NYCkayaker The Harrison St. Regatta is 8/18/2007

[Tim Gamble]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the NYC Paddling Community.

The Downtown Boathouse is proud to remind you of the running of the 26th
annual Harrison St. Regatta. As always, the Regatta will feature a
captivating race, as well as stunning food, fashion, and door prizes. This
years Regatta will take place on August 18th, 2007.

It is sure to be the social event of the paddling season in New York.

All of the festivities, including the food, and use of the Boathouse boats
is 100% free.
The starter’s gun will go off sometime around 2:00PM. We will once again
be running “the short course” due to restrictions on open fire cooking at
our other locations. The course is from the Downtown Boathouse Pier 96
location to the Downtown Boathouse 70th St. location. Tactics are still
important for a good race time, but navigation should not be a concern.

Stop by anytime that day and reserve a boat. If you have your own boat
please bring it, but the Boathouse strives to get our entire fleet on the
water. Last year’s Regatta was a truly impressive site with about 60 boats
in the water. Last year we ran out of paddles and PFD’s before boats, so
even if you don’t bring a boat, please bring a paddle and/or PFD if you
have one.

Only about 10 or 20 people in the race are actually trying to go fast.
Most people are just out for a fun trip. Experience the glory and
pageantry by paddling with over 60 other boats at once. Please don’t be
intimidated by the fact that it is technically a  race.

The trophy has not been captured by a non-boathouse paddler for over 7
years, and we will be offering a spirited defense this year as well.

The winner of the race is the SECOND boat to cross the finish line. I will
be defending my title, and attempting to “threepeat” by winning for three
years in a row. The winner from the previous year, makes the trophy for
the next year. I have cooked-up another classic, but it won’t be unveiled
until the day of, when the paint will hopefully be dry.

See www.downtownboathouse.org for directions to the Pier 96 start, or the
70th Street finish.

Tim Gamble