The previous post about big water rowing strategy for small water boaters has been helpful to a lot of non-boatmen tasked with rowing.  Several friends have asked me to write another with more rowing skills to learn and practice.  In truth, it took me decades to get comfortable with the basics, most likely because I rowed only occasionally.  Really having control of my boat angle, and going for the meat got easier, but the finer points were lost on me.  I've ridden with boatmen who row every day for months and years on end, and been amazed at what they can do.  I've never rowed for a living, so I'm an amateur.  Still, I've had some seasons when I rowed enough that light bulbs went off in my head.  Here are a few of the lessons that made a big difference for me.

Lesson 1: Push More (You Don't Have Pull out of Every Corner)
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This article was originally written for a group of southeastern boaters who planned to row 18 foot rafts laden with 18 days of food/equipment through the Grand Canyon--without rowing experience. All were strong kayakers, canoeists, or paddle raft guides. Rowing is different. A heavy raft in Big Water requires new strategies. So this is my explanation, for that gang, of the nuts and bolts for getting down the Canyon.

Lesson 1: How to Punch Big Waves and Holes
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...is worth overdoing. That was their mantra.

Completely Recommend.
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We're leaving tomorrow and I'm to row a raft again. How did everybody find out that I can row? I guess I better read the guidebook about the river. I'm mostly packed and ready to do the pre-trip garden harvest and cooler pack in the morning. The temperature is going to be in the 100's. I have a big hat from Africa, a long sleeved shirt and an umbrella for shade. I have a lot of water freezing in the two house freezers. The meat (for a taco meal and a curry) is precooked and frozen solid. I went to the big local beer store (John's) and picked a sampling of beers, mostly IPA's but also a couple of porters and stouts. Will brought a German lager. Hopefully it won't be too hot to drink beer. Is that possible?

Here's a nice new post on the NRS blog by a friend of mine. It's about Staying Connected to Boating... The author gives examples of several different ways of negotiating the river, and makes the point that a full connection to river running and to the river itself comes from trying many different craft and styles.... which is in my view what adds up to true mastery. And joy.

Last night was the final rowing class and my energy was so low that I laid on my back on the concrete floor, waiting for class to begin. I knew from my bike ride to the boathouse that the wind was up on the river, and the instructor was saying just that. She had us work out for a half hour on the "ergs" while a couple people carried the remainder of the oars to the dock. She said that an "erg" is a measure of work. She told us to set the ergs on the lowest possible setting, but I was disobedient, because I am so strong that if I have it set on the lowest setting, there isn't enough resistance and my stroke suffers, my rhythm is lost. I cranked for about 15 minutes, getting my heart rate up and getting a good burn in my lower core.
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On Monday, during my rowing class, a set of black helicopters started circling overhead. It was hard to pick out any details on them, because they were so dark. They flew east through downtown, flying so low that they were below the tops of the buildings. Then they turned south over the river, over our heads. They turned west over Ross Island, and circled back toward downtown flying low along the ridge on which OHSU sits. They circled this way many times, seemingly lower each time, and then they all concentrated in a small area in the SW. We watched them from our rowboat with uncertainty and some alarm. I thought they were searching for someone, and had been given a perimeter. Later that night they were still flying low over the city, and one came awfully close to my second story window in Brooklyn, considering wires are everywhere.
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on_the_dock Hawthorne bridge in background