ZLAC Book Club — October 28, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

James

by Percival Everett

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.

Learn more at Goodreads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.

ZLAC Speaker Series

When the Body’s Master Clock Goes Rogue: Optimizing Your Circadian Cortisol Rhythm

Thursday, October 23, 2025 - 6:00-9:00 pm

Presented by Mary E T Boyle, PhD, MPH, Senior Continuing Lecturer in the Cognitive Science Department at UC San Diego.

Ticket ordering has ended for this event. Thank you to everyone who is attending!

Down and Dirty Mahjong!

Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 1:00-4:00 pm

We’re sorry, we’ve reached our limit of 24 people for this class. If there’s a lot of interest, we’ll schedule another class later. If you’d like to be on a waitlist for a future class, please fill out this form.

Presented by Bam! Beginners American Mahjong and ZLAC Rowing Club.

Curious about mahjong but don’t want to commit to a series of lessons yet? This one-shot intro to the game is for you! Learn the basics and see what the buzz is all about.

We’ll gather at 1:00 for snacks and mingling. Lesson begins promptly at 1:30, so don’t be late!

This is a Crew XII and Crew XIV fundraiser. The class is limited to 24 people.

TGIF at ZLAC

For ZLAC Members and Their Guests

October 10, 2025, 5:00-8:30 PM

Let’s get together! BYOB. Please bring an appetizer or light dinner item to share.

No dishwashing! Susan Wills is hosting and will provide disposable plates, cups, utensils, and napkins.

No RSVP necessary. Just show up, and bring friends!

ZLAC Pearl Party - CANCELLED

Sunday, October 12, 2025

2:00-4:00 pm

Open to all ZLAC members, rowers, and their guests.

Fundraiser includes wine, sweet treats, and pearl stud earrings.

At the event we’ll also have raffle tickets for sale. The prizes will be selected pearl jewelry pieces, and the proceeds will go to ZLAC Athletics.

See flyer below for more details.

Please choose quantity below, then click on the “Add to Cart” button. A popup window will appear where you can complete the registration. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again. If it still doesn’t appear, your browser may have popup windows disabled. You can either enable popups or try again with a different browser.)

ZLAC Annual Meeting 2025

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 6:30 pm

(Doors open and refreshments served at 6:00 pm.)

For ZLAC members only. See details below.

Important: Please RSVP Here >>

Bunco at ZLAC!

Friday, September 26, 2025

We’ll gather at 6:00 pm for socializing. Game begins promptly at 6:30 pm.

If you've never played, we guarantee you'll enjoy this fast-paced dice game. We'll gather in tables of four, play a round, then switch tables and teammates. It's so fun!

We'll provide full game instructions before we start playing.

Refreshments will include heavy hors d'oeuvres, yummy desserts, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Please choose quantity below, then click on the “Add to Cart” button. A popup window will appear where you can complete the registration. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again. If it still doesn’t appear, your browser may have popup windows disabled. You can either enable popups or try again with a different browser.)

ZLAC Book Club — September 24, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

Broken Country

by Clare Leslie Hall

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

"Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives ... but it's also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming." — Reese Witherspoon

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn't realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager — the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel's life, tensions around the village rise, and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

Learn more at Goodreads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.

ZLAC Book Club — August 26, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

North Woods

by Daniel Mason

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries — a daring, moving tale of memory and fate from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier.

When a pair of young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become home to an extraordinary succession of inhabitants. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to apples. A pair of spinster twins survive war and famine, only to succumb to envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths a mass grave, but finds the ancient trees refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a conman, a stalking panther, a lusty beetle; as each one confronts the mysteries of the north woods, they come to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.

Traversing cycles of history, nature, and even literature, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment and to one another, across time, language and space. Written along with the seasons and divided into the twelve months of the year, it is an unforgettable novel about secrets and fates that asks the timeless question, “How do we live on, even after we’re gone?”

Learn more at Goodreads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.

Salt Water Day 2025

Sunday, August 24, 2025 at 11:00 am

Paint and Pour

Friday, August 22, 2025, 5:30 pm

Drinks and snacks will begin at 5:30; painting starts at 6:00.

Admission price includes drinks, snacks, art supplies, and instruction.

TGIF at ZLAC

For ZLAC Members and Their Guests

August 15, 2025, 5:00-8:30 PM

Let’s get together! BYOB. Please bring an appetizer or light dinner item to share.

No dishwashing! Susan Wills is hosting and will provide disposable plates, cups, utensils, and napkins.

No RSVP necessary. Just show up, and bring friends!

Teen Girls' Introduction to Rowing Class

Grades 6-12

August 2, 2025

Saturday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

There is no charge for this class, but you must register below by adding the class to your cart and checking out. Participants will learn the essentials of rowing both on the water and on the rowing machine. Participants will learn the language of the sport, how to complete the rowing stroke, and how to row with others. After completing the beginning rowing class, participants will be ready to take a full Learn to Row class and/or start as a novice rower in the Juniors Rowing Program. 

Contact juniors@zlac.org with any questions.

