ABOUT NRC

Community Rowing for All

Welcome to Noank Rowing Club! NRC is a multi-generational community of rowers from a wide range of backgrounds that offers rowing and sculling opportunities to its members and to the surrounding community. Our coaches foster a nurturing environment for athletes of all abilities and rowers with various levels of experience. Our mission is to make rowing accessible to anyone who wants to try the sport. Our sheltered cove is an ideal place to learn how to row. We hope you will take one of our youth or adult classes, or simply join us out on the water!

OUR COACHES

Coach Rachel Thomas-Shapiro ("Thom-Shap") has been rowing and coaching for nearly 40 years. She started as a freshman at Connecticut College and subsequently rowed for Aberdeen University in Scotland, CRI in Boston, Empire State RA in New York City, and Carnegie Lake RA in New Jersey.

Rachel has coached in college programs at NYU and Rutgers and for 3 area high schools. She has also coached all levels at community rowing programs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. She is excited to bring her experience to NRC!

Coach Daphne Michie is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. She graduated from Connecticut College in 2021 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Classics.

Joining the women’s rowing team as a walk-on, Michie was selected as part of the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team in the spring of 2021 and the NESCAC All-Academic Team twice in 2020 and 2021.

Michie has been the assistant coach on the women’s rowing team at Connecticut College for the past three years, primarily focusing on the novice crews. She is so excited to be a part of NRC this summer!

Daria Colbath is current student at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. On the Haverford crew team she is a competitive coxswain and a recreational sculler.

Before college, Daria spent all four years of high school rowing at Noank Rowing Club.

Her specialty was a single scull, but she is familiar with sculling and sweeping as well as coxing. In addition, Daria spent her junior and senior year as a volunteer assisting with Learn to Row, and went on to teach her own class last summer. She is very excited to return to NRC and spread her love of rowing to others!

Liz Butler's rowing career began at Bates College, where she steered her first strokes as a coxswain. Since 1999, she's been coaching at Rumsey Hall School specializing in cultivating novices' talents and fostering a deep-rooted love for the sport.

With a coaching career spanning high school, college, masters, and adaptive rowing, Liz brings a wealth of experience and positive energy. Her coaching philosophy is simple: learn the skills, build confidence, ignite a new passion, and have fun.

What is the club about?

Noank Rowing Club is community rowing club for all ages, abilities and seasons. We row out of Spicer Park, on the Beebe Cove, Noank Connecticut and maintain over 20 active shells, from 1X to 8+.

Beebe Cove’s encircled waterway is located on the west side of the Mystic River, offering superb flat-water conditions for learners and surprisingly calm water on most windy days for the experienced! The cove’s railroad bridge provides access to the Mystic River enabling long distance training, sightseeing and open water touring.

We offer classes for a range of ages and fitness levels, from beginner to experienced. We gather for scheduled group rows four days a week where club members row together. Members also connect with others to row at any time. While some members like to remain in Beebe Cove, other more experienced people prefer to go out on the Mystic River for a longer workout, more varied surroundings, or more challenging conditions.