What’s the most memorable piece of river junk that has crossed your bow?

The Schuylkill River (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) of international rowing fame, can exhibit curious wind patterns. On the same run, you might hit a headwind going up river and, surprisingly, a headwind coming down. Torrential rains may stop abruptly but the true impact of the rain may not be felt ‘til later when roiling waters from miles upstream catch up to Boathouse Row.

After an overnight rainstorm, it’s not so unusual to witness a morning parade of partially submerged tree trunks, or a refrigerator, propane gas tank or soccer balls floating by. There are some mornings when you swear you could almost walk across this watery debris field. Sometimes your boat seems to intuit where these floating munitions are and you feel blessed that you missed even a glancing blow…especially when you didn’t see it coming. Once, the local newspapers documented an entire full-grown tree suspended horizontally within a bridge arch.

Fish do jump there, turtles sun themselves and blue herons with their prehistoric silhouettes glide past or stand motionless in camouflaged vigil. When the river clears, the beauty of water, light, trees and sky harmonizes with the clean catch of the oars.