And now, the results! We had 19 people in boats, either the single or with an experienced rower in the double. Several more tried the erg. And the grand prize - 6 people signed up for more rowing! Time will tell how it all shakes out, but it' s always a boost to see people enjoy learning to row.
Bob Sharkey took several people out in the double. We lost Bob to an MTU football game at noon, so Kirsten took people out after that; I coached people in the single. People had a great time. I heard from people "I never realized how complex it is!" "Not so hard if I take it one stroke at a time" "It looks so elegant" "The most important part is your brain" "Its fast!" Everybody stayed upright, nobody fell in. One bystander thought he had seen the double capsize, but it was only a couple of guys from the MTU Nordic Ski Team coming in from a swim.
The weather was perfect. Jim Tervo (thanks, Jim!) gave us a perfect spot near the water with plenty of room to set up boats. I never got over to see music, dancing and other French-Canadian stuff. Kirsten did get over and score us some pork pie and a mixture of french fries, cheese curds and brown gravy (I forget the name.) Promting one observer's pithy remark, "that explains the apparent absence of French-Canadians." ;^)
The Adventure Day had logging stuff, including axe throwing; Cross Country Sports with mountain bikes (Kirsten and I both tried the 69er with a bigger front wheel;) Downwind Sports with Kayaks (Kirsten and I both went Kayaking. "pohh - Luke, feel the power of the Dark Side - pohhhh" ;^)) And of course, us (lots of rowing.)
Perhaps we might get more people if we do this again next year. Many folks got a good chance to try rowing, though. All in all it was a great day!
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