DAN'S PAPERS, July 4, 2008 Page 177 www.danshamptons.com
Sports/Outdoors
Current
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athletes alike. Just because they are in the beginning stage, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t learn the thrill of what it is like to power a boat in sync with others, flying across the top of the water on a flat day in Sag Harbor. The Sag Harbor Community Rowing Club offers rowing to its members any time of day. Of course, in the collegiate rowing tradition, the Sag Harbor Community Rowing Club has no problem getting up before 7 a.m. to row. Lee Oldak is sticking to his, “If you build it, they will come,” motto. When you are out in Sag Harbor on a skull or crew boat, developing that connection to the water that so many of us seek happens nearly instantaneously. Rowing is a graceful sport and, like any-
thing, if you want to get good at it, you really have to work at it. The first time you step out onto a skull, you are going to find it a bit awkward. Like kayaks, crew boats can tip over easily. Unlike kayaks, however, it’s the importance of centering the boat that allows it to gain any type of power or speed. Because balance is so incredibly difficult to attain, but also so crucial, rowing can feel very much like surfing because there is a moment where you completely break through all of its difficulties and can simply dance with the water. Sag Harbor Community Rowing was able to start up because people out on the East End of Long Island understand the importance of contributing some of their hard earned money for valuable causes. Because of Bettina Stelle, the
EAST END MOTORSPORTS
rowing club now has a brand-new quad that is named after her father Thomas Keller, the president of FISA, which is the governing board for international rowing. Nancy Newman and Ray Pride donated a single rowing shell, East End rowing has donated an eight and a quad, and the International Recreation and Open Water Rowing Association has donated two pairs. I highly recommend you give rowing in Sag Harbor a try. I rowed in college, and it changed my life when it comes to my abilities in physical fitness. You can join the club for just $250 a year. If you have kids interested in rowing, you can enroll them in their rowing camp, which starts on July 7. Get out there and row! Visit rowsagharbor.org for more information.
625 County Road 39A Southampton
287-6085
631
1145774
1141985
eastendmotorsports.com