Tag Archives: rowing

Row Faster, He’s Gaining on Us

One evening after work I headed down to Kenmore.  It is a short distance from my office and, sitting at the top of Lake Washington, it has a nice waterfront park including a pier.  I walked out on the pier to see the arrivals of the Kenmore floatplanes at the end of their workday.  They are not the only arrivals, though.  Various boats were out on the lake including some rowing crews carrying out their training.  One of the crews was heading in when a floatplane came in to land.  I suspect they had plenty of space but the plane did seem to adjust its course a bit to avoid them.  Taxiing in after touchdown (landing seems to be the wrong word) they did seem to be chasing the crew down a bit!

Racing Eight (ish)

Washington has a history of rowing that goes back decades.  If you want a good read, get hold of the The Boys in the Boat which is about University of Washington rowers in the 30s.  Rowing is still a big deal so I wasn’t surprised to see a coxed eight come across the lake.  However, something was amiss.  A quick count showed that someone hasn’t shown up that day.  The gap in the crew was pretty clear.  They didn’t seem to be struggling though.  Their speed across the water was impressive and I imagine the eight person pulling would make them that bit faster!