Seat Swapping

With Kathleen's family in town, I took Friday off (mostly) and we were able to row three mornings this weekend. We skipped our Saturday at the Catawba Yacht Club and rowed on our own lake, avoiding the additional travel time to Charlotte. The temperatures were lower than the rest of the month, so we caught a break.

At Byron and Nancy's suggestion, today, we swapped our seats - Kathleen took stroke and I took bow. We were both surprised at the difference. As soon as we got out on open water, it felt like we were going much faster with our normal effort. After some observation, it looks like, for whatever reason, Kathleen's swing is more even across the perpendicular. (I'm sure there's a proper rowing term for this.) Previously, her oars in the catch position were much closer to the 90 degree angle from the shell than they were in the release position. In the bow seat, those two angles are more equal and so the power of her drive is much more efficient. Also, the bow seat is closer to the center than the stroke seat. With me in the bow, our weight might be more evenly distributed than before. We might be riding more level in the water.

In any case, it was a positive change. We spent the day doing 10+10 drills back and forth across one of our longest stretches: one where we drove much harder on the second 10 while keeping the stroke rate even (thanks Carl for this one), and the other where we slowed the return of the second 10 to lower the stroke rate and lengthen the amount of gliding.

Kathleen also noticed the difference in the view from the stroke seat. It's much "nicer." Not that I mind looking at my sweetie's backside, but it is not the same as having an unencumbered view of the water and where we're heading away from.

Kathleen's hands were kinda tore up by this third day in a row. We didn't go far from our home cove although we actually stayed on the water longer this last time. With the additional effort from the drills, we got tired faster and our technique would deteriorate even more so than for normal rowing. All in all, a great day on the water, a great weekend of rowing, and a great week with visiting family.