Paul was a coxswain of some note for four years on the Cornell rowing team. When he died in September, 2005 his crewmates decided to raise funds to have a shell named after him. Tom Faranda’s Folly: Paul Faranda, 1958-2005
A month or so ago my brother Phil was contacted about dedicating the boat! The dedication was held this past Saturday in Westchester, prior to a race near the New York Athletic Club’s (NYAC) grounds.
My whole immediate family (Brigid, Joe, Tim and myself), my mother, brothers Jim and Phil, and Phil’s five year old son Luke were there. It was pretty cool and here are some pictures.
Here’s an all-boys-with-grandma picture – sun in our eyes – taken by Brigid – while we were at the wrong location! (Nice job Phil). We went to the Columbia boathouse, while the race was nowhere near there.
After Phil’s wife Ann straightened us out by going online and then calling us up, we got over to Pelham
Racing shells are long – over 60 feet – and thin. There are eight rowers, each with one oar. and the cox at the back steers the boat and does all the talking (ideal job for a Faranda…).
My brother Phil was a cox at Villanova, and he gave a little speech pep talk to the Cornell rowers –
Luke doesn’t look too happy …
but Phil’s talk was well-received
The boat was rowed on Saturday by the junior varsity. They were photo’d with my mother (she turns 82 tomorrow), who got a big kick out of it …
Oh, and they clobbered the opposition, beating the other two boats by two boat lengths. Watch the last 50 seconds right here – Phil video’d and posted on youtube.
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