Please choose quantity below, then click on the “Add to Cart” button. A popup window will appear where you can complete the registration. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again. If it still doesn’t appear, your browser may have popup windows disabled. You can either enable popups or try again with a different browser.)

Blood Drive at ZLAC

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 9:00 am - 7:00 pm

In cooperation with San Diego Lifeguarding Association and American Red Cross!

Donors will receive a free one-topping medium pizza from Papa Johns and a Fandango movie ticket by email (movie ticket details here).

Please click here to schedule an appointment, using the code SDLA to find our blood drive.

ZLAC Book Club — July 22, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

This Time Tomorrow

by Emma Straub

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

What if you could take a vacation to your past?

On the eve of her fortieth birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, and her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing.

When she wakes up the next morning, she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her sixteenth birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush—it’s her dad, the vital, charming, forty-something version of her father with whom she is reunited.

Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

Learn more at Goodreads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com AND valeriekayelewis@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.

Terrace Luncheon

Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 11:30 am

This buffet luncheon will be held on the terrace and patio.

Open to all ZLAC club members and their guests, the event includes a fundraiser silent auction.

Please indicate how many tickets you would like, then click on the “Add to Cart” button below. A popup window will appear where you can complete the purchase. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again.)

Nutrition for Rowers: A Presentation

Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 9:00 am

In the Erg Room, after Saturday practice.

This free session is open to everyone connected with ZLAC. You don’t have to be a rower to attend!

Tim Fitsemons, MS, RDN, CSSD will present. Get your questions answered, and improve your nutrition!

NOTE: This will occur right before the Terrace Luncheon, so please park on the street, leaving the parking lot open for the Luncheon attendees.

Yoga and Happy Hour at ZLAC

Friday, July 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm

We’ll gather on the beach at ZLAC for a yoga class taught by ZLAC member Carra Johnson. A happy hour will follow, with light refreshments provided. Everyone should bring a towel to practice on.

This fundraiser is organized by Crew XV. Open to all ZLAC club members and their guests. Bring friends, family members, and fellow rowers!

Please indicate how many tickets you would like, then click on the “Add to Cart” button below. A popup window will appear where you can complete the purchase. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again.)

ZLAC Book Club — June 24, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

A Thousand Mornings: Poems

by Mary Oliver

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

In A Thousand Mornings, Mary Oliver returns to the imagery that has come to define her life’s work, transporting us to the marshland and coastline of her beloved home, Provincetown, Massachusetts. In these pages, Oliver shares the wonder of dawn, the grace of animals, and the transformative power of attention. Whether studying the leaves of a tree or mourning her adored dog, Percy, she is ever patient in her observations and open to the teachings contained in the smallest of moments.

Our most precious chronicler of physical landscape, Oliver opens our eyes to the nature within, to its wild and its quiet. With startling clarity, humor, and kindness, A Thousand Mornings explores the mysteries of our daily experience.

Learn more at GoodReads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com AND valeriekayelewis@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.

TGIF at ZLAC

For ZLAC Members and Their Guests

June 20, 2025, 5:00-8:30 PM

Let’s get together! BYOB. Please bring an appetizer or light dinner item to share.

No dishwashing! Susan Wills is hosting and will provide disposable plates, cups, utensils, and napkins.

No RSVP necessary. Just show up, and bring friends!

Teen Girls' Introduction to Rowing Class

Grades 6-12

May 31, 2025

Saturday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

There is no charge for this class, but you must register below by adding the class to your cart and checking out. Participants will learn the essentials of rowing both on the water and on the rowing machine. Participants will learn the language of the sport, how to complete the rowing stroke, and how to row with others. After completing the beginning rowing class, participants will be ready to take a full Learn to Row class and/or start as a novice rower in the Juniors Rowing Program. 

Contact juniors@zlac.org with any questions.

Please choose quantity below, then click on the “Add to Cart” button. A popup window will appear where you can complete the registration. (If the popup window doesn’t appear immediately, please refresh the page and click on the button again. If it still doesn’t appear, your browser may have popup windows disabled. You can either enable popups or try again with a different browser.)

ZLAC Book Club — May 27, 2025

For Members and Their Guests

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Meeting location is the clubhouse. You may bring your own dinner or snack. BYOB.

Book description from GoodReads.com:

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

Learn more at GoodReads.com.

You don’t have to read the book to attend!

If you're looking to support small businesses, consider shopping locally with Mysterious Galaxy Books, Warwicks Books, La Playa Books, and Bluestocking Books. Most have free or discounted shipping, and in some cases free local delivery. Purchases from Bookshop.org also support small bookstores. This book is also available at the library!

The book club includes a rating system!

We think it’s fun to know what our ZLAC community thinks of a book! The system is from 1 to 5, with 2.5 being that you would recommend the book with some hesitation. Anything between 2.5 to 5 is how much you liked it. And anything below 2.5 is how much you hated it.

Don't be shy, all views and opinions are welcome! We will collect the scores and average them, then post the ZLAC score in the following month's Eight Oars newsletter.

Can't make the in-person meeting? No problem! Email your score to: carolynw.ca@gmail.com AND valeriekayelewis@gmail.com, and you will be included in the scoring.