Join Us!
WHY Row?
Santa Barbara Community Rowing believes rowing is for everyone, at every age, from the most competitive, driven, aspiring college athletes to the curious, first-time master who wants to stay in shape, enjoy the water, and be part of a team—and everyone in between.
Rowing teaches life skills: persistence, technique, learning, teamwork, observation—and finding fun. Never easy, rowing is a high-reward sport that challenges athletes at every level and that provides the satisfaction of effort that produces new skills/satisfaction of honing new skills.
Rowing intimately connects us with nature. Lake Cachuma’s coves, bays, and islands, always surprise us with egrets, grebes, bald eagles, and even swimming deer. The sport demands we attune ourselves to wind, waves, and geography.
WHERE We Row
Cachuma, located on CA 154, about 25 minutes north of Santa Barbara and about 20 minutes south of Solvang, is our home lake. Offering coves, bays, an island, a deep, long 4,000 meter long, perfectly straight channel, the 8,000 meter end-to-end lake provides locations for rowing in many conditions.
Our outdoor boathouse takes advantage of California’s weather and houses our fleet of sculling boats. For people learning to row, we have wider boats that accommodate pontoons, making for a very stable learning boat.
We have a new workout gym for the rare occasions when we cannot row on the lake, or when we want to erg to train. This room includes Concept 2 ergs and a variety of kettlebells and free weights.
WHEN We Row
The Masters Recreational and Competitive groups row in the morning, while the Middle School and Junior groups row in the afternoon. Saturday morning is offered to both Juniors and Masters programs. Coaches will guide rowers to the correct group, based on their goals and abilities.
Sample rowing schedule (subject to change):
M W 8:30-10:30 am, Masters Recreational
M W F 4-6 pm, Junior Racing Team
T Th 6:00-8:00 am, Masters Competitive
T Th 4-6 pm, Middle School Juniors
S 7-9 am, Juniors Racing Team
S 9-11:00 am, Masters Recreational
For details about signing up to row, the lake itself and more, please visit Resources.
If you are existing rower with time in a boat already under your belt, please reach out to coach Gracie to discuss which group is right for you.
Several times a year, we offer free Community Rowing Days during which people can learn how to row starting on the rowing machines and then row on the lake in boats piloted by experienced SBCR rowers. If you decide at the end of the day or weekend that you enjoy rowing, you can join our Learn to Row program, which lasts 7 weeks, twice a week. At first, you will row with pontoons, but by the end of the camp, you will be rowing without and can join our other programs.
HOW to Get Started
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Contact Us
As a growing club, we prize direct access to our Head Coach, Gracie Barbara. You can email her directly at Coach@rowsbc.org.
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