Dave the Date for the Head of the.....Q!

Save the Date! Sunday, October 13th at Noon, for the first of its kind Head of the Quinobequin youth single sculls regatta, hosted by Cambridge Boat Club, Community Rowing, Riverside Boat Club and Union Boat Club. The course is short, from Eliot Bridge to North Beacon St. Bridge. Launching will take place from a few locations along the river, but all land based staging, including post-race celebration and awards ceremony will take place at Community Rowing, Inc. The on-water window is short, 11:30AM to 1:30PM, and a large number of safety launches managing the course and starting area. Please adjust your boating plans accordingly to accomodate this event. Registration and information for the limited number of entries for this innaugural year available on Regatta Central starting Tuesday. Special thanks to the Head of the Charles Regatta, Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Newton and Watertown Yacht Clubs and Northeastern U. for being gracious and supportive neighbors and for their help and input in making this (on-their-doorstep) event possible.

Traffic Pattern Changes and Bridge Construction update.

Please share this information with your memberships and anyone else who may be interested. It is that time if year again, starting this Monday on Labor Day, when the standard use of the River and Western Ave bridges changes for the rowing community. See the excerpt from the traffic pattern document below. Please be sure that you know and understand this traffic pattern, and row accordingly. Power boaters will continue to use the center arches in both directions. (*) Powerhouse Stretch / Western Ave. and River Street Bridges: This area is used heavily by crews racing side-by-side, for high school and club races, and seat racing. Racing crews and scullers have right of way in this stretch. All crews and scullers, upstream and downstream, must use the right-hand arches of both bridges, going single file if not racing. The center arches are two-way to accommodate racing, with one boat in the right-hand arch, and the other to the right-hand side of the center arch. (*) Racing crews and scullers are only allowed to use the center arches if the right hand arches are concurrently used, and preferably with a coach. From Labor Day through Thanksgiving, from 5 am until 1 pm, the center arches of Western and River street bridges are upstream only, to accommodate crews and scullers training for the Head of the Charles regatta. In the afternoon, the center arches resume being bi-directional. Anderson The Boston arch remains closed and will be for some weeks. We are working with the State (DOT in this case) to try to get an idea of how many more weeks, as this is head race season, and we will have many visitors to the river over the next 2 months. You will know more when we know more. But in the meantime, the center arch remains a downstream arch only for the rowing community. upstream traffic should continue to use the Cambridge arch. Powerboaters will continue to use the center arch in both directions. we have 2 requests for all rowing clubs and programs: please be sure to share this information with your members and ask them to follow the recommended traffic pattern. Please be sure to alert persons requesting launch access from your club, to row the Head of the Charles course, of this situation and ask for their compliance as well. Since the race course uses that arch as THE racing arch in an upstream direction, and because most boats swing wide to Boston to get a good line on this arch, this presents significant opportunity for collision. It may be wise to recommend to anyone requesting launch access to practice the course, that they wait until the Boston arch is open. Please take every opportunity to be sure that all visitors are aware of this situation. Be advised that it is possible that visitors will launch for sites other than boathouses and may not be aware of the change in traffic pattern. In particular, people who wet-launch from Magazine Beach may not even be aware that the Boston arch is closed. Everyone should use caution when using the center arch of Anderson bridge. All three arches will be open for the Head of the Charles Regatta. Weeks Several boaters have attended the Weeks meetings to advocate to the State (dcr in this case) that the Charles River remains safe and accessible for boating throughout construction. We are awaiting word on the start date of work and order of arch closings. When we know more, you'll know more. Longfellow Currently, the Cambridge side spans of the Bridge are closed, but that is slated to change September 2, according to the advisory sent by the State. Rowers are encouraged to turn before the bridge. When we know more, you'll know more. and finally, the ever evolving CRAB fine print and legalese.... CRAB is not the boss of you. We cannot tell you what to do. We offer information that we believe to be true in a good faith effort to improve awareness, communication and boating safety. And we do this because we believe that the boaters of the Charles River want a safe boating environment for all. This is not an official document from CRAB, it is informational only.

Charles River Cleanup Boat update

Charles River Clean Up Boat Update 13 - 3 It's been a wonderful year on the Charles. The Spring was rainy and it upset our schedule for a while, but by the end of June we were right on track The 4th of July was a great party and a credit to the City and all the people and organizations involved in putting it on. For the Clean Up Boat it is always a day we need to prepare for. This year, in an effort to get some new donors, we worked to get some publicity. Anne Benaquist worked hard to get articles in the Cambridge and Newton Tabs. The Metrowest Daily News wrote a nice article on the Clean Up Boat. But nary a donation materialized from these efforts. Peter DeMarco wrote an article in the Globe when we were starting (9 years ago) and it generate a number of donations that got us going. Since this was our 10th year he agreed to do another story, only if I guaranteed that there would be trash. The first time he came, we went all day and got very little trash. So I set it up for him to come right after the 4th, and we did not disappoint him. Since a number of our supporters did not see the article, I have attached a copy. By the way, David Solomon was the crew for that day, and the article included a nice picture of him. Unfortunately my crude efforts to get electronic copies of the article and attach it, resulted in the loss of that photo. My apologies. The volunteers have been wonderful. Always on time. Always cheerful, enthusiastic and hard working. Our schedule was basically full in late July and we have had only a rare cancellation. We are doing a great job. Last Friday, Bob Gaffney, a 10 year veteran captain of the Clean Up Boat, reported he had never seen the river so clean. Our combined efforts have kept the river clean, for so long, that people assume it is always clean. No so, but our efforts have made it so. As always take a few moments and enjoy this unique asset that we have right in the middle of our metropolitan area. Also, enjoy the attached Globe Article, It is about you, as it takes all of us to make it a reality.

DCR Boating Advisory - Longfellow Bridge, Cambridge side, closed to boating traffic

Boating Advisory: Closure of Cambridge Side of Longfellow Bridge to Vessel Traffic WHAT: Beginning, Monday August 26, 2013, The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will restrict vessel traffic on the Cambridge side of the Longfellow Bridge. This restriction is to help facilitate the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) work on Spans 7 through 10 of the Longfellow Bridge. During this time, vessels will still be able to travel the Boston side of the Longfellow Bridge. WHEN: Monday, August 26, through Monday, September 2, 2013 WHERE: Longfellow Bridge, Cambridge