Hear the Boat Sing [Rowing]
Jun. 29th, 2020 09:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeister(Post title stolen from another excellent rowing blog about the sport's history).
During rowing practice on Friday, Coach Y drove his launch up to me and asked, "So, do you want to hear some things to work on to improve, or do you want to just row?"
After a moment's hesitation, I said yes. Because YES - I do want to continue working to improve my rowing technique to get faster.
He gave me a series of things to work on that are going to be challenging to change because they involve changes to power application. But if there's one thing I know, it's that Coach Y is absolutely correct in how he coaches proper technique. He is the most high-caliber coach I have ever had.
By the end of practice, he came back up to me and took a look at some things in the yellow Dirigo that I've been rowing since last summer. When all was said and done, he concluded that the Dirigo was too big for me and that I should try out two of the other singles that the club owns, instead, the Coffey and the Wild Blue Yonder.
We had another rower return on Saturday, who is using the Coffey, so I took out the Wild Blue Yonder instead. We're still trying to sort out the arrangement for the Wild Blue Yonder, because it is one of a number of rowing shells at the boathouse where we don't have contact information for the owners and the owners haven't used the boat in who knows how many years. Coach Y said he'd spoken with the owners but sometimes things get lost in translation, so we needed to verify.
The WBY is a wood-fiberglass composite boat - wood frame and cockpit, with fiberglass exterior and with membrane decking on the bow and stern decks. For a boat of its age, it is in beautiful condition.
After a couple minutes of adjustments, I was underway.
It is SO much more comfortable than the Dirigo. One of my biggest complaints/issues with the Dirigo has been that it just feels too tippy. The tippy feeling makes it very challenging to keep set, which cascades into a whole series of other issues.
In contrast, the WBY feels stable. I can feel my weight over my hips, and the seat is approximately 10 times more comfortable than the Dirigo's seat. When Coach Y asked me to work on a couple of changes today, I could make them happen and I could feel the boat respond.
And yes - I could hear the boat sing at certain key points as I rowed.
I haven't heard that sound in a long time.
Even the Fluid singles I got to row last fall didn't quite give me the same sing. Oh, they were fast. But the sing - that's addicting.
And if all that weren't enough, I had a different kind of magical moment later in the row. I had just turned around to head back towards the boathouse, when a small rainstorm opened up overhead. It was the kind of rain where the water was already glassy-flat and calm, where the raindrops started out gently and then built up to a more steady shower, changing the texture of the surface of the water in a way that's hard to describe - a transition from reflective to opaque, a gunmetal gray.
The rain made the oar handles slippery but not impossible, and after just a few minutes it subsided again and I made it back to the dock.
-
When I was living in Berkeley, you might remember that I had an opportunity to purchase a beautiful Pocock wooden single. I had to turn that opportunity down because I had nowhere to put it and no way to transport it; I would not be able to do justice to the boat. It is in good hands now, and that's what's most important to know.
If the owners are interested, I will buy the WBY, just like that, for a hundred different small reasons. We shall see. In any case, I'm glad I had at least this one chance to row her.
If I do buy the WBY, it will be a funny thing, given my conclusion last year that I didn't want to buy a single. But sometimes, the boat chooses you. Still, we shall see.
During rowing practice on Friday, Coach Y drove his launch up to me and asked, "So, do you want to hear some things to work on to improve, or do you want to just row?"
After a moment's hesitation, I said yes. Because YES - I do want to continue working to improve my rowing technique to get faster.
He gave me a series of things to work on that are going to be challenging to change because they involve changes to power application. But if there's one thing I know, it's that Coach Y is absolutely correct in how he coaches proper technique. He is the most high-caliber coach I have ever had.
By the end of practice, he came back up to me and took a look at some things in the yellow Dirigo that I've been rowing since last summer. When all was said and done, he concluded that the Dirigo was too big for me and that I should try out two of the other singles that the club owns, instead, the Coffey and the Wild Blue Yonder.
We had another rower return on Saturday, who is using the Coffey, so I took out the Wild Blue Yonder instead. We're still trying to sort out the arrangement for the Wild Blue Yonder, because it is one of a number of rowing shells at the boathouse where we don't have contact information for the owners and the owners haven't used the boat in who knows how many years. Coach Y said he'd spoken with the owners but sometimes things get lost in translation, so we needed to verify.
The WBY is a wood-fiberglass composite boat - wood frame and cockpit, with fiberglass exterior and with membrane decking on the bow and stern decks. For a boat of its age, it is in beautiful condition.
After a couple minutes of adjustments, I was underway.
It is SO much more comfortable than the Dirigo. One of my biggest complaints/issues with the Dirigo has been that it just feels too tippy. The tippy feeling makes it very challenging to keep set, which cascades into a whole series of other issues.
In contrast, the WBY feels stable. I can feel my weight over my hips, and the seat is approximately 10 times more comfortable than the Dirigo's seat. When Coach Y asked me to work on a couple of changes today, I could make them happen and I could feel the boat respond.
And yes - I could hear the boat sing at certain key points as I rowed.
I haven't heard that sound in a long time.
Even the Fluid singles I got to row last fall didn't quite give me the same sing. Oh, they were fast. But the sing - that's addicting.
And if all that weren't enough, I had a different kind of magical moment later in the row. I had just turned around to head back towards the boathouse, when a small rainstorm opened up overhead. It was the kind of rain where the water was already glassy-flat and calm, where the raindrops started out gently and then built up to a more steady shower, changing the texture of the surface of the water in a way that's hard to describe - a transition from reflective to opaque, a gunmetal gray.
The rain made the oar handles slippery but not impossible, and after just a few minutes it subsided again and I made it back to the dock.
-
When I was living in Berkeley, you might remember that I had an opportunity to purchase a beautiful Pocock wooden single. I had to turn that opportunity down because I had nowhere to put it and no way to transport it; I would not be able to do justice to the boat. It is in good hands now, and that's what's most important to know.
If the owners are interested, I will buy the WBY, just like that, for a hundred different small reasons. We shall see. In any case, I'm glad I had at least this one chance to row her.
If I do buy the WBY, it will be a funny thing, given my conclusion last year that I didn't want to buy a single. But sometimes, the boat chooses you. Still, we shall see.
no subject
Date: 2020-06-30 04:04 am (UTC)The last time it turned out to be a $3400 special edition rosewood Taylor acoustic with a sinker redwood top. God, what a beautiful guitar. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had to think hard about the financing options. But I have a wonderful koa-wood Takamine that I already don't play enough, so I had to reluctantly give it back.
There's something special and sacred about finding just the right tool, where the two of you become far more than you are apart. I hope the WBY works out for you. <3
no subject
Date: 2020-06-30 02:46 pm (UTC)Even if the WBY doesn't work out for me directly, it has still been nice to have a chance to row her.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 04:52 am (UTC)