Weather
Welcome
The section of the Schuylkill River we row is upstream of our boathouse, towards the Route 422 bridge near Valley Forge Park. It is more protected than the lower Schuylkill, leading to lots of beautiful flat water. The typical club row is about 6.5 miles total. Members may row at scheduled club rows as well as when personally convenient and river conditions permit. A popular time to get out on the water is early morning; some rowers start as early as 5 a.m., catching the sunrise and getting a workout before the workday begins.
The club was chartered in September 1986 and has about 85 active members comprising former high school and college rowers, students home for the summer, and those who took up the sport as adults. Members row for many reasons including fitness, the pleasure of the outdoors, social interaction, technique improvement and competition.
P.O. Box 238
Bridgeport, PA 19405
River conditions
Upper Merion Boat Club
ANNUAL MEETING AND HOLIDAY PARTY: the annual meeting and holiday party were
held on Friday night, December 2nd, and hosted by UMBC member Karen DelRaso. The business portion of the meeting included the election
of officers with the following results:
Commodore – Joe Hartnett
Vice Commodore – Laurie Lawton-Smith
Treasurer – Susan Smith
Secretary
– Bill Howard
Members at Large – Larry Carolan, Ed Kelly and Mark King
After the election, the business portion of the meeting
ended and the party portion of the meeting resumed. There was plenty of food provided by the members and there was lots of laughter
and good conversations. All together, there were about 30 members in attendance. Our thanks go out to Karen for being our hostess.
This is Karen’s third time hosting the event (we didn’t scare her off the first two times) and we certainly appreciate her support
of the club.
ASTEROID ROW: seventeen enthusiastic rowers showed up on Tuesday evening, November 8th, for another celestial-event
themed row. This time it was Asteroid 2005 YU55 passing fairly close to Earth (198,000 miles). Unfortunately the asteroid was not
visible to the eye but the evening was clear and star filled, and the moon was just about full. It was a really beautiful night on
the water for the 4 quads and 1 single out there rowing in the dark. Afterwards, all went out for pizza and “beverages” at Franzone’s
in Bridgeport. Thanks to Laurie for coordinating the event and to all the rowers who participated.
BEWARE OF HUNTERS: hunters
have been encountered recently near the up-river end of the island. For visibility in the darkness it is extremely important to have
both bow and stern lights on and flashing, even if there is some daylight. Hunting is not allowed on the island or the railroad property.
If you observe anyone hunting on these properties, hunting boats docked at either property without hunters on board, or hunting boats
moving on the river without lights, please phone Officer Krall at the number located in the boathouse.
2011 KING'S HEAD REGATTA: the
2011 regatta results are posted here and on the Regatta Page. Thanks to all who volunteered their time to see that things went smoothly.
HURRICANE
IRENE: special thanks to those members who prepared the boathouse for Hurricane Irene as well as those who cleaned up in the aftermath.
The USGS data show that the river crested at 80,000 cubic ft per second with a nearly 20 ft gauge height. This was the 4th highest
crest on record.