We talk about programming a lot, but on one single day in July we had four volunteers around BIAC painting, cleaning the barge and flushing the motors. What a great place! Earn your hours working on the facility. Perform tasks such as painting, drywall repair, south lot remodel and other beautification and repair. Email Alice to volunteer.

Conor McGann has been a member for a few years and stores his private V10 at BIAC. With the addition of our surfski fleet, his wife Lisa and their daughter Laura took the Learn to Surfski class. You can now see the three of them out enjoying the Bay together. BIAC offers family membership which makes joining even better! Check out membership options.

Tokyo may have been postponed but BIAC members (rowers and paddlers) enjoyed competing with and against each other. We had new members and experienced of all ages. Their common trait was the love of moving a small boat and testing their skills! Our own Olympian, Aisha Chow, presented the awards. The event was a successful beta test for how to run our new corporate team building events. Learn more about a socially-distanced corporate event at BIAC.

These are unprecedented times. BIAC leadership is making the assumptions that solo boats may continue until March. We are reorganizing spaces to accommodate outdoor erging and we will have opportunities for those who can row/paddle during the day.

For those who row in the dark, we will be offering more coached programs for additional supervision and we are working on lights for the club 1xs. KraftLight Beacons are the lights we recommend because they are very VISIBLE and reliable. If you own your boat OR if you want to ensure that you always have a set of lights, we encourage you to buy your own set.

Think of the channel as being divided into thirds. Stay on your third and the middle third is for a quick passing lane. Reminders:

• Look frequently when passing.
• Slow boats stay on the shore side.
• BIAC rowers and paddlers keep the shore to their left, which means (for safety) they travel in opposite directions.
• Avoid “splitting” a group practice.
• If you see a gaggle of boats, swimmers, tug boats, etc. consider taking a different route.

BIAC is so lucky, and prepared, for our summer of solo boats. And the abundance continues! We now have 30 level 1 rowing boats, six level 2 (plus two para 1xs), and we continue to benefit from the four borrowed wherries. A total of 40 1x boats – a massive fleet. This week our four new-to-us Peinerts arrive and will be put to good use. Here is the fleet list.

All singles are Level 1 or Level 2 boats. Levels reflect your rowing ability and experience. With the arrival of the Peinerts, we have moved the Hudsons to Level 2. (Some were previously Level 1 due to demand, not their true levels). Please know and follow the requirements. Keep in mind racing boats are designed to go in a straight line at race pace, ie 28spm or higher. It won't be a fun row for low rates. Here is the updated boatyard rack map.

Expanding the fleet at BIAC includes adding more ways to get on the water. In addition to our new flat water singles, surfskis and kayaks, we are adding two brand new Level 2 coastal 1xs to our fleet! One arrives in late August and the other is being custom made and arrives in October. This is a great chance to try coastal rowing so you can enjoy rough water as well as flat. Details about coastal classes and adventures are here.

Have questions? Need to get certified? Get answers during dock hours! From how to feather with straight wrists, to creating an erg workout plan, to a drill in the surfski to increase rotation – stop by for guidance and support! You can also get certified to use a SUP/Kayak. Please let Alice know you plan to attend.
HOURS: Wednesday, August 5 from 5-7:30pm and Sunday, August 16, 9-11am.

There are many events and classes coming up in August! Click here to view a full calendar.

1. Do you need volunteer hours?
2. Are you interested in contributing data to the California Coastal Commission for use in the development of trash disposal policies for California’s waterways?
3. Want to remove trash from Redwood Creek before king tides sweep it into the Bay?
4. Want to hang out with cool people?
5. Want to participate in the state’s largest citizen science program?

Join the 36th Annual California Coastal Clean-Up! Least year we had 38 volunteers collect 1,930 lbs of plastics and trash. COVID public safety rules will be followed throughout the cleanup and you will be provided all clean up materials. Click here to sign up.

The single scull has always held a special place in my heart and as our summer of sculling is clearly headed into the Fall I have to smile. I am also reminded of what sculling coach Igor Grinko and his assistant coach would say to me when they were kind enough to extend some words of wisdom, “miles.” Or was that “kilometers?”

The single scull takes patience, time, and ultimately mileage to develop technical proficiency. Drills have their place (depending on your rowing level and needs) in highlighting and addressing key areas of the sculling stroke, but at a certain point, you’ve got to take the training wheels off and just go out and “do the thing” as I’ve heard rowing coach Steve McCarthy is very fond of saying.

The single scull does a remarkably good job of telling us when we're not doing something right, and the more time we spend taking continuous strokes in the single the more time we have to diagnose our own rowing and figure out what makes the single tick.

On the Comp team I try to find a balance between technical drills, longer and easier continuous rowing sessions, medium distance harder work, shorter intense intervals, and occasional longer head racing style time trial events.

The BIAC Comp team is open to anyone within the BIAC rowing community who wants to work hard technically and physically with a focus towards racing. Being a confident sculler capable of maneuvering in a faster-paced environment is the only requirement (not speed). If you think you are ready for a structured competitive training environment I encourage you to reach out to me to learn more about rowing with the BIAC competitive team and to try out one of our practices.

– Coach Chris Flynn, BIAC Competitive Team Head Coach

For Valentine’s Day in 2007, BIAC received word that we had been awarded that year’s “Rebuilding Day” gift (formerly “Christmas in April”) by Webcor – a large construction company with a history of giving back to Bay Area communities. This was also done in cooperation with Rebuilding Together. Our submission to Webcor was brokered by BIAC member Jeff Birdwell. Peter Allen, then serving on the Board, became the BIAC Program Manager for this significant miracle. Every board member, past Presidents, and “Future Foundation” members made great contributions to the design and logistics of getting this done. And every BIAC member volunteered at some point. This was BIAC’s chance to get an “extreme makeover” and we pounced on it. [READ MORE]

Read the full story detailing this massive rebuilding project and see plans and photos from the event.