Coaches: James Dreher and Coleen M. Fuerst
Year Club Established: 1978
Body of Water:
1. Lamprey River - fresh water, little or no current, protected, scenic river status approved Fall '96
2. Oyster River extending into Little Bay, Great Bay (tidal estuary)
Yearly Dues and one-time Initiation Fee: $175 per season (Spring: May 1st. - June 30th; Summer: July 1st - Aug. 31st; Fall: Sept. 1st. - Oct. 31.); or $450 per year. All New Members will pay an additional one-time fee of $50 with the first payment of dues. This fee will cover the initial lesson. Lessons are provided for a $35/hour fee unless rowing with one of the supervised programs. Only experienced scullers may row on the Oyster River unless under the direct supervision of a coach. Recreational boats and novice level singles are restricted to the Lamprey River.
The 2-Station Indoor Rowing Tank is available to club members for use. For non Durham Boat Club members, the tank can be used for a fee of $5.00 per hour and for out-of-season Club members (i.e., any member in the previous year) the fee is $3.00 per hour.
Club Equipment and Services:
1. Lamprey River - 3-4 Rec-Racers and 4-6 Racing Singles.
2. Oyster River - Racing Singles, Doubles and Quads available to Rowing Team Members.
3. Indoor Rowing Tank - 2 Station Sweep Tank.
4. Other - Video taping of organized practices for Racing Team Members, private or group lessons are available for all; help with finding summer jobs for Racing Team Members; x-country skiing and/or skating during the winter from the Lamprey River location is also available when weather conditions permit. When weather permits Company volunteers lay down a skating ski track in the winter. Two CARE Rowperfect Rowing Simulators and an indoor rowing tank are available by use use of full-year club members. The club has access to a physical therapist and a sports psychology consultant.
Membership Numbers & Breakdown:
Total Number of Members - 10-20
Masters/Recreational - 50%; Competitive (any age) - 45%; Juniors - 5%.
Programs Offered:
Sculling: All levels; private and group lessons are available. Coaching is available to competitive athletes.
Club Colors and Blade Description: White, red and blue uniforms with black blades.
Full-Year Member Discounts on Equipment: 15% on oars; 5% on boats (up to $300 discount on boats in one year) and 20% on Team clothing.
The program's focus has shifted around between Juniors, pre-elites, elites and Masters depending on the level of interest. Lately, Master rowing has gained in popularity. Presently the emphasis is on serious competitive scullers of any age. See some Historical Photographs taken from old Durham Boat Club video tapes.
Durham scullers have been successful at all levels from junior to elite at Nationals. Durham Boat Club members have participated at the Pan Ams in 1987, 1991, 1995 and 2003 and at the Jr. Worlds in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, and will be again in 2001 and at the Elite Worlds in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993. Two former juniors that started at Durham Boat Club, Bob Dreher and Danika Harris, went on to win elite World Championship titles (i.e., one in a trials boat Coached by Durham Coaches in 1990 and the other for a camp sweep boat in 1994). Two Durham coached athletes were also at the 1992 Olympics, while three former Durham athletes rowed in three different events in the 1996 Olympics. Several former Durham athletes were also on the National Team in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003.
Congratulations to Danika Harris Holbrook, former Durham Boat Club sculler, for being selected to be in the USA women's quadruple scull that will compete in Athens in the 2004 Olympics. Danika stroked the USA women's quad to place fifth in the Final at the Olympics. Her husband, Ben, raced to a 5th place finish in the Final B (11th overall) of the men's quad event.
She started at DBC about 20 years ago when she was 12. She won and set the course record at the NEIRA when she was still in Middle School. She went on to win many more races including her first international sculling race when she was only a freshman in High School at the Canadian Scholastics. By her senior year in High School she easily won the single, double and pair at Nationals and went on to be selected to the Jr. National Team. After a successful collegiate and international sweep career, she retired in 1994. After taking of about 7 years, she has made an impressive 3.5 year come back.
Durham Boat Club Recent Results for 2005: Ellis Evans-Brown (below - middle) just won the under 23 year old Selection Regatta held in conjunction with the NSR II Regatta in Princeton 6/11 through 6/12. Ellis rowed in a time of 7:20.53 beating out Rickey Visinski at 7:22.48 and James Dietz II at 7:25.29 in a field of eight. Deaglan McEachern (below - top) another club member, who just got back from the IRA and racing all year in eights and with only had 5 days practice in the single, came in 5th in the A final after winning his heat in the same race. Tim Wong (below - front) rowed an impressive 3:22 winning an 1000 m Open singles race at the Lawrence Festival the same weekend. Both Ellis and Tim rowed in the Mayor's Cup Open Singles race in May at NBC and finished 1st and 3rd.
In the Independence Day Regatta held July 1-3, 2005 in Philadelphia, Ellis came in first in the Intermediate Men's 1x in a photo finish with a time of 7:17.78 just 0.25 sec. ahead of the 2nd place finisher. Deaglan came in third with a time of 7:14.54 in the Open Men's 1x behind Stitt and Duross, who have already qualified for the Elite World Championships in the 2x. Both Ellis and Deaglan finished 2nd in the Intermediate Men's 2x behind a crew from Peru in a time of 6:45.77. Tim qualified for the final in both the Intermediate Lt. Wt. Men's 1x and Lt. Wt. Men's dash events that he entered.
The next regatta the Club attended was the Lowell Feasible. There Tim came in 2nd in the Lt. Wt. Men's 1x 3.3 secons behind Ed Demetriou. Deaglan and Ellis came in 2nd and 3rd behind Wes Piermanni from U. Mass. Deaglan was only 0.7 sec. behind. In the Open Men's 2x Deaglan and Ellis came in 1st well ahead of the field.
The three scullers are presently in Indianapolis at the National Rowing Championships. So far Tim has made the final in the Sr. Men's Lt. Wt. single.
Deaglan has made the final in the Sr. Men's single, Elite/Open Men's single, the Sr. Men's double and the Intermediate Men's double. Ellis has made the finals in the Sr. Men's double, the Intermediate Men's double and the Intermediate Men's single.
