Just before Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, rowing had found a foothold on the tiny Caribbean Island.

Led by Miguel Davila Pabon, president of the Rowing Federation of Puerto Rico - over two-plus years of building, holding a large athlete identification camp in 2017, and building the foundation of a high-performance group - Puerto Rico was on a path to build a program that could potentially send two athletes to the 2020 Olympics while at the same time building a junior program that could set goals for future Games and World Championships.

But the hurricane that left the island in near ruin and left most residents without electricity and living in challenging conditions at best also halted the fledgling rowing program's building momentum.

"The island was devastated by the hurricane, and all the operations of our federation were shut down for months," said Pabon. "There was no electricity, there was no security, and athletes and even the coaches couldn't get to the boathouse.

"Many of the athletes we had left to go to the United States to live with relatives or to work. Before that we had run an athlete identification program, had a national team coach, and had over 200 athletes come to a camp, which for us was a real big thing."

While the storm did not cause much damage to the structure of the San Juan boathouse and training center the federation had built up, the water damaged most of the modest fleet of sculling boats and ruined the ergs stored there. The hurricane also heavily damaged the federation's racing venue in Ponce.

Damage to the Ponce racing venue

In short, the hurricane put a stop to rowing in Puerto Rico.

Over the past several months, Pabon, using his own money, has managed to repair some of the damaged ergs and repair of the federation's shells, including a single, a double and a quad, and has begun attracting a group of junior athletes that is hoped will take up the challenge of re-building the program and hopefully develop rowing on the island and build a team that can compete internationally.

But they need help.

This week, the federation placed an ad on row2k asking the rowing community to donate any boats that can be spared.

"The Rowing Federation of Puerto Rico is reorganizing its operations following the reconstruction process after the disaster caused by Hurricane Maria. To achieve our goals, we are asking for donated boats with the intention of bringing them to the Island and establishing a development program. Any rowable boat that is not currently in use can be very useful for us, likewise any equipment related to our sport that is currently interfering in any organization," the ad read.

In an interview with row2k, Pabon talked about the effort and hopes for rebuilding and expanding on the island.

"Right now, we are in a process of development of the sport in Puerto ?Rico. We only have one boat house on the island (in San Juan,) and we want to expand to the south, west and east of the island. We have beautiful places for rowing, but we need presence.

"Our biggest problem right now is the number of boats and ergs available," he said. "We depend on our Olympic Committee budget, and small fees. But at this moment the NOC is having a budget crisis due to economic struggling on the island, and some parents are fighting to stay. We have to start looking for other sources of income or support."

The damage from the hurricane was not limited to the equipment, but also to the racing venue in Ponce. "Our best asset was our venue in Ponce, an all buoyed venue. We lost half of the course in the storm."

He said that the damage left the island economically devastated and that families were faced with basic needs that left little room for donations to rebuild the rowing program. One rower organized a fund-raising effort that brought in enough money to buy a small launch, but another single donation of $1,000 was used to help the community recovery and a food distribution effort.

Pabon said that of the athletes still competing for Puerto Rico, two are continuing to train in the US, including Will Purman, who is based in Philadelphia and rowed the single at the 2015 and 2017 World Rowing Championships, and Veronica Toro-Arana who rowed in the 2014, 2015, and 2018 World Championships. Pabon said Purman and Toro-Arana are hoping to represent Puerto Rico at the 2020 Olympics.

Will Purman rowing the light men's single at the 2015 World rowing Championships

Both are currently in Brazil to race in the Pan American Games Qualification Regatta scheduled for November 29-December 2, 2018, in Rio de Janeiro, Pabon said.

"That is our immediate goal right now," Pabon said. "If they can qualify there, that will be huge for us."

He is hoping that the example they are setting, and any donated equipment, will put the federation back on track and lure young people to the sport.

"We're hoping that Puerto Rican rowers in the United States will come back and grow with us and help share their experience and move rowing in Puerto Rico forward. Rowing is not a known sport in Puerto Rico, so we have to make some noise to get them young people into the sport.

"We have about 20 athletes now, and most of the them are juniors because the older athletes left. So we are trying to focus on the juniors and get them to the Central American Games for 2022."

Veronica Toro-Arana rowing in the 2018 World Championships