A Newbie Goes to Boston

Row- row-row your boat....
really quickly up the stream/river/thing...
try not to tip over, crunch around a curve, or crab...
or it'll end your dream...:)

Soooo thennnnnn....I went shopping, got the clothes, lived through a couple more classes/practices/whatever we're calling them, and ANOTHER email went out to the group.

This time it was news of the impending Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston.

First: I had to look up "regatta".

Second: I had to find a cheap way to get to Boston, given my proclivity to shop.

Third: I...that's right folks...I, the newbie, had to cajole the coaches into going...and even then, Teddy, Teddy, TEDDY, what happened my man?

So, I booked my little ticket on the Fung Wah bus for 6:30am on Saturday morning. Four hours and ten minutes later, I stretched my legs and stepped off the bus, my first time in Boston. (Cute, old, but very white as far as cities go - I guess I've gotten spoiled by New York.)

I knew which general direction to go in (thank you, thank you) from the bus depot. I got the T to the Harvard stop and asked, "which way to the Charles?". After an easy enough walk from there, I was at my first official or even unofficial regatta.

Keep in mind kiddies, members of the reading audience, that by this point I'd been sculling (and using the official terminology) for a mere two weeks.

I spent the first couple of hours tooling around, going to vendor tents, eating the food I brought with me then realizing I had a major spill in my bag and cleaning the damn thing out, trying to ascertain which way the rowers were racing and which way they were going to get to the starting line, etc. etc.




I also was trying to get Bostonians to talk to me to hear the accent, but I guess it was too early cuz I couldn't find to many who would oblige.



Jenny arrived around 12:30 or 1:00 I think. I had enough time to think of a couple of questions for her, like "What's a master? A champion?", and to have made some stellar observations, such as: oooh, THAT's what you mean by arms out first, then body...or, NOW I get how to keep the left hand over the right without bumping the ends together and then not being able to move the blades at all.



I just generally watched everyone's form: their wrists as they feathered their blades back to the finish, their posture, the snap of their arms at the finish (can't remember what it's called), the slow recovery, the ratio thingy...




Note: I get the ratio thingy, I know it when I see it, I just don't know how to write about it. I'll work on that, I promise.

Jenny and I moved up and down the course, I grabbed a bread bowl of chowder (though really, at the end of the day, it could have been skipped), and headed back to the T. Yes, that's right, it was a 1 day thing for me, as I had things to do on Sunday. I made the 6 o'clock Fung Wah bus back to the city (the only city, NYC), which got me home by 10:30 pm.

All in all, it was a great learning experience. I tend to be rather visual. To have watched rower after rower - singles, fours, and eights - using proper form compete and then casually move to the starting line helped me put all the info together from my Learn to Row sessions. I felt the next practice session I had went better in terms of my form as I was able to picture everything I'd seen and try to replicate it.



I got so enthused and excited that I mentioned this next bit to both coaches (Jenny and Teddy) and my partner Tanya:

They have a "newbie" division/class/whatever it's called at the Head of the Charles. What's to stop us from entering next year?

More discussion needs to be had, and of course, lots more training, but hey, you never know.

A rower is born.

I found rowing completely by accident. I avoid gyms, you see (don't like the god awful mirrors everywhere, the pick up scene, or locker room trauma) and yet, I needed to get in shape. What to do, what to do? Get a home system, I said to myself...and so I did. The mighty Bowflex to be specific, which happens to have a limited but nonetheless useful row station on it.

So me and the Bowf (it's what I call her) were hangin out and I thought, you know I like this. I like being on the water, too, at least in the limited way I've been in the past. I wondered what real rowing might feel like, so I Googled my rowing options in New York City. I was a bit saddened to find not many exist.

Then I found HRBC. I looked at the site, sent an inquiry email, felt things out. Next thing I know, I get an invite to a barbecue and thought, well why not? A few days later the Learn to Row invite went out and blammo, I'm in rowing class.

Next I found myself picking up a really heavy boat at an early but not unholy hour and walking through goose poop to a dock where I tried not to fall in as we lowered her into the water. That first weekend I just focused on not to ripping my knee apart while doing deep bends to lock in the oars, actually getting in and out of the thing on command, and trying to remember the phrase "way enough" and not just shout "way, uh, NO...GO...STOP" when the boat got too heavy on the way back to the containers where the equipment is stored.

We spent a couple of days getting the different parts of the stroke down (listen to me usin' the lingo!). When we got on the water, I tried not to throw myself out of the scull or break a rib crabbing (lingo, lingo, LINgo). Or spread my knees apart at the catch (very lady like). Or try to muscle the scull through the water with only my arms, which got old fast.

Then, of course, I did what every new member of a sport does: I went shopping. I got myself the merino wool comfy clothes that will dry quickly but keep me warm as the Learn to Row classes go through November - possibly brrr, but then again possibly balmy given the warming of the globe.

I'll keep you posted on my progress; I know you're just dying to know.

Hello Rowers!

Welcome to the HRBC Blog! It’s a sad fact of life that we can’t be on the water all the time. So what to do during those landlocked hours, when thoughts of rowing fill your head? We hope that the HRBC blog will provide some relief. Here, current rowers will be able to share comments, ideas, questions, photos and more. So, ready all: BLOG!