Sunday, May 31, 2009

Welcome The "Charley McIntyre"




The newest member of the family of Pocock Racing Shells has come out of the Pocock shop, and onto the water. The boat is a Quad Hypercarbon Racing Shell, and she is called the "Charley McIntyre". If Dad was here to see this he would be smiling from ear to ear! It is such a tribute to his friends, his family, and his fellow rowers that they gave their generous donations to make this happen.

The boat has not yet been formally christened-that is scheduled to happen sometime this summer-but there was an informal ceremony at the Pocock Racing Shell factory on May 8th. Bill Tytus, the owner of Pocock, was on hand to dedicate the new boat, and he told some funny stories of Dad from years past. We then raised a toast of Irish Whiskey, and then Bill poured what was left of Dad's last bottle of Irish Whiskey on the boat.  One for the Road, you might say.

The shell was then transported down to the Pocock Rowing Center by Bill's son John Tytus. Myself, my brother Joe, my brother in law Dave, and John then carried the boat down into the boathouse. This is the lightest four man boat that I have ever carried, in fact it can be lifted by two people! This is important, so that it can be carried by the Junior girls, who will be racing the boat at the US National Rowing Championships in June. The girls have already won the first race that the boat was entered in, this past month, at the Pacific Northwest Regional Rowing Championships!

However, the first lucky souls to row the boat were Charley McIntyre Jr., Joe McIntyre, Dave Fitch, and Molly McIntyre Fitch.  And what an honor it was to be the first to put The Charley into the water, and row her up through the Montlake Cut past the old UW shellhouse! The boat handled superbly, with the help of Dave steering in the bow for the first time. The boat is light, stiff, and very responsive to the pressure placed through the oars. When we put the pressure on, you could feel the boat lift up in the water and run smooth and fast.  Dad would be singing her praises if he was rowing with us. And in a way he was, as part of him rests inside that boat. She's a winner for sure, just like her namesake was.

I look forward to the formal christening ceremony this summer, and especially look forward to seeing the girls win a national championship in The Charley this year! 

Best to All,

Charlie McIntyre Jr.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Charley's back on the water. Joann