To Quilcene or Bust! Club’s Rowing Field Trip Takes Us Somewhere New to Celebrate Fall
- Bill Mahoney
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
To fully appreciate what the club just pulled off on its first rowing field trip to Quilcene, you have to consider the timeline. The night of Oct. 13, Dave Winters came out of the monthly board meeting and starting emailing members about the idea. Just 8 days later, at 8am on Oct. 21, 2025, some 18 excited rowers were arriving at the boathouse to make it happen. Of course Sally Giesler had arrived early to keep us all perfectly on track. By 8:27am, in record time, the trailer was loaded and we were ready to roll. Amazing.
But wait, wait. Then there sat the loaded trailer. No Rats were anywhere to be seen. Where had they all gone? Oh, into Velocity for a pre-row coffee. Ted had a new story about one rower’s water adventure and he was holding court.
Pretty soon we gathered up all of the little doggies, the caravan was lined up and we were on our way out of town following the trailer.
But wait, wait. It didn’t look good, downright discouraging really, as we headed across Center Valley Rd. We were driving through sheets of fog. Were we making all this effort, packing the trailer and driving 20 miles just so we could have a fog cancel? The thought didn’t stop us.
When we got to Quilcene, the fog was even thicker. Popular new members Dylan and Andrew Rauch were there to welcome us and help organize the event. They had inspired the idea and helped motivate us all to venture out. Andrew and Dylan stood in the fog in front of Quilbilly’s, a restaurant now proudly boasting the name that used to be a word that wasn’t even commonly accepted as being polite. Down to the beach we all headed. Slings were setup, but the fog was still blocking any view we might have of the water we had come to conquer.
But wait, wait. Just as the boats were set up and we were ready to go, an opening along the shore appeared in the fog, and go we did. Four quads and three singles (Ron Moller, Steve Chapin and Francine Rose) ventured out slowly at first, waiting for enough visibility to power up. The curtain of fog rolled back, and it revealed a glorious fall morning in a tranquil setting, with sharp contrasts of light and the full spectrum of fall colors.
The boats built up speed, the sun came out and we had a spectacular 12K row of an hour and a half out to Whitney Point and back. We discovered a new favorite rowing spot. The water was good. The scenery even better. Faithful launch driver Kristin Smith had traveled all that way with us to keep us safe in unknown waters and we all came back without incident. We couldn’t begin to thank Dave enough for organizing the outing, Ted for driving the trailer, and to Kate and Janet L for providing delicious treats. We’d done it. Made just another day into something really special. There was even talk about other future field trip adventures. Rowing to an exotic place for pizza (well, Seabeck actually). There’s no stopping us now. But wait, wait. Where will we go next?
