Three Cheers!

Congratulations on your graduation Jordan.

The Paddlefish are proud of you!

Practice Notes from Ben

From Ben:

April is our peak volume month with higher intensity work starting in May (see the overview tab on the workout schedule). Tonight's workout is a 13k paddle (something like paddling to Bruno island, the point is about 4k, island laps are 2.5). This is not drill time, it is long boring paddling - strictly NO power pieces, power 10s or starts. Encouragement should revolve around focus and stamina since this is a good 90 min workout. Ideally those on the boat don't talk and steerer says next to nothing beyond boat maneuvering. Stroke rate can vary from 45-55.

We will use May practices, specifically Mondays, for bringing the women's team together. I will set seating for that team in May. However since the decision to paddle the women's boat tonight was already made, I understand if the consensus is to stick to that plan.

See you all on Saturday. The canoes are booked for the weekend so take up boats as you desire. I will bring the outriggers and as many other boats as are still around and fit on my truck.

Tonight, Tonight

Ben's not around this week, so Bob will be leading practices for us.

Please remember to sign in when you arrive at the boathouse, so Bob knows how many boats we need and how to split up the team for paddling and steering. (Personally, I completely forgot signing in at our first on-the-water practice... too much indoor training for me. Doh.)

And a special note for the P'fish women (including our now-officially-an-adult Kate): the women's team will be practicing this evening... so start thinking about your bench positions for D.C. -- are you front three, engine room, or lounge? ;)

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Kate with Good-Luck Feathers
Originally uploaded by KitAy.

Have a fabulous 18th!

Women Wanted for DC Dragon Boat Festival

Any ladies out there who haven't signed up for the DC Fesitval yet? As of Friday, we had 16 paddlers signed up, and as you know we need at least 20! We can have up to two additional paddlers on the roster.

Please contact Judy R. soon, we need to register for the race this week.

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

(Yes, I cheated and backdated this post. Sorry for the belated birthday wishes, Carolyn... but otherwise I wouldn't have been able to post this FABULOUS photo that Kit took of you with your birthday Yuengling.)

Don't Forget Folino's!

Tomorrow (Friday) evening:

Paddlefish March/April birthday celebrations at Folino's!
1719 E Carson St
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 488-8108
(upstairs in the balcony room)

Click HERE for a Google map.

5:30 p.m. until the wee small hours - or until you realize that you're almost late for the 9 a.m. practice ;)

More Photos from Dragon Boat Camp

Big thanks to Bob for forwarding these photos from Florida. Now that we finally have some sunshine here in the 'Burgh, I can look at these without so much envy!

See these and more at our Flickr pool, or visit the Paddlefish at Dragon Boat Camp album at Flickr.

Can't Get Enough River Time?

Rick Brown is looking for volunteers to help with TRRA's dragon boat programs this season. See below for the list of dates for which he'd like help. If you can help steer, drum, coach, model-paddle for any of these, please let him know (rickbrown@threeriversrowing.org).

April 27, Friday, CAPA DB elective 9:00ish to 2:00ish
May 1, Tuesday, DB School Outing 9:00 to 1:00
May 5, Saturday, DB Quick Start 11:00 to 5:00
May 10, Thursday, DB for Leadership Pittsburgh 3:00 to 7:00ish
May 12, Saturday, DB Quick Start 11:00 to 5:00
May 18, Friday, CAPA DB elective 9:00ish to 2:00ish
May 22-June 12, Tuesdays, DB League 6:30 to 8:30
May 24-June 14, Thursdays, Youth DB League 5:30 to 7:30

When Paddling Librarians Procrastinate...

... we hunt for books about dragon boats. Today's target was the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Found this:

Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities, and Recipes
by Nina Simonds and Leslie Swartz

Presents background, related stories, traditional foods, and activities for five Chinese celebrations--Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Qing Ming (honoring ancestors), the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. For grades 4-7. 2002.

Know a middle schooler who's into dragon boats? Then check it out.

No Outrigger Training This Week (Updated April 17)

The OC training session that had been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, April 18 has been cancelled due to high water.

HOWEVER, if anyone is interested in getting some instruction from Ben on how to strap boats to car tops (may be helpful for those that are going to Moraine this weekend), he'll be available for that on Wednesday. Please contact him if interested.

Coach Marvel

Our fearless leader on the Youghiogheny river

Our Favorite Breakfast Place

Emily H. forwarded this story from Post-Gazette.com about the owners of the Pamela's "anti-chain" restaurants. Turns out the Millvale location is the original! According to the article, "after a 26-year partnership, Pam and Gail are still pals and still laughing."

