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BackSplash | Spring 2026
A newsletter from Harlem River Community Rowing |
Welcome to the Spring 2026 issue of Harlem River Community Rowing’s quarterly newsletter BackSplash, with updates, calendar events, rower profiles, and news on and off the water. HRCR is the only adult rowing organization in NYC and the only one in the region accessible by public transportation. We offer programming at Muscota Marsh in Inwood Hill Park, courtesy of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Our programming is free and open to anyone eighteen years or older. |
20 YEARS OF HARLEM RIVER COMMUNITY ROWING: A HISTORY |
Beginnings
Early this past May, a group of HRCR rowers gathered to celebrate twenty years of rowing on the Harlem. We had folks there who were with us from the beginning and folks who only began in the past year or two, mixing and mingling and talking about how things were in the past and how much we've developed since then.
HRCR was founded in 2006, when a group of rowers sought to create an affordable, welcoming option for adult rowing in New York City. HRCR soon began rowing out of Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx. |
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Installing the dock for the 2009 season at Roberto Clemente Park. |
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Rowing out of Roberto Clemente was very different from rowing out of Inwood Hill Park. We stored our shells in shipping containers placed end-to-end so they were long enough for an eight. The focuses of the organization were recreational rowing and bringing novices to the sport (a commitment that continues today), but some HRCR rowers occasionally competed in regattas. |
Our own Jessie Mathisen with some novice rowers atop the barge in 2018 |
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Looking for a Home
In 2018, because of a multimillion dollar grant allowing Roberto Clemente Park to expand its baseball facilities, HRCR was asked to remove our storage containers, and we had to find a new home. It wasn’t an easy process! We sold much of our equipment and rented storage from Row New York for the rest. For a while, our only programming was “Get on the Water” events that we held using an eight-person barge. Our experienced rowers rowed the barge from Peter Jay Sharpe up the river to Muscota, and took people out on the water. Response was overwhelming, with all our weekend rows filling up and repeat rowers eager for more time on the water.
In 2019 we received permission from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation to store our shells at Muscota Marsh, and we brought some of our shells there. |
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In return for storing our shells on park land, all of our programs would be free going forward. But by 2020, COVID put our plans on hold and our equipment went back into storage. |
A Growing Organization
By 2021, we could venture out on the water again, and we held a six-week session out of Peter Jay Sharp, using Row New York boats. We brought our own boats out of storage early in 2022, only to find that they had sustained substantial damage from being outside and on the ground. Both of our launches had had serious corrosion that made them unsafe to use. To add insult to injury, our relatively new motor was stolen that summer; it was a bad season overall.
Things began looking up in 2023. With newly repaired shells and a completely new launch and motor, we got out rowing again. As most of you know, it's been solid growth since then! With generous donations from our rowers, we now have eight paid coaches, a new-to-us eight, and a second completely new launch and motor. |
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At the boat naming for the Gimme, Gimme Oar, 2025 |
The Gimme on the water, 2025 |
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Since 2023 we have had a competitive team and we have expanded programming for novices and experienced rowers. And while we wish there was far more rowing in New York, we are proud to be offering free rowing to adults from all over New York City and the surrounding metro area.
Here's to twenty more years on the Harlem River!
Please be sure to join us on August 8th for a 20th Anniversary Celebration in Inwood Hill Park.
Many thanks to Joy Hecht and Jessie Mathisen for their help in writing this article. |
The last day of the first Learn to Scull course of the 2026 season |
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The spring season has gotten off to a great start! With increased coaching staff and equipment, HRCR was able to expand capacity significantly in 2025 and will continue to offer open sign-up sessions on the weekends and blocks of weekday rows with dedicated crews at the Skills Building and Advanced Skills levels. Additional capacity will be dedicated to Learn to Scull courses using the octuple, and to sculling options at the Skills Building level. To date, 235 experienced rowers and coxswains have registered for 2026, and 385 people have expressed interest in Learn to Row with HRCR. |
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Demand for Learn to Row has long surpassed the program’s capacity, resulting in a long waiting list. Therefore HRCR made it a top priority to buy a second launch and recruit more Learn to Row coaches, which is allowing us to run Learn to Row at double capacity in 2026. This increased effort will also require more experienced rowers and coxswains to volunteer in this program. As more rowers graduate from Learn to Row, HRCR will also have to grow Skills Building session capacity as well.
Apart from the skills taught, the programs offer a community of friendship and support. Sara Garcia moved from Spain last year and joined HRCR through Learn to Row. She is currently an active rower in Skills Building sessions and an enthusiastic volunteer. Sara shared: “To join HRCR has been the best decision since I have been in New York. I would have liked to know about rowing when I was younger, but regardless, I feel as one of the team.”
To build on the progress made in 2025, HRCR is dedicating more coaching and adding erg sessions to the competitive program. The Summer Comp team is currently preparing for the Rockland Masters, Carnegie Lake, and Independence Day regattas. The first race HRCR will compete in this year is Stonewall Regatta on June 7th. |
HRCR has been able to expand the rowing program and accommodate an increased number of rowers with the addition of our second eight (8+), “Gimme Gimme Oar,” in 2025. For this year, the club has continued to invest in equipment, and you can find a new launch on the dock and a brand-new set of eight oars in the racks along with a brand new cox box. According to Board Member and Fleet Manager Sophie Chalsma, “the impact of the new equipment has been a game changer! With the new launch and both boats in the water, we are able to have concurrent Get on the Water, Learn to Row, and Competitive Team practices, effectively doubling the capacity. At the very least it's been great to be able to serve more people!”
