June 7, 2001

Clyde's

I've gotten used to the looks and stares people give as I'm loading my kayak getting ready to get on the water. But with the constant flow of people through Gravely Point, you tend to get an even greater dose. One fellow stopped to chat with me about fishing as I put the final touches to the boat and sat it in the water.

As I pulled out of the little inlet at Gravely point I took a moment to gaze out at some of the great monuments to this nation. The Washington Monument is the first to grab your attention. The Capital building, the Jefferson Memorial, and many others you can see from the water. You can't help but feel steeped in American history as you move through these waters.

Passing under the I-395 bridge and heading towards the Memorial Bridge I see dozens of people on river left laying out in the grass and soaking in the sites. After a rainy morning the sun is starting to appear, and I stop a moment to put sunscreen on the top of my head and face. Passing under the Memorial Bridge I see the Lincoln Memorial and again I'm filled with everything for which this nation stands. A feeling that fuels me and keeps me driving towards my destination.

I choose to take the backside of Roosevelt Island, and after passing under the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge I settle in to a slower pace. There are many geese and ducks out today around the island, and after passing under the footbridge, I set my sights on my ultimate destination.

I cross this historic piece of the Potomac River after paddling under the Key Bridge. On my bow lies Jack's Boats, a canoe and kayak rental business that has been in operation since 1955. A ramshackle concessionaire, Jack's is the rallying point today for an on-water demonstration protesting the proposal to build a floating barge restaurant on the down stream side of the Key Bridge. The river here is a mere 2/10ths of a mile across. This barge will stick out nearly 100 feet from shore and block the last span of the Key Bridge.

In 1985, just a mere 4 days before turning the land over to the National Park Service, the District of Columbia government under the helm of Marion Barry, granted a lease to Clyde's Restaurant Group. The park service, as part of the agreement with the D.C. government, was bound to honor any pre-existing leases that existed when it took over the land. For many reasons, the restaurant was never built, and the plans changed over the years as to exactly what the restaurant would look like. But in the last few weeks, some of the members of CPA became aware that a permit pending with the Army Corps of Engineers was due to be released soon. These CPA members joined up with several of the rowing clubs to stage a rally to draw media attention to the issue.

There are many issues surrounding the controversy of building a floating restaurant on this portion to the river. Of primary concern to the boathouses is the blocking of the last span of the bridge. Since the early 1900's when several of these boathouses were built, hand powered craft have been using this portion of the river. Single rowing hulls use this last span to pass under the bridge, while larger hulls and motorized traffic share the other 3 spans of the bridge (a fifth span on the opposite side of the river is blocked by the remnants of an aqueduct bridge). The larger hulls have a coxswain to navigate and are better suited to dealing with the motorized traffic in the center portion of the river, but the singles must constantly look behind them and the last bridge span kept them out of harm's way.

Other issues concern building a permanent structure on the river. Concerns about water access, parking, and the hazards created by this portion of the Potomac freezing hard in the winter. Adding ice breaks around the barge will increase the footprint even larger. Yuck & Ick

I think the biggest issue I have with the Clyde's project is simply its encroachment into a historic piece of our nations capital. Yes, I am upset about the blocking of the span and pushing rowing hulls more out into the center of the river, but I'm concerned about building permanent structures out into this narrow section of the river. The reason to build out into the river is a simple one: there simply is no land to build on. In the nation's capital, there simply isn't any additional land to build on. So the next logical choice is to build onto the water.

Once this starts, where will it end? How about a floating theater? How long before someone bankrolls a floating shopping mall? We could probably save a lot of time with environmental impact studies if we just went ahead and paved over the Potomac River as it passes by the District of Columbia. The hard truth is that building into the Potomac River in this area is the same as building a hotel `partially' covering over the Lincoln Memorial. The river is part of a heritage, our history, a monument that wasn't erected after a great deed, but one that was there to help form and shape this country.

After signing a petition at Jack's I paddled back slowly around Roosevelt Island. Once again on the backside I waited for several CPA members to arrive. At almost 4:00 we headed off to participate in the protest. It's difficult for people to get off work and I commend those who managed to make it. A few minutes after 4:00 I counted 50 people on the water. By 5:00 there was over 100. Members of boathouses and rowing clubs as far away as the Anacostia River, as well as many kayakers and canoeists showed up to protest. The rally was full of energy, yet also well behaved. Pic #1 Pic #2

A little after 6:00 the crowd began to thin and I headed back toward Gravely Point. Dave Biss challenged myself and a few others to try and make the trip in 40 minutes. I suggested I run sweep and bring up the rear. I did my best and pulled into Gravely Point at about 50 minutes. It gave me time to think - to think about this majestic river - to think about what drives someone to degrade its natural beauty.

Like all historic confrontations on this river, the tussle with Clyde's has less to do about safety, and access and more about doing the right thing. The memorials throughout Washington D.C. are all testaments to our history and heritage, albeit sometimes misguided, to do the right thing. I find it ironic that just across from the proposed site for this floating barge sits Roosevelt Island. Theodore Roosevelt was a man with vision. He decisions were based on how they affected our future, and those decisions are still with us today. But his greatest legacy was in conservation. Somehow I don't think President Roosevelt would have approved of defacing the Potomac River by building a barge directly across from his monument.