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Now's the time to sign up for our 2024 classes before they fill up. It's a great way to spend the summer vacation on the water with a crew to learn a new sport. NRC is offering Learn to Row for youth (over 13 and must pass a simple swim test) and adult (over 18) with experienced coaches who will help you to master the basics to row confidently on our sheltered cove in just a few weeks.. Did you used to row in high school or college? That may have been a few years ago, but now it’s time to get back in the boat with our SPLASH class and get that skinny boat balance back. For more advanced rowers we have summer coached rows to prepare you for trips up the river and a few friendly scrimmages. Sign up for summer fun. We look forward to seeing you on the water!

Volunteers from the Noank Rowing club under the guidance of Coach Ric are learning the skills of rowing on the ergometer. The Jr. rowers lined up in pairs and had competitions to see which team had the best time on the erg's computers. This motivated group is looking forward to getting out on the water to eventually take their first trip up the Mystic River in May. In the spirit of rowing, big thank you to our volunteers who made this 11 week program free and open to any student who wanted to learn. A simple step to build our community one stroke at a time!

The Noank Rowing Club held it's annual meeting on Saturday January, 20th with a good turn out of members. The focus of the meeting was looking toward the next season, while forming a great community rowing club for the future. Thanks to all who contributed. Welcome to our new members. We'll see you on the water! Copies of the agenda and minutes are available by request to noankrowing@gmail.com.

Our annual meeting will be held on January 20th at the Noank-Mystic Library at 10:00 AM. We will report on the state of our club and recognize the many people who helped make 2023 a success. As part of the business of the meeting, we will be electing two new members to the board of directors. We'll also be submitting a motion to amend our by-laws to move our annual meeting from October to January (Art. 5, Sec. 1). We hope you can join us in person for some refreshments and friendships on Saturday, January 20, but you can also join us remotely by Zoom by clicking the button above before 10:00 AM. We hope to see you then.

Last winter our classic wooden Pocock eight was damaged in a fall, so we are working to restore this wooden 62' shell and return it to the water in 2024. The shell was built in two, 31' pieces, only one of which was damaged. Eric Sorenson has been leading the project in the boathouse and used straps to pull the frame tightly together while epoxy adheasives sealed the cracks. The project will be suspended during the colder months and is to be completed in the spring of '24.

We are grateful for any support you can provide. We are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, so your gift may be tax deductible. You may donate online by clicking HERE. Every gift, no matter how small, contributes to our mission of making rowing available to all.

The Learn to Row program with Marine Science Magnet High School has been a huge success, thanks to a team effort of club volunteers and coaches who contributed countless hours of their time to get nineteen high schoolers out on the water to learn the sport of sculling and sweep rowing. Students have pitched in to help each other with launching, rigging, rowing and cleaning the club's quads and sweep 8 shells. Not only have the students benefitted from the program, but club volunteers have enjoyed meeting and working with some of the area's wonderful young adults. "They have inspired us as much as we have guided them," said Chuck Toal, the president of the club's board of directors. A big thank you goes out to coach Ashley Malinovsky from East Lyme High School and volunteer coach Ric Ricci for sharing their expert knowledge of the sport. A special recognition goes out to board member Andrea Lenoux, who championed the project and managed so many of the details as well as club volunteers. The school principal, Tara Amatrudo provided grant funds for the program and without her vision, this program would not have been possible. It takes a crew to scull a shell!

In January of this year the Noank Rowing Club's board of directors initiated an application to the state's bond commission on behalf of the Town of Groton to replace the leaky roof and pealing paint on the town's historic boathouse at Spicer Park. Our local state representatives, Aundre Baumgartner and Christine Conley guided the request through the state's Office of Policy and Management and Bond Commission giving their endorsement to the long over due project. The boathouse stores paddle sports equipment for the town's kayak and SUP club as well as NRC's ergometers and single shells. "It was a team effort," said Chuck Toal. president of the board. "A special thanks goes out to town's Park and Recreation director, Mark Berry worked to get endorsements from town officials to give the request a priority. We would not have this work done without a lot of support from town and state representatives." The work should start early next spring by independent contractors and hopefully be done by the start of next year's boating season.

The Noank Rowing Club (NRC) has launched a pilot Learn To Row program with the Marine Science Magnet High School (MSMHS). 20 students signed up for eight days of classes that will teach the skills of scull (2 oars each) and sweep (1 oar each) rowing. Along the way, students will learn how to rig, care and maintain the class's fleet of three quads and one eight person sweep. The MSMHS crew have learned to safely lift the heavy shells and gently launch them into the water from our dock. Once shells are done for the day, the crew will thoroughly clean and return all the gear to its proper storage rack. For the twenty rookies, teamwork is key to form their crew and safely navigate the waters of Beebe cove. The program would not be possible without the volunteer members of NRC, all of whom are "Safe Sport" trained to work with youth. These volunteers have not only inspired our teen rowers, but the teen rowers have inspired them with their enthusiasm and energy for their new sport. The club would like to recognize the MSMHS principal, Tara Amatrudo, for providing the grant funding and her leadership. We are proud to work with the Blue Ribbon team at MSMHS. A special thanks goes out to Coach Ric Ricci, who, despite a broken knee, has been coaching the team on their stroke skills of rowing. We're not sure who had more fun, Coach Ric or the kids!!? Noank Rowing Club and the Marine Science Magnet High School - Building a community one stroke at a time!

Since COVID, many or our larger shells have been in storage for more than five years, but with the recent program with MSMHS, we've brought out the work horses. If you learned to row at NRC, you may have rowed in the training quad, Hob Knob. It's the perfect classroom for new rowers. This stable shell is as durable as it is beautiful, with classic wood construction and a fifth coxswain seat in the stern for a coach to pilot and give out the calls. Marine Science students cleaned the riggers, seats and tracks for their first lessons in the shell next week. The second classic shell is a 62', 8 person sweep + cox, the Fred Emmerson. The coxswain wears a headset that transmits the calls to three speakers installed in the boat, so the crewmember that is sitting 40' away can hear the commands. In sweep boats, each person has one oar where teamwork is essential.

Members, Junior Rowers, parents and friends of the Noank Rowing Club attended a "bring a dish to share" cookout at Spicer Park in Noank on Thursday, August 24th. Over 20 guests brought yummy food AND deserts! The club sponsored the burgers and dogs. (Yes, veggie too!) The rain held off just long enough to get six or eight boats in the water for a quick trip around Beebe Cove and share some great food. Just as we were wrapping up, the rain came, but failed to dampen a good time. Thanks to everyone who came and shared their favorite dishes!

Labor Day is just around the corner, and we have just a few weeks left of good rowing weather. Our fleet of over 20 shells has had a workout this year and it will soon be time to do a deep clean and store the boats for winter. We can use all the volunteers we can get for Saturday, October 28th , 9:00 AM –12:00 PM at Spicer Park. Save the date and join our crew to keep our shells in great condition and store the boats for winter.