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On the Water: The New Place to Be By Susan Farewell  Some people move to Fairfield County for the schools, some for the proximity to the city, some to be close to their families. I moved here for the rowing. That was back in the early 1990s, when after doing a bit of research, I found that there was a small rowing club starting up in Westport. At the time, the then-named Saugatuck Scullers Rowing Club (now the Saugatuck Rowing Club) consisted of a very small group of rowers (some experienced, some total novices), a determined Irish coach, one or two beat-up racing shells and a really sad looking boat house on the Saugatuck River. Rowing was a sport few Westporters were even familiar with. In fact, several times, when I would tell people I was a sculler, they’d ask quizzically, “a scholar?” Back then, it was something local kids had no experience with unless they attended a private school like Andover or Kent. The only adults in the area who rowed were those who had taken up the sport in college, and a handful of people who discovered it on their own. Wow, have things changed. In the last ten to fifteen years, several rowing clubs have sprung to life not only on the Connecticut coast, but all over the tri-state area—on rivers and lakes in New Jersey, along the Hudson River and on Long Island. In Fairfield County alone, there are several including the aforementioned SRC (www.saugatuckrowing.com) in Westport and the Greenwich Water Club (www.greenwichwaterclub.com) in Greenwich—both of which have state-of-the-art facilities including extensive fitness centers. In Norwalk, there’s not just one club, but three—The Norwalk River Rowing Club (www.norwalkriverrowing.org), the Maritime Rowing Club (www.maritimerowing.net) and The Norwalk Leander Rowing Club (www.nlrowing.com). Within easy reach of Fairfield County is the GMS Rowing Center (www.gmsrowingcenter.us) in New Milford. Some have become formidable training centers for middle, high school and collegiate teams that didn’t even exist before. These clubs are very serious, entering their crews in major races and regattas, even regional and national championships. At the same time, most of them offer learn-to-row programs for both kids and adults, teaching the very ABCs of the sport.
As the students move up and into the competitive programs, they are aware of the extra edge that rowing can afford them when it comes to applying to colleges. It seems every rowing club in the region has several recruitment and scholarship stories to tell. The high school rowers are routinely attracting the attention of Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell. Some clubs offer outreach programs, providing financial assistance to inner-city kids that would otherwise never have the opportunity to do the sport. Leading the way in Fairfield County is the Norwalk River Rowing Association, which has been running an outreach program called R.O.A.R. (Reach Out and Row) since 2001. The club partners with local public schools and the Norwalk After School Alliance to provide youth rowing programs at low or no cost to participants. Many adults are initially drawn to the sport for its health and fitness benefits, but before long, discover its numerous other appeals. Indeed, rowing is an excellent conditioner, using all the major muscle groups with almost no shock to the joints. It also burns a high number of calories (at least 600 an hour, depending how rigorous the workout), right up there with swimming and cross-country skiing. Additionally, it requires endurance, providing an excellent cardio workout. At the same time, it provides a wonderful escape from busy lives. Kathy L’Hommedieu, a coach at GMS Rowing Center summed it up beautifully. “I row my single through the gorge and enter a paradise of peace and beauty. The only sounds I hear are my blades gently entering the water as I strive for a perfect stroke over and over again.” 
Head of Charles Regatta, Cambridge, MA. Photo by Scott WoolwineA perfect stroke means the blades of the oars enter the water without a sound or a splash. It is also defined by the rower’s body—his arms, legs and back—acting in perfect harmony. In team boats, the challenge is to attain that harmony with your teammate(s). It is that very quest of mastering the perfect stroke that has kept many rowers very dedicated and committed to the sport for life, even into their 80s and 90s. Whether a child or an adult, the pursuit of this can become an obsession. And it’s not a bad obsession to have. Not bad at all. |
Sweep or Scull? You’ll inevitably hear two different terms when it comes to rowing—sculling and sweep rowing. Sculling is when the rower has two oars. You can scull in a single, with a partner in a double, in a quad with three other people, or even in an octuple with a total of eight oarspeople. Sweep boats are vessels in which each rower has one oar. These boats are propelled by two rowers (a pair), four rowers (a four) or eight rowers (an eight). When there are four or more rowers, there is often a coxswain’s seat at the bow or stern. The coxswain is responsible for keeping the course and the workout plans. |
Many of the youth programs (which are for kids ages 12 and up) are so popular that parents are rushing to sign up months in advance for after-school as well as summer camp sessions. Through these programs, students develop their strength as well as the ability to work together as a team. They learn the skills of the sport and also other important lessons about relying on one another and having patience and perseverance. On top of that, they have a lot of fun. 
