More Rowing Ramblings

After telling a friend about last month's successful kayaking trip on the Charles River, he insisted he wanted to try it. So, on Sunday I pressed my luck and went out again, convinced that I would capsize this time. Fortunately I successfully survived rowing the Charles a second time without falling in. But, just because I had already done it once before, that doesn't mean I don't have a few new observations for the second time around...

-Somehow this escaped my notice last time, but I finally caught on that everything on the dock is color-coded by size. For example, if you need the extra large life vest you grab a red one and if you are over 6 feet tall you grab the yellow oar. This system makes it very easy to size people up as you approach them in your boat. (Again, it doesn't matter what side they pass you on, just don't hit them and you will be fine.) For example, if you see someone with a blue life jacket (XXL) and a yellow oar (over 6') that's a big dude who probably shouldn't be messed with. But someone wearing a yellow vest (small) and a red paddle (5'-5'3" tall), then you can probably take them in a fight. Honestly, if we had policies like this on the roads I bet we would have a lot fewer road-rage incidents.

-Since Sunday was such a beautiful day, the place was rather crowded with a lot of kayaks and canoes in the water. I think that made the people in the fishing boat with the huge engine all that more conspicuous. Last time there were people in fishing boats, but they were puttering along with their trolling motor at 1-2 miles per hour. This particular group apparently had someplace to be, because they were going much faster and leaving a much larger wake. (Going through their aftermath was the closest we came all day to tipping over.) Honestly, if you have a boat and engine that big, why are you wasting your time on a river? Go on the ocean already. The situation had the feel of a charity bike ride where a couple people show up on Harleys. I think you missed the spirit of the event.

-This one is only marginally connected to rowing, but I'm including it anyway: Last time around I wore sneakers. Since wet socks pretty much ruin my day, this trip I went for mesh water shoes. Besides not worrying about getting them wet, they also had the advantage of being easy to get on and off. Rather than laces it was just one piece of bungee cord which you pulled tight and then slid down a holder. This convenience made me wonder: why did we as a society give in to using laces? In thinking about it, my favorite pairs of sneakers are the ones which are loose enough that I can slide them off and on without ever having to tie or untie them. When I was at Reebok their big innovation was self-inflating shoes which never had to be tied and they were awesome. Laces suck. My nieces are getting close to the age of having to learn to tie their shoes. I'm thinking about telling them to forget it and just stick with Velcro.

-The first time I went out kayaking I was amazed at how little training I got. They pretty much showed me how to get in and out and sent me on my merry way. The second time? Even less advice. The guy asked if we had been there before and I said I had, but only in a kayak. I'm pretty sure that after he heard I had been there before he stopped listening. He just pulled the boat around and held it for us to get in. Apparently in his mind after one trip I'm already an expert. (Please note that this did not insult me - just served to inflate my ego. In my mind this just meant my reputation as a fast learner had clearly proceeded me. I now assume they must use me as an example for the other first-time boaters.) Hopefully that same guy wasn't watching when we got back, because while I got into the boat with no issues my exit was just as grace-less as last time. That move must take three trips to master.

-The only problem I have with this kind of boating is that I am nosy by nature. We started upstream this trip, which meant I was seeing most things for the first time. It was also a winding stretch of water and as such I always wanted to know what was around the next corner. Well, on this stretch of river you can pretty much keep going until you hit a dam, which is about three miles down-river. I might have been enjoying myself, but I was also aware that we had to paddle back to the boathouse and I didn't want to canoe six miles on my second trip out. However, in checking the map after we got back, I am now convinced that the coolest things to see were further down river, right beyond where we eventually turned around. What I need to find is a route that goes in a circle. That way I will have seen everything, but still ended up back where I started so I don't have to waste all my energy getting to the end of the line.

-The only slightly harrowing part of the trip was when we came upon a bridge which was under construction. Because of the work being done, a temporary structure was next to the bridge to allow the workers access to the underside. I'm sure that is how all bridge work is done, but I'm not sure all bridge work is done over waterways which are popular with recreational boaters. In passing under what amounted to heavy-duty scaffolding, our heads had about two feet of clearance. I have no idea how the people in the powerboat made it through, but they were already on the other side of the bridge. Also, I noticed that on the side of this temporary structure were a couple of life-preservers. I'm not sure if they are there in case one of the guys working falls in or in case someone crashes their boat into the bridge. Either way, I think helmets would be the wiser safety precaution.

-Last time I went out I was in a kayak, but this trip we opted for a canoe. I have to say that I think I prefer using the canoe, because it feels a lot more stable. For example, I could adjust my legs without being convinced I was about to fall into the Charles. However, after kayaking I felt fine but after canoeing my shoulder was/is absolutely killing me. Therefore, what I think I'd like to do in the future is split the difference and try canoeing with a kayak paddle. That would give me the stability as well as save my shoulder. The question I now face is whether suggesting this to someone will immediately out me as a boating novice, sort of like showing up to play a softball game in football cleats. I may know that I don't know anything about a subject, but there is no need to let everyone in on that secret.

-As I previously mentioned, the dock was very busy when we were heading out. But, I have to say it was even busier when we were coming back. To try and make it easier on the kid handling returns, we tried to get kind of close to dock without just ramming our way in. Here's a fun fact: it's really hard to make a canoe come to a complete stop and then not move at all. There isn't much of a current at this part of the Charles River, but there is enough of one that you won't stay in the same spot for very long. However, to try and create just enough forward thrust to get back to where you were results in going way further than you intended because, much like it is impossible to drive a car at less than 5 mph, it is impossible to canoe at 1 mph. What we ended up doing instead was making circles around and around until we finally had an opening to get in. Think of it like doing donuts in a car, only a lot less cool. These are the kind of things we do to not be seen as pushy.

-Fortunately, we got a show while we were waiting to dock. When we were first heading out, there was a gaggle of geese across the water as well as a few swans mixed in. Despite being outnumbered, one of the swans was splashing a couple of the geese and the geese were just taking it. When we got back to the dock the geese and swans were still there, only now the swans were leading out some baby swans, who were bigger than most of the geese, but still gray so they couldn't have been that old. They formed a straight line with one swan in back and one in front. Most of the geese got out of their way, but apparently one goose wasn't moving fast enough and started to get chased by the lead swan. Normally I am on the side of any parent looking to protect their young, but this particular swan seemed to be a little over-the-top. Even after the goose was out of the way the swan continued to follow it, well beyond the necessary range until the goose was almost in the middle of the river. Eventually, the goose had to take off because the swan was gaining on it so fast. I think the moral of this little nature show is fairly simple: swans are assholes.