The sport of rowing, very popular since the mid-1800s, flourished on the Christina River during the mid-1870s. Local newspaper articles from 1874–1876 describe the activities of five rowing clubs, under the auspices of the Christina Navy.  Regattas were held for several summers, often with an audience of several thousand spectators.

Although the Undine and Pioneer clubs merged in 1876 to form the Delaware Rowing Club, rowing seemed to rapidly decline. By 1879, many of the rowing barges were sold to the University of Virginia. Fortunately, rowing was successfully revived on the Christina RIver in 1984 with the formation of our club, the Wilmington Rowing Center (WRC), thanks to the efforts of Howard Smith, Tom Colgan, and Ron McConnell.