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Practicing safe boating for rowers, scullers, or things you should know when boating near these competitive racing crafts in order to avoid accident and injury.

The Willamette River hosts all kinds of recreational boating activity, admist quite a bit of commercial boating traffic as well. In Portland, and up and down the Willamette River, from Lake Oswego, to Corvalis, Eugene, extending to Ashland, on any day three quarters of the year, you might see some competive sports boaters on the water like rowers, and scullers. Rowing hulls and sculling hulls are a special type of boating vessel and are subject to special boating laws. When boating near scull or rowing crafts, it is helpful to understand a little bit about these racing crafts so that everyone stays safe and enjoys their time on the water.

rowers launching in Portland between Marquam 405 bridge and the Hawthorn bridges.
just south of the Hawthorn Bridge in Portland, Oregon,rowers and scullers launch

Fellow boating traffic need to observe no wake zones around these racing rowers or scullers on the water, and also when they are launching from docks. Wakes cause these crafts to become highly unstable, and can actually crack the hull.

The hulls of modern row or sculling crews are quite fragile. These modern racing rowing hulls are crafted for racing performance and quite expensive. These are racing performance crafts, very light and highly engineered, but also fragile. It was only in the 1980's that these modern materials replaced the old growth wooden rowing hulls.

Rowers launch and prepare for row on Willamette River, under the Hawthorn Bridge, in Portland, Oregon
Rowers and the coach launch under the Hawthorn Bridge in Portland, Oregon.

Personal Floatation Devices (PFD)
Sports rowers may not have personal floatation devices on board their crafts. The US Coast Guard Laws may be over-ridden by local laws in some instances. Usually rowers and scullers will have a following "launch" boat, but there are individual rowers who may be rowing unspotted. US Rowing actually suggested that all rowers rowing alone on the water carry a personal floatation device, as well as a cell phone in a water proof container. They also suggest rowers let people know where, and how long they are planning to be on the water, so that others can bring help if they do not return on time.

The specific exemption to the personal floatation device can be found through the US Coast Guard Federal Regulations page on their website.

§ 175.17 Exemptions.

(c) Racing shells, rowing sculls, racing canoes and racing kayaks are exempted from the requirements for carriage of any Type PFD required under §175.15.

(d) Sailboards are exempted from the requirements for carriage of any Type PFD required under §175.15.

(e) Vessels of the United States used by foreign competitors while practicing for or racing in competition are exempted from the carriage of any PFD required under §175.15, provided the vessel carries one of the sponsoring foreign country's acceptable flotation devices for each foreign competitor on board.

[CGD 92–045, 58 FR 41608, Aug. 4, 1993; 58 FR 51576, Oct. 4, 1993, as amended by CGD 97–023, 62 FR 33365, June 19, 1997; USCG–1998–3799, 63 FR 35533, June 30, 1998]

However, you still need to know the personal floatation device laws for your specific area, if you are a rower or sculler.

Find out your district office and contact information by following this link to the US Coast Guard website. District US Coast Guard Office (NW Pacific Office)

Waterways may also be administered under local State laws. It is important to understand the specific laws that govern the water that you row on so that you stay out of trouble and also stay safe.

Boat Safety Resource Center of US Coast Guard

The US Coast Guard website has a good index for finding Federal Regulations Governing Boating

US Rowing offers quite a bit of guidance for boating safety and protecting the image of rowing and sculling as a safe sport. US Rowing actually reccommend safety precautions for personal floatation devices which go beyond what the regulations are for scullers and rowers. "Every single sculler on the water without a coaching launch should have a personal floatation device in the boat and a cell phone in a waterproof bag. The coaching launch should have a personal floatation device for everyone under supervision and everyone in the launch (especially the coach), should be wearing a personal floatation device."

Portland, rowers on the Willamette negotiate boating traffic, both recreational boats, and commercial boats.
Rowers negotiate boating traffic on the Willamette River, one fall day in Portland

US Rowing also recommends every boat house have safety guides and review these on a yearly basis. They also sugges that each rowing / sculling "club should post a map of local waterways that includes traffic patterns and any known hazards [...] Right-of way rules have been developed by the US Coast Guard. Vessels with the least maneuverability have the right-of way, but always play it safe and take action to avoid all other types of boats. The maneuverability rule can be confusing. For example, a sailboat without wind has the right-of way, but a sailboat with wind must give right-of way to the shell. "

For managing riding out a wake in the racing hull, US Rowing suggests:

If approaching wake is higher than the gunwale, the shell should be turned parallel to the wake to avoid having part of the shell unsupported by the water. It is possible to split a shell under these conditions. Rowers should stop rowing and lean away from the approaching wake, with oars on the wake side lifted slightly.

Portland & Metro Area Row Clubs

Portland and communities in the Metro area are lucky to have a large number of rowing clubs and organizations. This area also has numerous junior rowing clubs. Parents of junior rowers should oversee the safety of their child's rowing and be insistant that your junior rower only rows with organizations with a good safety plan. No junior rowers should ever be on the water unaccompanied by an adult experienced in boating and rowing safety.

The US Coast Guard and other local boating organizations do provide training and classes for boating safety, which can be very helpful to small rowing clubs in order to maintain members who are knowledgable and know safe boating practices. In addition, boaters and rowers need to practice some safety maneuvers from time to time to make sure they could initiate a water boarding of the launch boat, a row hull to row hull water rescue, and other types of emergency situations that can occur in the water.

Rowing and sculling are nearly year round activities in our area rivers, and this means the water can be very cold. Water and air temperatures must also always be taken in to consideration.

Oregon Association of Rowers
http://www.oarowing.org/
The Oregon Association of Rowers row at Dexter Lake, fifteen miles southeast of Eugene, on Highway 58, near the Unversity of Oregon boathouse. They co-host the "Covered Bridge Regatta" each April since 1998.

Oregon Rowing Unlimited
http://www.oregonrowing.org/
Located in Portland, Oregon. Oregon Rowing Unlimited is a full-community rowing center, crews and scullers of all abilities and ages. Also host Lewis & Clark College Rowing, Willamette Rowing and private individual athletes.

ROW PDX - Portland Boat Club
http://portlandboatclub.wordpress.com/
Located the Multnomah Channel, just south of the Sauvie Island Bridge in Portland, Oregon. Portland Boat Club rowers, mostly scullers.

Portland Women's Rowing
http://portlandwomensrowing.teamsnap.com/
Portland Women's Rowing located in the Portland Boathouse on the SE end of the Hawthorne Bridge. Scull and rowing. The Portland Boathouse is also shared with boathouse with Rose City Rowing, Station L , Wasabi Paddling, and local collegiate crews.

Willamette Rowing Club
Portland, Oregon
http://willametterowing.org/

Lake Oswego Community Rowing
http://www.lakeoswegorowing.com/
On the Willamette from mid-March through mid-November. Non-profit organization, year round training at their boathouse location in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Corvallis Rowing Club
http://www.corvallisrowingclub.org/
Corvallis, Oregon row on the Williamett River and use Oregon State University's facilities.

Ewauna Rowing Club
http://www.klamathrowing.org/
Rowing club located in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and row on Lake Ewauna.

I hope that all boating people find this information useful, as I hope it is helpful to learn about other types of boat crafts that share the waterways so that we all stay safe, and look out for one another.

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