Firsts In Philly And Lots Of Sunshine
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Posted by
DPH2002
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21 July 2009
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It was my first time at the Undine Boat Club, my first time in a Filippi racing shell, and my first time on the Schuylkill River. There is only one word to describe all three firsts: glorious.
Fellow GLRF member and Captain of the Club Ray B (if you met him, you would call him Ray Blue Eyes for piercingly obvious reasons...) hosted me at Undine (pronounced Undeen) for a late afternoon row on Monday and an early morning row on Tuesday. Ray’s adorable golden retriever Sunshine happily showed me around the boathouse and enjoyed a quick swim in the river while she toyed with the algae. Her tail is like an enormous sweeping rope that swishes back and forth with happy abandon, sweeping and knocking everything in close proximity. Typical of a golden, Sunshine liked to have her head petted and nibbled your fingers in return.
Since Ray will be one of the WHOars in 2009 World Outgames Regatta event 106 Men’s Open 4x, we took out a double. The club has what I would call a fleet of Filippis, singles, doubles, and quads. Now I know why – the double was light, responsive, and super quick. Ray and I quickly got into sync and rowing 3 miles upstream without a break.
The river is long, wide, smooth, and reserved strictly for rowing and coach launches. The downstream portion, across from the ‘Boathouse Row’ is a dam that effectively prevents any other watercraft from accessing the river and upstream, at the ‘Falls’ huge rocks create a natural barrier to water access. It is truly a rower’s dream, although it can get very congested as upwards of 8 boathouses launch boats. One of the nicest benefits of rowing in Philadelphia in the summer is an endless stream of eye candy. You could just rename Penn AC the Abercrombie Boathouse - unbelievable. There were so many hotties you had to shift your eyes quickly to take in all the tanned, lean smooth bods stripped to the waist and lycra-lined.
The Undine boathouse is narrower than you might expect, just two boat bays wide. The downstairs is teaming with fours, doubles, and singles. Outside, along the both sides of the boathouse are more fours and eights. A huge ramp feeds the boats to the dock on the river. Upstairs is totally old school rowing: an enormous outside deck overlooking the river and inside a wood panel lined drawing room adorned with pictures and trophies, leather chairs, and a card table. The men’s and women’s locker room occupy the back two thirds of the upstairs. The two locker rooms share an enormous wood-beamed open air loft ceiling with only an 8’ foot wall between the men’s and women’s lockers. So conversations flow freely between the men’s and women’s locker room, another first for me! Ray introduced me to several of the members; who knew there were so many “family” members around including the totally adorable lean blondie Paul.
After our evening row, Ray and I headed to a local rower hangout, Brigid’s, for dinner. The atmosphere is totally rower casual with beer and good food and wood paneled walls. It really does not get much better.
Fellow GLRF member and Captain of the Club Ray B (if you met him, you would call him Ray Blue Eyes for piercingly obvious reasons...) hosted me at Undine (pronounced Undeen) for a late afternoon row on Monday and an early morning row on Tuesday. Ray’s adorable golden retriever Sunshine happily showed me around the boathouse and enjoyed a quick swim in the river while she toyed with the algae. Her tail is like an enormous sweeping rope that swishes back and forth with happy abandon, sweeping and knocking everything in close proximity. Typical of a golden, Sunshine liked to have her head petted and nibbled your fingers in return.
Since Ray will be one of the WHOars in 2009 World Outgames Regatta event 106 Men’s Open 4x, we took out a double. The club has what I would call a fleet of Filippis, singles, doubles, and quads. Now I know why – the double was light, responsive, and super quick. Ray and I quickly got into sync and rowing 3 miles upstream without a break.
The river is long, wide, smooth, and reserved strictly for rowing and coach launches. The downstream portion, across from the ‘Boathouse Row’ is a dam that effectively prevents any other watercraft from accessing the river and upstream, at the ‘Falls’ huge rocks create a natural barrier to water access. It is truly a rower’s dream, although it can get very congested as upwards of 8 boathouses launch boats. One of the nicest benefits of rowing in Philadelphia in the summer is an endless stream of eye candy. You could just rename Penn AC the Abercrombie Boathouse - unbelievable. There were so many hotties you had to shift your eyes quickly to take in all the tanned, lean smooth bods stripped to the waist and lycra-lined.
The Undine boathouse is narrower than you might expect, just two boat bays wide. The downstairs is teaming with fours, doubles, and singles. Outside, along the both sides of the boathouse are more fours and eights. A huge ramp feeds the boats to the dock on the river. Upstairs is totally old school rowing: an enormous outside deck overlooking the river and inside a wood panel lined drawing room adorned with pictures and trophies, leather chairs, and a card table. The men’s and women’s locker room occupy the back two thirds of the upstairs. The two locker rooms share an enormous wood-beamed open air loft ceiling with only an 8’ foot wall between the men’s and women’s lockers. So conversations flow freely between the men’s and women’s locker room, another first for me! Ray introduced me to several of the members; who knew there were so many “family” members around including the totally adorable lean blondie Paul.
After our evening row, Ray and I headed to a local rower hangout, Brigid’s, for dinner. The atmosphere is totally rower casual with beer and good food and wood paneled walls. It really does not get much better.
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