CYC Learn To Row Weekend

The Catawba Yacht Club's rowing group put on a very nice "Learn to Row" weekend. They had sessions Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. We stayed overnight in Charlotte to avoid excessive driving. We had a wonderful time. The weather cooperated - sorta. Our fellow learners were a fun group. The coaches and assistants were good and complemented each other well.

We spent way more time on the water than off it. Kathleen had been concerned about that. However, as Nancy, one of the coaches, said ... you can't do much on land, you gotta row. I had already known that I lean back too much on my return, but I realized I may be leaning back before I even start the drive. We're going to add a drill into the start of our outings. The US Rowing safety video corrected what Kathleen thought we should do if we capsize in cold water - we stay with the shell!

The fellow participants and the coaches were great. We were divided into four groups of 4 - two groups of women, two groups of men with my group having one woman. The coaches rotated the groups through two (sculling) quads and one (sweeping) 8 with a cox'n. All spouses were in separate groups so Kathleen and I spent the most time with three other people. I thought the goal of building a team camaraderie was a really good idea and this did so effectively. We had a really wonderful time with the members of our team. We really hope to hook up with them either at our place or some followup activities at CYC. Here are some pictures:

From the left: Tony, Coach Kevin, Tracey, Coach Bev
From the left: Tracey, Marshall, Jacqueline, Rick, Coach Chris, Heather
From the left (& background) Cox'n Ian, Aaron, Wes, Sally, TBD, Sarah, Mark. (& foreground) Annie, TBD, Lisa
Kathleen is even more psyched to get involved in Masters competition now. We used "real" racing shells not recreational boats. I've realized that rec shells only come in singles and doubles. Rowing clubs seem to buy the fours and eights. They had two of our shell but they were gathering dust. Now that Kathleen has seen racing shells - much longer, rather slimmer, and lighter (being carbon composites), I'm guessing she will be wanting to upgrade before long.

I was really glad we had started rowing ourselves beforehand. The coaches were providing a lot of solid information and I think we followed about half of it. For the others who hadn't had any exposure, I can't imagine they picked up more than a quarter. Also, while I understand the logistics of coaching three larger shells, I think it was harder to pick up aspects of balance and technique because others were just as likely to throw you off as you were. When Kathleen and I started in our double, I think we gained capability and confidence faster than the participants did.

Finally, I'm really glad for the experience in the 8 doing sweep rowing. It is rather different from sculling. Kathleen thinks she could really get into a competitive 8. Up until the very last session, they always had a men's group and a women's group in the 8. In the last session, it was 7 men plus 1 women. One of the guys had a Flip Video camcorder and asked one of the sweep coaches to record us. The short video (you may have to get an updated version of the Flash player) is on YouTube. The view is from the stern end. I'm in the 5 seat - 5th from the bow of the boat, 4th rower up from the cox'n.

All in all, a wonderful weekend. I just wish I'd had Monday off so that Kathleen and I could row together. We'd have had our learnings fresh in mind and been able to practice together.

Another Glassy Day

"I've seen a lot of different walking partners, but this is a new one for me." - neighbor's comment as we cross paths while I'm donkeying the shell apres row

With an extra PTO day taken, we got another row in. It was another glassy day, but warmer than yesterday since there were no clouds this morning. Plenty comfortable on the water though - sweaty comfortable, not cool comfortable. This time we took a right turn and headed towards the remainder of the lake which includes the public access ramp, dam, and Kings Mountain water intake. We didn't go all they way but turned back a tich early. We had been rowing pretty hard for long stretches. Kathleen didn't want to have such a long way to get back home. She was right. We'll get there as a technique and stamina continue to improve.

We're looking forward to the Learn To Row weekend coming up. Kathleen's having a hard time with sore hands and blisters. She tried weightlifting gloves today. It kinda helped with the palms but not on the last two joints on her fingers. Hopefully, the instructors will see what she should be doing differently.

With our row this morning, Kathleen missed a church thing she's just joined. One of our neighbors, who has a lakefront house, is in it too. She saw us yesterday and said we "were a blur!" That made us feel great.

Back in the Saddle (errr, Seat), Waves, and Repairs

Alarm went off at 7am this morning. While we're getting into summertime highs, the humidity hasn't quite locked in yet to make the overnight lows in the upper 70's (or worse). This morning started at 65 and continued with high clouds the whole time we were out. We were on the water by 9:15am.

The conditions were wonderful: air temp and clouds already described ... even better, no wind, glass calm water, and only a few fisherman out. We went back to the cove by Kathleen's parents but by a more roundabout way through more open water. Rowing on this kind of calm water is amazingly easier than on chop. We were cruisin'. We even did most of it without our version of a count. (silence, silence, "3", "4", "5", "catch") Kathleen just tried to match my rhythm. Not having rowed in almost 3 weeks, we took it easy.

