BIAC April Newsletter
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It's all about the angle. Above, the Women's Club 8+ (BIAC is the second boat away from the viewer, black hull) is about to win the B final at San Diego Crew Classic on March 27. Twenty-five athletes competed for BIAC in three events.
Email your photos to feature in a future newsletter.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- The Adaptive Erg Class needs help with moving ergs on Saturdays, 10:45am-12:30pm. Contact Kerry or sign up here.
- We are recruiting Rabbits to lead our visually impaired athletes for our Everybody Rows classes. If you’re interested, contact Coach Chuck.
- Sign up for boat maintenance on Saturday, April 9 from 8-11am. Team boats will get some TLC – come maintain boats with your teammates!
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  Top, the Women's Masters A 8+ poses after their race. They finished strong in 3rd place. Above, the men's 8+ raced in both the Masters A and Club events and had a lot of fun while improving on each piece, and come back hungry to build on the experience and find more speed. |
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"The rowing season starts here" is the official slogan for San Diego Crew Classic which took place March 26 & 27 on Mission Bay. For masters, this regatta is 8+s only and BIAC entries included the Women's Masters A and Men's Masters A racing Saturday morning and the Women's Club Champ and Men's Club Champ who competed in heats on Saturday and finals on Sunday. Conditions were challenging but BIAC crews are used to a little wind and wake. Congratulations to all athletes! Full race results are here.
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   From top, the entire BIAC squad at the end of race day; one of the men's quads (BIAC had 3 entries in this event) and a women's 8+ (BIAC had 3 entries in this event). BIAC sent veteran racers as well as those who learned to row last summer. It was an excellent showing!
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On March 12, BIAC competed at the Pacific Invite held at Lake Merced in San Francisco. Rowers went down the ~1800m course in 6 events, with a total of 13 boats racing, drawing from all teams of BIAC athletes. Women’s and men’s 8+s, quads and adaptive 1xs took part, sometimes with multiple entries per event. The race was a huge success, with BIAC placing first in every event we entered.
Thank you to coxswain Mike D. and rowers Robin, Nataliya, Christine, Christine, Jack and Samson who pinch hit and made sure we had a full boat for several races. Director/Coach Chris Flynn was prepping the trailer till late the previous evening and on race day made sure everything was taken care of. Thank you, Chris, and thank you to Coach Chuck and Coach Jen for their coaching and guidance. More pics from the regatta can be found here.
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 Kudos to Jerry Pierce for catching a pup who was graduating! Please be considerate of all wildlife and give moms and their pups plenty of distance when you admire them.
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If you are lucky enough to read this in time, the first two weeks of April are a special annual event in Bair Island. Go out to the wires but turn north into Corkscrew from the channel. Within the first 3 turns and before the Corkscrew Restrictor you can see the newly whelped harbor seal pups. It is the only time of the year when harbor seals make any sound. The pups can swim right away, but sometimes lose track of Mom, whereby they cry out “Maaaaam!.” Before the pups are weaned in a month they must first learn to control their air bladder, which they do so by riding on Mom’s back.
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Learn to Scull Classes Starting Up
Due to popular demand, our Learn to Scull classes are back and starting even earlier this year with the first session starting April 4. These classes will have priority for the Maas Aeros during their scheduled class days/times of MWF 7:30am - 9:30am. Members please be considerate and welcoming on the docks and on the water. Thank you! |
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| Club News |
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Get a jump on next year's hours! There is a 12-hour committment per year for all full-time BIAC members. If you would like a specific role that you do on your own time, please reach out to Chris. Weeding, trimming, and gardening opportunities exist as well as an opportunity to inventory our boatyard racks and make some needed repairs. Our barge is also in need of attention (bilge pumping and foot stretcher removal).
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We’ve started a BIAC T-shirt and accessories shop at Threadless. While JL will still be the go-to for unis and other race/rowing gear, we have found there is a desire for the everyday stuff like t-shirts, stickers, bags and more! Right now we have a few versions of the logos and a member-made sticker design. If you have designs or ideas you’d like to see, please email Kerry. More member designs are welcome!
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Members, please take note that from April 12 - May 12 we will be running our Redwood City Watersports after school kids program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 - 6:30pm. During these class times, BIAC kayaks and SUPs will be reserved and unavailable for member use. These classes are incredibly popular and a positive part of our ongoing relationship with Redwood City. If you know someone who'd like to be a paddling instructor and help with future programs, please send them this job posting.
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Several weeks ago, a survey went to membership about a desire for sculling opportunities and received ~80 responses. In general, survey results indicate: interest in sculling at all ability levels; a preference for 2-3 days a week; a priority for single sculling. The Board is reviewing these results and discussing options. A gating factor to launching new programs is finding experienced coaches. We've been on the look-out for coaches for many months and the search continues. In the interim, brainstorming options include ways to help scullers network and sending training programs for self-organized sessions. The board hopes to announce suggestions soon!
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Keeping BIAC running in an orderly way is complex! There are community and member inquiries to handle, invoices to issue, bills to pay, volunteers to coordinate, etc. We're looking for an administrative assistant to keep BIAC running smoothly. Candidates should have some administrative and general bookkeeping experience and access to a computer. Knowledge of rowing/paddling is a nice-to-have. Most of the work can be done remotely though periodic visits to BIAC would be required. Pay is $30/hour with an expectation of 5-10 hours per week. Please contact Chris Flynn if you're interested or pass on this job posting to a friend or colleague.
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We are still in desperate need of coaches and instructors to run kayak, SUP, Surfski, and other rowing classes at the club. If you have an interest and want to share you experience and love of our waterway with others please reach out to Chris, Ops@gobair.org
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Winter has passed and our high water is ebbing. Low tides in April can be below zero (lower than the average). Low tides squeeze boat traffic into a narrower channel and expose sandbars and other hazards. Sandbars appear near the sailboats just beyond BIAC, at green markers 15 & 9 and red markers 14 & 16. Dangerous rocks lurk at both the corners of the "BIAC channel" and Redwood Creek. Several of our boats have endured scraped hulls from dragging through shallow water. At a very low tide, leaving/returning to BIAC becomes dangerous. A shallow channel of rowable water forces inbound and outbound boats to share a single lane. Please choose your course carefully and talk to the boats around you. |
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Above, the newly labeled BIAC trailer is ready for some action in regatta season.
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Upcoming Races!
Competition is back on in California. BIAC will likely trailer to these upcoming regattas:
If you want to reserve and/or confirm a spot on the club trailer a boat, email Chris. |
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Above, a close up of the rack labeling and the 'COMP' blades.
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All the sculling blades have specific homes, yet rowers often put them away in random slots after practice. Please hang them where your next club mate can easily find the pair they want/need. The red/green/yellow labels on the racks match the tape colors on the oar shafts. 'COMP' blades are shorter and fatter while 'SMOOTH 'blades are the longer, flag-like shape. |
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The new USRowing board of directors met March 11 & 12 at the Oakland Strokes and Marin Rowing boathouses. Meeting "in the field" is new for USR; later 2022 meetings will be in the central region and at the annual convention. The Board wants to hear from rowers. USR's budget for 2022 is balanced and growing from 2021. Key new initiatives include Stem-to-Stern, revamping the national team system, enhancing member services and DEI. Expect to see more regattas, too. On April 2, USR will host an online Masters Conference with a full day of masters-specific content on training, nutrition and more. |
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