain Sports is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The
company has decided to honor this occasion by reaching out to the
community by closing its doors from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday,
September 18 and performing a volunteer clean-up day on the Passaic
River. We will be working with the City of Garfield Clean Communities
Program and the Passaic River Sewerage Commission to clean up a section
of the Passaic River where it is tidal south of the Dundee Dam.
We will be using our kayaks as well as providing assistance from the
riverbank. Coffee, donuts, water, lunch, gloves, bags, and a dump truck
will be provided.
Volunteers are needed to assist with this community project. As an EMS
employee, I am very excited that we are contributing to this
environmental cleanup. Its impact will be felt for months.
Please join us on Tuesday, September 18th between 8:30 and 9:00 AM .
Please RSVP to the EMS store at (201) 670-6464 or email me at
bgwiest@yahoo.com.
We will advise participants of directions and the exact meeting place.
Betty Wiest
==================
Welcome to new
member
Adian Nino
De Rivera
Has been rowing at Nereid for about a month. Rowed
competitively at Cornell.
==================
Saturday morning
open row
On Saturday mornings at 8:30 AM, Nereid hosts an open row at the club.
We will put crews together with anyone who shows up. Afterwards,
there'll be breakfast at the boathouse.
==================
Previous newsletters
2007
Nereid News,
8/31/07
Nereid News,
8/17/07
Nereid News,
8/5/07
Nereid News,
7/20/07
Nereid News,
7/13/07
Nereid News,
7/6/07
Nereid News,
6/29/07
Nereid News,
6/22/07
Nereid News,
6/15/07
Nereid News,
6/8/07
Nereid News,
6/1/07
Nereid News,
5/25/07
Nereid News,
5/18/07
Nereid News,
5/11/07
Nereid News,
5/4/07
Nereid News,
4/27/07
Nereid News,
4/20/07
Nereid News,
4/13/07
Nereid News,
4/6/07
Nereid News,
3/30/07
Nereid News,
3/23/07
Nereid News,
3/16/07
Nereid News,
3/9/07
Nereid News,
3/2/07
Nereid News,
2/23/07
Nereid News,
2/17/07
Nereid News,
2/9/07
Nereid News,
2/2/07
Nereid News,
1/26/07
Nereid News,
1/18/07
Nereid News,
1/12/07
Nereid News,
1/5/07
2006
Nereid News,
12/22/06
Nereid News,
12/15/06
Nereid News,
12/8/06
Nereid News,
12/1/06
Nereid News,
11/17/06
Nereid News,
11/11/06
Nereid News,
11/2/06
Nereid News,
10/27/06
Nereid News,
10/20/06
Nereid News,
10/13/06
Nereid News,
10/6/06
Nereid News,
9/29/06
Nereid News,
9/22/06
Nereid News,
9/15/06
Nereid News,
9/8/06
Nereid News,
9/1/06
Nereid News,
8/25/07
Nereid News,
8/11/06
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