Not counting worked pretty well. We did find ourselves out of synch a bit more often. Kathleen's stroke is shorter than mine. I don't notice anything if I start driving earlier than she does - but I bet she does. If she catches early, I'm still recovering (sliding forward with my seat) and her early catch drives me "forward" faster. (It actually sends me towards the stern faster.) After we talked about it, she adjusted and we were back to it. We need to figure out how to give her more angle at her catch - it seems to shallow to me. We'll work on the foot rest adjustments tomorrow.

One really nifty result of the incredibly calm water: we were frequently surprised by waves when no boats were passing us. I can only figure that whatever wakes were created were traveling far and reflecting off the shores. Their wavelengths seemed to be longer. I'll have to check around.

One bummer thing happened on our return leg. I noticed that my left heel kept moving. The foot pads on this recreational boat are nothing to write home about. I'm hoping we can replace them with tie-in's before long. It may be sooner rather than later. Each foot pad has a bolt at the heel and at the ball of the foot which goes through the pad and the tube that then bolts into runners on the shell. The lower bolt had sheared off. After disassembly, it's just an 8-32 flat head 2" machine screw. Lowe's longest stainless steel screws in this thread were 1.5" so I've got a cheapo zinc screw in place now. I hope it holds. I'll have to keep an eye out for rusting.

ICW, Kayaking, & Rowing

While at Sunset Beach, NC (where we had a wonderful time with my family), we got a chance to take a wee kayak tour of the Intracoastal Waterway (a very short section) and a nearby salt marsh just past high tide. Quick thoughts regarding suitability for rowing:

• ICW, at least where we were, has way too many whacko recreational boaters kicking up wakes. Many were totally ignoring explicit "no wake" signs.
• It was actually quite crowded with boaters and jet skiers. Not the peaceful scene I imagined from the swing bridge. I guess the bridge really does keep boat traffic at bay. Har-har-har.
• The channels in the salt marshes, even at high tide, tend to be rather narrow. Not so good for rowing.

Kayaking in the salt marshes was really nice though. As near as I can tell, we were here. The trip did a lot to resolve my primary complaint about Sunset Beach - no ecotours on the marsh. The group was just us (brother-in-law Albert, niece Kelsey, Kathleen, and myself). Jim, the guide, seemed like an experienced kayaker and was learning the locale. He had a good attitude and was a good instructor. The singles were from a company in Greensboro. They were very enjoyable for puttering through the salt marshes. For this touring-type scenario, kayaking fits a very different niche than rowing:

1. minimize energy expenditure vs. maximize oomph to get velocity
2. narrow "wingspan" for narrow places vs. long reach with oars
3. highly maneuverable vs long strokes for straight-aways
4. seeing where you're going vs. looking at where you've been
   
5. oh, and it goes without saying that white-water kayaking is even more different.
   

Net-net = no desire to take the shell to the coast, unless we try to hook up with the rowing club in Wilmington. However, renting kayaks for the week is going to be on our list for the next time.

Sunset Beach here we come

We didn't get our stuff together to try to bring the shell to the beach. I think it would have been really fun to row the Inner Coastal Waterway. Not sure how the squeeters would be.

I hope to rig something with the Dakota for tripping. But, at this point, we're in budget crunch mode after I upped the retirement savings contributions. I've also gotta figure out how to get the shell suspended in the garage first. For the trip, it's shoehorned in diagonally on the same old sawhorses. Good thing the Mini is short!

Homeowner's Assoc Saturday

Our homeowner's association picnic was Saturday at noon. We wanted to make it so we needed to get an earlier start than previous weekends. The threat of rain and rather warm temperatures were additional incentives. We were on the water by 10am.

After twisting through our cove successfully, we headed out on a fairly calm, fairly empty lake. We ended up deciding to make a variety of straight runs triangulating the open area by our cove. This included passing the dreaded Snake Island. I didn't see any though - what a disappointment. I won't be happy until we have one heading towards us on the water. That'll give some incentive to the pulls!

I'd like to figure out how to do a Google Maps mashup that will chart some of these treks. It might be quite fun. I wonder if we could get distances rowed from it?

We finished up after 90 minutes or so. The sock over the oar handle has been helping Kathleen a lot. I did this one sans baseball cap. Not something to repeat on hot days. The cap is a good substitute for a headband. We returned to a small group setting up for the meeting and picnic. Walter razzed us as usual, while we executed our 360 and exited at the ramp. He's a hoot.

The homeowner's meeting and picnic was fine but I was really wiped. Got home and didn't feel up to much of anything. I made it to church for cantoring but that was all she wrote. Sunday was a complete no energy, do nothing day. We were both disappointed about not going out again.

As it turns out, I started feeling funny in the throat on Monday and ended up working from home the rest of the week. I blame one of my colleagues who had 2 weeks of bronchitis. I ended up with a progressive-through-the-day non-productive cough and got Augmentin and a narcotic cough syrup for my trouble. The former not without insistence of the wife. Another weekend lost afterwards. Now, we find ourselves heading off to Sunset Beach with only have rowed once this month. Bummer. Not sure if we'll get back out on our lake this month. We are signed up for a "Learn to Row" weekend with the Catawba Yacht Club . That will be real rowing as well as sculling in 4's on Lake Wylie. We are really looking forward to it!