The Humboldt Bay Rowing Association (HBRA) is a private non-profit, community organization that incorporated in the State of California on October 10, 1989. It also joined the United States Rowing Association (US Rowing) as a member earlier that same year, a status it still maintains to this day. Before its members came together to form HBRA, it had been a privately owned program that was started by an ex-coach of the Humboldt State University Rowing Association (HSURA), which was leased to HSU Center Activities in order to provide recreational rowing for the community. As in its earlier days, HBRA stills maintains a close relationship with its sister programs on the bay, the HSU Men’s and Women’s Rowing teams.
Both HBRA and the HSURA were originally located in an old wooden warehouse that was converted to be a boathouse in the mid 1980’s. It was eventually torn down and the site is now the location of the Adorni Recreational Center. It was necessary for both programs relocate several times over the last fifteen years to various sites on the bay. HBRA was finally able to move into the Adorni Center in 1992. Nearly ten years later, by working together, HBRA, the HSU Men’s and Women’s Rowing teams, the City of Eureka and the Humboldt Area Foundation, a new facility that temporarily houses HSU Crew was constructed and completed by the fall of 2002. It is now located on the waterfront north of the Adorni Center by the Samoa Bridge at what is referred to as the “Old Mill Site.”