Pair plans to row across the Atlantic to fund boathouse on Buffalo Bayou

Rice University's women's rowing team practices on Buffalo Bayou. Rice University's women's rowing team practices on Buffalo Bayou. Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Pair plans to row across the Atlantic to fund boathouse on Buffalo Bayou 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Members of the Rice University rowing team hit the water of Buffalo Bayou as early as 5:30 a.m. most weekdays and Saturdays. As they row toward the Houston Ship Channel, they watch the sunrise turn the sky multiple shades of pink, orange and, finally, blue. On the way back to the dock on North York, just across from Tony Marron Park in the East End, they admire the native trees lining the shore and the downtown skyline in the distance.

"It's gorgeous," coach Mike Matson says.

"You have the feeling you're coming home," adds David Alviar, who also is a volunteer coach for the team.

Thirty years ago, when the bayou was more trash receptacle than garden spot, the idea of a rowing team using the waterway would have been inconceivable. But that was then. Starting in 1986, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership launched a massive cleanup campaign. Then, in 2012, the partnership began a $58 million project to turn the stretch of bayou between Shepherd and the Sabine Bridge just west of downtown into Buffalo Bayou Park. The work will be completed this year.

Slowly, the bayou has become an oasis, a destination for Houstonians who hike, bike, run or simply enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.

Already, recreational kayakers and canoeists are paddling up and down the bayou. By summer, the partnership will offer canoe and kayak rentals at the restored Lost Lake area near Dunlavy and Allen Parkway, and at the Sunset coffee building at Allen's Landing.

But Matson and Alviar envision more. In September, they teamed with the partnership and the Texas Dragon Boat Association to build the dock on North York. Using shipping containers and welding equipment, they also erected a crude - and cheap - storage shed for their boats, oars and other equipment.

But the coaches say space is so tight, students have to dismantle the rigging after every practice, then assemble it before they can get back on the water the next day. They think it's time to build a real boathouse to be shared by Rice, the dragon boaters, the partnership - and the public.

More Information Kayak and canoe rentals By the summer, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership will be offering canoe and kayak rentals. For those who are ready to start paddling now, here are some of the places to rent canoes and kayaks. ACK: 713-660-7000, austinkayak.com Bayou City Adventures: 713-538-7433, bayoucityadventures.com North Lake Conroe Paddling Co. (kayaks only): 936-203-2697, northlake conroepaddlingco.com SouthWest Paddle Sports: 281-292-5600, paddlesports.com InformationFor more information on Mike Matson and David Alviar's quest to participate in the 2015 Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, go to row4rice.com.

As far back as 1998, other Rice rowers and coaches held experimental practice sessions on the bayou. Working steadily with government and civic associations, then-coach Chad Shaw and founding dragon boater Eugene Lee laid the groundwork for the existing dock and boathouses present and future.

While the partnership is not eager to put a price tag on the proposed boathouse just yet, it's likely to cost a minimum of $500,000 and possibly twice that.

"We're devoted to the best design possible," says partnership president Anne Olson. "We'd like this part of the bayou to become a real destination."

To help raise funds, Matson, 30, and Alviar, 29, hope to participate in the 2015 Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge - a 2,700 mile rowboat race across the Atlantic Ocean in December. Matson says more people have flown in space than attempted the crossing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in a rowboat.

The pair, former collegiate rowers who volunteered to coach the Rice team about a year ago, hope to raise $400,000. About $150,000 would be budgeted for an ocean-going rowboat, entry fees, supplies, food, training, and travel costs. The boat and all unused supplies would be sold post-race and used to develop the boathouse.

They hope the Rice crew can contribute $250,000 to the effort.

"Mike and I are a good mix," Alviar says. "In rowing, with every stroke you have to start off like Arnold Schwarzenegger, furious and strong, and end like a Buddhist monk. In the recovery, you have to feel the water, you have to feel in tune with people around you or you will disrupt the flow of the boat."

As Alviar talks about the yin and yang of rowing strokes and teamwork, Matson says he hopes they win the race.

"We're movers," he says. "We like to get things done."