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Members of the Mare Island Rowing Association head out for a practice row on a recent evening. The team will compete in the 2003 Independence Day Whaleboat Races in New Bedford, Mass., this weekend. Photo: David Pacheco/Times-Herald

Boatload of competition

By MATTHIAS GAFNI, Times-Herald staff writer

The Straits of Mare Island Rowing Association will head to the Moby Dick of all whaleboat races this July 4 weekend when members compete in the 2003 Independence Day Whaleboat Races in New Bedford, Mass.

The former New England hub of whaling has held the competition for about 150 years and the three Vallejo teams will be the first out-of-state competitors ever.

The 5-year-old Mare Island club has little whale blubber in its blood, but is anxious to participate in the storied competition.

"It's probably the biggest whaling community in the world," said Adam Redmayne-Titley, 42, of Vallejo, a starboard stroke on the men's Left Coast Boys team.

"It gets pretty competitive. It gets as competitive as you make it," he said. "I want to at least win, place or show."

Along with the men's team, the Mare Island club will send two women's teams, the Funatics and Channel Cats.

"I'm very excited. I've been counting the days since (club founder Faith Hazeltine) said we've been entered," said Kathy Fuller, 48, of Vallejo, a starboard bow for the Funatics.

Lucy Iannotti, executive director of the race, said in phone interview from New Bedford that the local racers are curious how the West Coasters will perform.

"We're all nervous," Iannotti laughed. "They've got boats that are a lot heavier than the ones we row with, so we're under the impression they're very strong.

"We'll try and feed them lots of beer the night before," she cracked.

The Mare Island teams will compete in replica Beetle whaling boats that are 5-oared, 900 lbs., with

18-foot long resin oars that are provided by the race organizers. The Mare Island teams are used to much larger whaleboats that are

8-oared, 2,000 lbs., with shorter, but heavier, 12-foot long wooden oars.

The boats are named after James Beetle, a New Bedford boat designer who pioneered a pre-fabrication process for whaleboats in the 1800s. During the whaling era he was credited with building over 1,000 whaleboats, Iannotti said.

The race lasts one nautical mile, taking about 10 to 11 minutes, including two 180-degree turns. In the event's long history, the competition was taken very seriously.

"In New Bedford Harbor, in the hey day of whaling, this was almost a job application. If you were known as a fast rower, your chances of getting on board a whaling ship improved," Iannotti said.

"At the height of the whaling industry it was the richest seaport in the world," she said.

The harbor is still very busy, housing 700 fishing vessels and other maritime vessels.

"Every once in awhile we have to stop the races and let a big barge go by," Iannotti said.

The Mare Island club members making the trip will pay for airfare, hotel and food. They will compete against 28 other teams in the race sponsored by the Whaling City Rowing Club.

"I think there are some established rowers out there. It's been going on for awhile and they've been doing it for awhile," said Marty Hazeltine, 38, of Vallejo, a port stroke.

"We promise if we see a whale we will let it go free," he laughed.

Bob Segerdell, 64, of Benicia, a starboard bow, will travel to the event. Segerdell, who survived a heart attack five years ago, recently had the Mare Island club's logo tattooed on his upper left arm.

"It's Summer Fest so it will probably be exciting, good food and probably pretty crazy," he said.

Patty Chapman, of Vallejo, is a utility rower on the Channel Cats. Her biggest concern?

"The heat, the humidity. The East Coast is really humid," she said.

The close-knit group of rowers have become family since the club's inception five years ago.

"It's not easy when you first start out and learn how to row. Using an oar is not easy. And I hadn't worked out before," Chapman said. "But everyone helps each other out."

The Straits of Mare Island Rowing Association has about 60 active members and owns three boats, including access to a fourth owned by a member.

The rowers practice three times a week, rowing up and down the strait and Napa River. The local race season runs from August to November.

Redmayne-Titley described the allure of the club.

"The people. The pain. The challenge. The exercise."

q The Mare Island rowers host their own race Aug. 9, the third annual "Sacramento to Brannan Island Row for Charity." Proceeds go to local charities. E-mail Matthias Gafni at mgafni@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6825.