Waterfront

The Lure of the River

The Water Rat in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows might have grown up on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

"Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

Washington College students have always been drawn to the river. What began as a handful of boaters crabbing or fishing on the stately Chester has blossomed into competitive varsity programs in rowing and sailing, a club sport program for waterskiing and wakeboarding, and recreational opportunities for kayaking along the river's edge.

In 1971, the College acquired a warehouse on banks of the Chester River to use as a boathouse. In 1983, the Hodson Trust donated funds to create the Lelia Hynson Boating Park and Pavilion on the grounds surrounding the Truslow Boathouse. The Trust has been just one of many College friends and supporters who have supported the evolution of the rowing program from club status to national competitors for both men and women.

Since launching the women's and co-ed varsity sailing program in 1997, the College has been establishing its sailors as a competitive force in the mid-Atlantic region. A new fleet of Flying Junior sailing dinghies is scheduled to arrive for the Spring 2005 season.

The lure of the river also extends to academic explorers who hop aboard the College's sturdy old workboat.

Recreation

With the Chester River just five blocks away, students soon find their way to the river's edge. Some even get wet. Last fall, the wakeboard/waterski team took first place in its first college tournament at Lake Gibbons in Lowell, MD. But say you don't have your own boat. Yet. What's there to do on the river?

• play Frisbee or run laps at Wilmer Park, as you overlook the Chester
• go fishing!
• get some friends together for some kayaking along Morgan Creek. The College has some fun sea kayaks.
• befriend boys with boats. The adventurous wakeboarding/waterski club enjoys regional competitions
• from the Hynson Pavilion, watch the crew teams practice as the sun comes up
• dangle your feet in the water from the floating dock at the boathouse
• volunteer to plant marsh grasses to stabilize the shoreline

"Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."
— The Wind in the Willows

A Learning Environment

Using a seabed scanning device and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), archaeology students delve the deep for clues of Native American and colonial settlements, or explore old shipwrecks. Biology and chemistry students investigate the impact of pollutants on the Chester River, testing water and sediment samples. Environmental studies majors use the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed region as their outdoor laboratory.

Whatever your discipline, you can probably find a connection to the Chester River, for, to a large extent, the river defines this community and its inhabitants. English majors find inspiration for nature writing there. Sociology students can explore the vanishing culture of the Eastern Shore waterman. Students interested in politics and policymaking will find no greater bone of contention than land use issues.

Nearly everyone finds that an hour on the river calms the soul and refreshes the mind. Got a mid-term exam coming up? Seek the restorative power of the river!

Lelia Hynson Pavilion

In 1971, the College acquired a warehouse on the banks of the Chester River to use as a boathouse. In 1983, the Hodson Trust donated funds to create the Lelia Hynson Boating Park and Pavilion on the grounds surrounding the Truslow Boathouse.

The waterfront area includes the Truslow Boat House and the Lelia Hynson Pavilion, adjacent to Wilmer Park. The watefront area is home to both the thriving Rowing program as well as the nationally ranked Sailing program at Washington College. College events, celebrations, and concerts are also held at the Lelia Hynson Pavilion, including the annual Earth Day activities.

Varsity Sailing Team

The sailing team at Washington College began in earnest in 1987, when a group of sailing enthusiasts started a club team. The team maintained its club status until 1997 when Washington College decided to commit to a premiere sailing program that could rival any in the country. The college purchased a new fleet of boats, 12 Flying Juniors, in the Spring of '97. The team already had the use of Washington College's Truslow Boating Park, one of the finest waterfront facilities in all of college sailing. With all of these elements in place, the Washington College Sailing Team is now poised to join the ranks of the elite in college sailing.

Now that sailing is a varsity sport at Washington College, the team receives full financial support from the college for facilities, equipment and travel. Washington College is a member of the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (MAISA) and is recognized by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) of North America.

The team practices out of the Washington College Boating Park on the Chester River, a tidal river extending 26 miles from the Chesapeake Bay. The river provides ideal sailing conditions for both the Fall and Spring seasons. Washington College's sailing site is renowned in college sailing circles as one of the finest venues for spectator viewing. The facilities and equipment at the Washington College boathouse are first-class. The school support the program receives is among the best in all of college sailing.

The team's fleet of boats includes: 12 Flying Juniors (New in Spring 2005), 4 420's , 5 Lasers, one 22' powerboat, and 6 14' launches. Practices are held Tuesday through Friday from 3-6pm during sailing's two seasons: the fall season begins September 1 and ends November 15, the spring season begins around February 15 and ends May 2.

As a member of MAISA, Washington College competes against schools from New York to Virginia, including traditionally strong sailing schools such as St. Mary's College, Georgetown University, Old Dominion University, Hobart/William Smith and the US. Naval Academy. At some larger events (intersectionals), the team sails against the best teams from the other ICSA districts, which span the entire country.

Being a member of MAISA gives Washington College the opportunity to sail against nationally ranked teams on a regular basis. In addition, MAISA is home to the finest sailing venues in the nation so the team's in-district events are some of the best regattas in all of college sailing.

While the team has regattas scheduled every weekend, no team member sails every weekend. In order to promote team depth, the regatta schedule is spread out among the team. In addition, many regattas have specific qualifications, such as freshmen or women's events. The full regatta schedule ensures that there are opportunities for every member of the team to compete.

The small size of the team affords its members two important advantages over larger programs: one, team members are able to receive individualized attention from the coaching staff; and two, there are numerous opportunities for everyone on the team to compete.

Varsity Crew Team

"The afternoon sun was getting low as the Rat sculled gently homewards in a dreamy mood, murmuring poetry-things over to himself, and not paying much attention to Mole."
— The Wind in the Willows

In 1933 a Washington College student made an entry in his daily journal: "the Chester River would be a perfect place for a rowing team." Thirty-four years later, a small group of enterprising students started the Washington College Crew Club. With the endorsement of the college, and enthusiastic help from the community and friends, the team purchased a used rowing shell from St. Joseph's College. The "Inlet Witch" was housed it in the basement of a chicken coop at Truslow Farms.

The Baltimore Evening Sun reported in 1967: "Though every type of boat imaginable, from log canoes, bugeyes, bateau to later day cabin cruisers and outboards, have been used for work or play in Shore waters, no one can recall ever having seen a racing shell before in these parts. Despite the fact that they work out on the river every chance they get, the students are still far from officially establishing the sport at the college."

Under the guidance of Professor Peter Tapke, the program evolved from club status to a nationally competitive varsity program. Today, Washington College has developed one of the best waterfront programs of any small college on the eastern seaboard.

In 1971, the College purchased a warehouse on banks of the Chester River which became the Truslow Boathouse. In 1983, the Hodson Trust donated funds to create the Lelia Hynson Boating park and the Lelia Hynson Pavilion. The rowing team now boats highly successful varsity crews for both men and women.