They sound like a good pair of potential Paddlefish to me. :)

Working Out

The weather may have kept us off the water last Monday
...but we still managed to work out, and cheerfully, too!

Bon Voyage, Rich!

We're going to miss you this year, Rich! Come back soon.

(Hmmm.... just think how dry your ears will be without Jack and Jonathan around!)

Limited Use of Millvale Facility - Saturday, April 14

A note from Captain Bob:

This Saturday the Millvale Boathouse will be in use by another group, and we
unable to use it after 10:30 am. We will be limited to the downstairs
washroom, or the public restrooms in the Park after practice. We could
always stop at the WL boathouse for an "emergency pit stop" before docking at
Millvale, as their boathouse will be free until 3:00pm that day.

We are NOT just being pushed around by TRRA, it is the consequence of being
involved in a "growth spurt" of the entire paddling/water sports
community. That will mean we are "on the river" for that day for sure.

El Capitan

April 9

Monday, April 9, 2007 is the 99th day of the year, Prince Charles & Camilla's second wedding anniversary, and Hugh Hefner's 80th birthday.

But most importantly, it's the first day of our new workout schedule!

Starting Monday, April 9, we will meet at the Millvale boathouse for ALL practices. Monday/Wednesday practices will begin at 6:30 PM and Saturdays will begin at 9:00 AM.

Be prepared to sing Happy Birthday to Hugh at the Millvale boathouse on Monday night.

Happy Birthday Hongla!

and look - Hongla was so good as to put together her trading card just in time so that we can show it off on her special day :)

Notes on Camp

A message from Carolyn N., from sunny Florida:

Hi there-

Here are some pictures from camp. It's been beautiful in the 70s and 80s. Today, we paddled to the causeway --13.5 km round trip. We were in great shape and felt good the whole time. I think we're up to 48 km of paddling for the week so far. I'm learning a lot and enjoying being on the water 2 to 3 times per day. Life is good.

We miss you all and can't wait to get out on the water in Pittsburgh; however, we'll miss seeing the dolphins and manatee. There was a whole family of manatee near the docks when we were loading the boat yesterday. Ahhh... this is the life-- sun, paddling, beach, red wine.

Cheers,

Carolyn

p.s.

we'll try to bring some sun and warm weather when we return.

On the water jealousy

While the snow kept us at bay up here in Pittsburgh, those 'fish lucky enough to find themselves in FL this week (yes, the rest of us are INSANELY jealous), have been making the most of the 70-80 degree weather...

Photos courtesy of Carolyn N:

April 2007 Workout Schedule Available

The April schedule has been posted, please see the link under "Training Information" in the sidebar.

We're On The Water! (And In It!!!)

Paddler joy -- back on the water again!

Classic Pfish moment:

Lori: "Ben, do the OCs ever tip?"

Ben: "Well....." [Rocking back and forth in the OC]... Splash!

(But he very quickly got back on top of the OC again!)

Practice Update: On the Water Tonight!

Practice tonight will take place on the water!

Meet at the Millvale boathouse, and be ready to push off the dock by 6:30 PM.

Water Flow

As of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, the water flow on the Allegheny is FINALLY down below 35,000 CFS (Cubic Feet per Second) and still falling. woohoo!

and you know what that means...
Time to get back out on the water P'fish - especially before we get that winter storm later this week!

Coach Ben will make any decisions about going out, so do check in with him before heading down to the boathouse.

Pfish Out of Water

Gator fan Kathi does a little shopping and gets her game face on before tonight's match-up against Ohio State. Get 'em, Gators!

(Of course, she'll be using her Pfish Giant Eagle gift cards at the check-out.) ;-)

New York Indoors: an Eyewitness Account

According to Rachel:

The key to an excellent performance at this race was being a complete train-wreck...Laurie was battling a cold and sleep deprivation, Jonathan went directly from plane to cab to erg, and Ben went directly from bar to erg...and they all rocked. Mina and Ada paddled like superstars too, but I can't recall any mishaps that happened with them :)

If flight delays, viruses, beer, and no sleep will make me as fast as those guys, then that will be my pre-race ritual from now on.

Congratulations again to all -- thanks for representing the Paddlefish so well!

New York Indoors: Photos!

Paddlefish women provide moral support during the men's relay:

Resting between races:

Look at all those medals!

Photos courtesy of Mina. See these and more in our ERDBA Indoor Paddling Regatta Album on Flickr.