Our next purchase will be a coxed four sweep shell (4+). The growing fleet has been fully paid for through individual donations. We need continued participation in the 2026 fundraising campaign to be able to expand equipment and coaching to meet demand.
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On a recent Get On The Water Day, HRCR was able to accommodate twice as many people to try rowing as in past GOTW events. |
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HRCR SEASON KICKOFF PARTY |
On May 19th, a crowd of HRCR rowers gathered at The Throwback sports bar on the Upper West Side to celebrate the start of the 2026 season. It was a good time, with libations, snacks, games, conversation, and opportunities to meet new people. It was lovely to see so many new and returning HRCR rowers at this event.
Many thanks to Nicky Hentrich, the Special Events Committee, and Jennie Campbell for organizing. Thanks also to all the volunteers who helped make the party a success. Stay tuned for other social events throughout the season, including our 20th Anniversary Party on August 8th. |
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HRCR ROWERS COMPETE AT WINTER WATT FARM INDOOR REGATTA |
On February 7th, nine HRCR rowers competed at the Passaic River Rowing Association’s Winter Watt Farm Indoor Regatta. With the support of Coach Zulia Martinez, our athletes rowed the grueling 2000 meter ergometer race in men’s and women’s masters and open categories. We took home three second place and three third place medals, an impressive showing! Belated congratulations to all who participated. |
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WINTER ERGING IN THE EAST VILLAGE |
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This past winter, HRCR partnered with the East Side Community High School in the East Village to provide coached group indoor rowing sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays for HRCR rowers. HRCR provided parts and volunteer labor to repair and refurbish the eight rowing machines (or “ergs”) owned by the high school, and HRCR bought two used ergs of our own, allowing us to provide programming for 20 athletes per session. The sessions continued through the spring, but are on pause for the summer due to hotter temperatures and lower demand now that we are back on the water. On Thursdays, the Comp Team will use the ergs, allowing athletes to build fitness and facilitate team bonding. Board member Libby Lussenhop, who was instrumental in arranging our agreement with the high school, says that they are happy to have us, so we are optimistic that this programming will continue. Libby also emphasizes the camaraderie that the erg sessions have fostered: “People are chatting before and after the workouts, cheering each other on during pieces… there was some good bonding happening in the winter!” A big thanks goes out to the East Side Community High School’s staff, administrators, teachers, and coaches for hosting us! |
MEET A ROWER: Q&A WITH JAFFAR KHAN
Jaffar is a cardiologist at Catholic Health in Roslyn, NY. He came to this area from the UK, where he received his medical education. Jaffar has been rowing with HRCR for about three years. |
Q: How did you come to rowing? Where have you rowed before and what is your rowing experience?
A: I started rowing at Cambridge in my first term as an undergraduate at the university. I went to Cambridge from school in Karachi, and wanted to soak up every single tradition on offer, and rowing was high on the list! My most distinct memory of that time was the mist rising on a morning row, horses galloping along the bank of the river, and intense pain in every joint in my hands from being bitterly cold and wet. When I went to Oxford for clinical school, I also did a term of rowing. |
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Q: What differences have you found between rowing in the U.S. and rowing in the UK?
A: There were too many colleges at the University to all fit on the narrow river so they devised a racing system called “bumps.” If you bumped the boat in front of you, you won. If the boat behind you bumped you, you lost. If no one bumped, you kept rowing forever (or to the finish line, but forever usually came first). The vernacular is different. I used to row “bowside” but now I row “starboard.” I had to guess that “weigh enough” meant “ease.” And whilst contemplating all this, I always forget to speed up pushing my arms away, which I’m sure was a lazier motion when I learnt it in the UK.
Q: What brought you to HRCR and how do you find it?
A: I hadn’t rowed in almost 20 years and I found myself in New York and surrounded by water and felt a keen desire to get back in a boat. HRCR has been fantastic! A lovely family of enthusiastic rowers who are happy to be on the river, and every now and then, eight rowers and a cox are in sync and we fly over the Harlem River. It's fantastic! |
HRCR CALENDAR
| Harlem Wellness Fest |
Saturday, May 30 |
| Stonewall Regatta |
Sunday, June 7 |
| Rockland Masters Regatta |
Saturday, June 27 |
| Get on the Water Day |
Sunday, June 28 |
| Carnegie Lake Regatta |
Saturday, July 11 |
| City of Water Day |
Saturday, July 25 |
| Independence Day Regatta |
Sat/Sun, July 25-26 |
| 20th Anniversary Party |
Saturday, August 8 |
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ROWER'S DICTIONARY: Catch a Crab |
Refers to a scenario when the oar blade gets caught in the water on the stroke and the rower can't get it out. This happens when a rower fails to fully square the blade perpendicular to the water when dropping it in at the catch, or, in some cases, when a rower fails to extract the blade cleanly at the finish. Crabs, at best, slow the boat down, and, at worst, stop the boat entirely. In rare cases, a rower can catch a crab that ejects them out of the boat and into the water.
Etymology: The term apparently dates back the eighteenth century and invokes the idea that the blade has been ensnared in a crab’s claw.
Usage: “I was in a race last weekend and caught a boat-stopping crab in the last 250 meters!” |
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HRCR ROWERS, BackSplash is your newsletter.
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Harlem River Community Rowing is a 501c3 volunteer-run nonprofit organization based in northern Manhattan and providing rowing opportunities for adults throughout New York City. We support our free programming through fundraising, contributions, and grants. |
Help keep our programs afloat! Donate below. |
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