Petaluma River provides recreation for rowers of all levels

Tyler Weiss, a senior on the Sonoma State University seven-seat crew team, found rowing after years of drumline.

“I truly got hooked on being on the river when we sat in the boat and were completely level with the water,” he said. “I’d never been so close to the water without touching it. I could imagine myself flying over the river and I knew it was going to be an amazing experience. Going to practice on the same water never got old. The sunrises are different every single day.”

What is it about boating on the Petaluma River, our beloved tidal slough, that inspires such poetry? Maybe it’s a sense of family.

Petaluma High School sophomore Rori McDaniel, 15, fell into the Olympic sport of kayak racing at a summer camp staffed by coaches of River Town Racers, a new vibrant club that teaches people how to race these fast boats and organizes trips to local and national regattas.

The camp is hosted by NPO Petaluma Small Craft Center. After camp McDaniel kept going back.

“I’m not a very social person, so I thought I wouldn’t want to be on a team. But it’s just like a family,” McDaniel said. “I’m super excited to see the new kids figuring it out.”

This year’s camp starts on June 6.

Maybe the river inspires also community. Jocelyn Wilson, a “keiki” or kids coach for outrigger canoe club He’e Nalu, says her athletes love the summertime Wednesday night races in the turning basin, hosted by Petaluma SUP.

“They’re having fun,” she said. “They’re not inside, they’re not on their phones. Kids are meeting kids, parents are meeting parents. This river is bringing our town together.”

Of He’e Nalu’s 20 keiki, seven are on the competitive NorCal team.

“They’ll race Oceanside nine-man at the end of the summer with the big boys,” Wilson said. “If it’s raining, they’re still training. They’re asking us, ‘Can we run a mile before practice?’ It’s a proud mama moment.”

Ella Reyes, 14, is a junior coach for Lokahi, an outrigger canoe club founded 24 years ago. For her, the magic of the Petaluma River happens late in the day.

“At sunset, the whole river changes. It’s beautiful,” she said. “You’re lucky when you get to see a sunset and you’re paddling.”

Co-founder Sam Medeiros says Lokahi focuses on sharing the Hawaiian culture of paddling.

“We’re a family-oriented club,” he said. “We involve the parents, and we have community coaching. The junior coaches help the younger kids as mentors in paddling and in life. We try to provide a safe haven for the kids.”

It’s working. Reyes, with her younger sister Avery, has paddled with Lokahi for six years.

“Ohana means family,” she said. “There’s no tolerance for put-downs. You know you’re going to have a good time. It’s all focused around encouraging one another.”

The outrigger clubs serve kids ages 7 to 18. River Town Racers includes adults and kids 11 and up. North Bay Rowing Club, founded in 1984, now has a middle school Learn to Row program as well as a 46-member Juniors competitive team.

For high school senior and team captain Natasha Kinmont, the river allows her to be outdoors five to six days a week and to form a community with athletes from ten different high schools, including Sonoma Valley and Maria Carillo. Kinmont commutes from Sebastopol, and found rowing after a decade of ballet.

“I love rowing,” said Kinmont, who has been recruited to row for Cal, where she hopes to study a combination of medicine and foreign policy. “It’s the ultimate team sport. Every single person has to work together to make a boat move. It’s changed me hugely. I found confidence in myself to help my team and inspire my teammates.”

(Maggie Hohle moved her family from the East coast to Petaluma in 2007 and immediately fell in love with rowing on the Petaluma River thanks to the North Bay Rowing Club. She spends her spare time working towards river access for all on “Petaluma’s Longest Park.”)