Practice Regatta

We were delighted to find out that rowing was happening this summer. The Banana and the Devious Snail signed up, and their summer was filled with early morning bike rides all the way down to the end of the point for rowing practice. I had pity on them and picked them and their bicycles up and drove them home in the middle of the morning.

We knew going into the season that there would be no actual competitions, and that was just fine. The kidlets were just really excited to participate, and since it was The Banana’s first time rowing, she learned so much! She LOVED rowing, and the Devious Snail also really enjoyed being out on the water again this summer. Both ended the summer fit and muscular!

Although I know nothing about rowing except what they explain to me, I love that they get to participate for a number of reasons. First of all, they get up and get going early in the morning, and they don’t even complain about it because they like rowing. It is a great way to start the day. They are outside being active in the fresh air. The rowing coaches are really terrific. They learn a lot of responsibility and teamwork. Those incredible long and narrow boats are heavy to lift in and out of the boat house, and of course, to make them go when they are in the water also requires a lot of cooperation from everyone in the boat. Rowing season may have involved a lot of transportation, but it was totally worth it.

Normally there are several opportunities to participate in regattas during the summer, but because of Covid restrictions and a closed Canadian border, that was not the case this year. However, on the Saturday after rowing finished, there was a practice scrimmage regatta where the teenagers raced against themselves and against the adults in the rowing club. Both The Banana and the Devious Snail ended up racing a quad and in an eight person boat. I had never been to a regatta before, and I didn’t really know what to expect, but it turns out that this is perhaps my ultimate sport to watch!

I drove down to the rowing club with my rowers at sunrise. They got busy doing the things rowers do to prepare. I got out my chair and started reading my poetry book and watching the water in the harbor and the butterflies fluttering around the milkweed next to the water. When the rowers got out on the water with their boats for each race, I watched them in my binoculars until they rowed out sight down the harbor. I read my poetry book. Families were spread out all along the shore, but nothing was crowded or noisy. When there was a little commotion and the rowers got closer as they raced, I watched in my binoculars. So exciting! They are like machines! It is amazing how fast those boats can go! It’s so fun to watch one group overtake another! I could see the finish line in my binoculars, and when everyone crossed the rowers slowly made their way back to the docks. I read my poetry book until the next group got out on the water.

I got a lot of reading done because there is a lot of time in between each thing that happens. When the sun got hot, I moved my chair under a tree, and I stayed until 2:00 or so, when everything was finished. Dr. Peds came down with Mr. TOF and Cousin Katherine (who was visiting for the week). The pace of events was a little slow for them and they didn’t know what to expect, so they got a little bored and grouchy after a while (Good thing I brought snacks, which were snarfed down. Luckily Dr. Peds replenished them with more supplies from the grocery store). However, I could totally spend the day outside watching rowing races and reading. It was delightful!