The Piermont Rowing Club was founded in 1999, and currently has about 60 members. We are located in Piermont, NY, on the western shore of the Hudson River where it widens into the Tappan Zee. The majority of our members are adults (Masters) who row for pleasure and exercise. The club also participates in races in New England and the Hudson valley area. Our season runs from April to November and members stay in touch during the winter via conditioning workouts, a winter potluck party and several club meetings. Our rowing philosophy matches the unique challenges and opportunities of our rowing environment. While our physical facilities are a bit Spartan, and we must often meet challenges thrown at us by wind, waves and ankle-deep mud at low tide, we also enjoy spectacular Hudson River scenery that is unmatched in any other east coast rowing location. Our members tend to be self-reliant individualists who appreciate the privilege of our relationship with the river so we keep our rules and procedures as simple as possible. We also strive to keep our costs as low as possible by sharing the chores of running the club. The calmest conditions are usually found in the early morning, and most would agree that the pain of waking up at 5:00 a.m. is well repaid by the beauty of watching the dawn spread across the mighty river and the cliffs along its edge. Piermont is somewhat protected from the wind by high cliffs and by a long pier extending out into the river. We are also away from the busy shipping lanes on the eastern shore. Members can row south past the large Piermont Marsh and along the cliffs of the Palisades towards Alpine, or north under the Tappan Zee Bridge towards Hook Mountain, beyond Nyack.
The clubıs fleet currently includes 2 quads, 3 fours, a Vespoli eight (new in 2004), 2 doubles, and a motor launch for coaching. Our boats are stored on racks in a fenced area leased from the Village of Piermont next to Pirelli Park. Currently, the club is expanding opportunities for members to scull. We added a Maas open water double to our fleet in 2004 (medium to heavyweight), and we will rig two of our fours as quads for the whole season in 2006. Another new quad is a planned purchase for 2006. Many of the clubıs scullers own their own singles. Some single scull storage is available to members on a lottery basis and other racks can be rented from a local property-owner nearby on the other side of the parking lot.
Some History
The current Piermont Rowing Club was very excited to discover that Piermont’s rowing tradition goes all the way back to 1879. Old photographs of an organization called the Piermont Rowing Association turned up in a village attic, and subsequent research has revealed that the first Piermont Rowing Association was organized in October, 1879. In short order, the organization put up an elegant boathouse with a mansard roof during the winter of 1879-80 that included a billiard room. Piermont rowers competed in local races with some success, and several of their trophies are still in a glass case at the Nyack Boat Club. As the national fad for rowing faded and the pollution in the Hudson increased, members’ sporting interest must have flagged and by 1902, their clubhouse was mainly being used for social affairs. Sometime around 1917, it became the home of the Piermont Knights of Columbus.
Then there’s a gap of about 75 years until 1998, when the new Piermont Rowing Club’s first president, Peter Fernberger, decided to start a rowing club for the small group of friends he knew who were rowing together on an informal basis. By 1999, the club became affiliated with the U.S. Rowing Association and had established a small rack area and launch site at the Tappan Zee Marina, courtesy of owners Ron and Audrey Schneider. By 2000, the club reached its present size of approximately 60 members.
During the 2002 season, our original launch site became unavailable due to construction and we moved to a new site leased from the Village of Piermont. We are proud to be able to share in Piermont’s long tradition of supporting community athletic organizations. Thanks to their generous support, we have been able to continue rowing from nearly the same location as where we started. The Village obtained a grant from the State of New York for the construction of an improved launch ramp during 2003, which allows us easy access to the water over the breakwater.
Board of Directors, 2006
Jon Srubas, President
Greta Nettleton, Vice President
Ellen Hart, Treasurer
Karen Tarapata, Secretary
Greta Carlstrom
Gayle Fitzpatrick
Thano Schoppel
Contact Us
The Piermont Rowing Club offers a variety of rowing programs geared to all skill levels. For more information, please contact the PRC at:
The Piermont Rowing Club
P.O. Box 443
Piermont, NY 10968
or email the PRC at:
info@piermontrowing.org
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The Piermont Rowing Club was founded in 1999, and currently has about 60 members. We are located in Piermont, NY, on the western shore of the Hudson River where it widens into the Tappan Zee. The majority of our members are adults (Masters) who row for pleasure and exercise. The club also participates in races in New England and the Hudson valley area. Our season runs from April to November and members stay in touch during the winter via conditioning workouts, a winter potluck party and several club meetings.
Our rowing philosophy matches the unique challenges and opportunities of our rowing environment. While our physical facilities are a bit Spartan, and we must often meet challenges thrown at us by wind, waves and ankle-deep mud at low tide, we also enjoy spectacular Hudson River scenery that is unmatched in any other east coast rowing location. Our members tend to be self-reliant individualists who appreciate the privilege of our relationship with the river so we keep our rules and procedures as simple as possible. We also strive to keep our costs as low as possible by sharing the chores of running the club.
The calmest conditions are usually found in the early morning, and most would agree that the pain of waking up at 5:00 a.m. is well repaid by the beauty of watching the dawn spread across the mighty river and the cliffs along its edge. Piermont is somewhat protected from the wind by high cliffs and by a long pier extending out into the river. We are also away from the busy shipping lanes on the eastern shore. Members can row south past the large Piermont Marsh and along the cliffs of the Palisades towards Alpine, or north under the Tappan Zee Bridge towards Hook Mountain, beyond Nyack.