On Saturday, April 5, the Fordham University men’s club crew team’s boat took on water while on Eastchester Bay.
According to a statement issued by Fordham, the boat included “nine student-athletes, and [eight] additional students and two coaches who helped them.” They also cited a “sudden shift in weather conditions” as the cause. There were reportedly no injuries, and all of those who were rescued were taken to hospitals as soon as they came ashore due to beaching on city property at Rodman’s Neck. One of the rowing team’s boats was said to have been lost in the mishap.
This statement, however, according to accounts given by multiple team members, as well as Head Coach Jamie Copus, lacked veracity.
Similar to the Fordham statement, multiple news outlets did not get the facts of the story completely correct, with Copus calling some “sensational statements” in an email sent on April 6, which was obtained by The Fordham Ram. He noted one error in a reported “civilian boat” that came to the aid of team members, when in fact, he informs, “that boat was me.”
A Reddit poster reporting to be a member of the team said via a Reddit post that there were three boats on the water: first varsity (1V) and second varsity (2V) 8+’s (each boat contained eight rowers plus a coxswain), as well as the coaching launch (a small motor-powered boat used by the coaches to instruct the rowers on the water). This was later confirmed when the Fordham Ram reached out to senior Team Captain Sebastian Gwitt.
The post said that on the way back to shore after completing practice, “the waves became much larger than anything we had ever seen before.” This sudden and unexpected change in the weather caused the 1V to submerge.
The coaching launch that was with the 2V boat went to help the members of the 1V boat, immediately calling New York Police Harbor Rescue for assistance. They took half of the members of the crew safely ashore before quickly returning to grab the rest.
As for the 2V, the poster praised the quick thinking of the coxswain, saying they “smartly steered the boat to shore where they essentially wet docked on the beach.”
After they were taken to shore, they were immediately warmed up with blankets and heaters by the NYPD and the NYFD. Though there were no serious injuries, they were still transported to a local hospital due to the aforesaid city policy and frigid water temperatures. The post also cited the “disgusting nature of the water of the Eastchester Bay” as a reason for their hospital visit.
As per Copus, both boats were salvaged, with the 2V being “practically unscathed,” and the 1V “needing a number of repairs, but still very much in one piece.” The team expects both to be back in racing condition by the season’s end. They were back on the water the following day.
Going forward, the team plans to relocate their practice to a body of water more suitable for rowing in Overpeck, New Jersey.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article erroneously identified the Reddit poster as a specific individual member of the men’s crew team. The article has been updated to remedy this error.
