The Snow Row

Do you want to go kayaking?  In Boston Harbor? In March?  Kinda frosty, right? Why would someone do that year after year?  The Snow Row!

A yearly boat race is held in Hull, Massachusetts and it's called the Snow Row.  It is for many kinds of boats without a sail or a motor, including kayaks. It seems that the race was named because most participants need to row, and there's usually snow on the ground in March in Boston.  But no!  It was named after a man named Edward Rowe Snow.

Edward Rowe Snow was born in Massachusetts in 1902.  He wrote over 40 books, mainly chronicling New England maritime history.  The Hull Lifesaving Museum is also devoted to preserving New England maritime history, and they sponsor the Snow Row as a tribute to Edward.

My dad has been racing in the Snow Row for over 20 years. It's become a family tradition.  I've had the chance to be the front person in his tandem kayak on a few occasions. We've been known to bring home gold or silver medals.  Here we are.

Imagine my surprise when I was doing research on my family tree and I found a Snow! I decided to trace the Snow family and found we have the same Pilgrim ancestor as Edward Rowe Snow. I should have known that all people in Massachusetts are related somehow.

Family member name: Edward Rowe Snow

Lifetime: 1902 - 1982
Tree branch: Smith
Relation: My 9th cousin, 3x removed

My 11th great-grandfather is Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower.  Stephen Hopkins is Edward Rowe Snow's 8th great-grandfather.

Yeah, we're family.

My dad is all signed up for the Snow Row again in 2018.  I'm sad I can't join him in the race this year.  But now he has an added bonus of knowing the race is named after his cousin Ed.

While telling my dad about this research, he said he met Mr. Snow in the early 1970s while taking a Boston Harbor Cruise.  Here is the famous Edward Rowe Snow.  Photo credit: Dad.