Season Opener for Distance Rowers
Story by Carrie-Ann M.
Nineteen Hanlan scullers from the coastal rowing/distance group headed for Welland on Sunday May 4. Their hopes were high that Mother Nature would welcome them with some sunshine and calm waters for the 2014 Banana Belt Tour. Hanlan members were eager to get on the water; for some it was their first row of what has been a particularly cold, windy and late spring.
Rigging was done in a beautiful space where a large dock proved convenient for launching on the 15-kilometre course. In all, there were about 35 participants. Coincidentally the Tour rowed alongside Upper Canada College crews (one of Hanlan’s resident clubs) who were there for a training session. Everyone had a great row and smiles were the order of the day. My mom was experimenting with the video feature on my camera and she
managed to capture a quad led by Eric Hall and some ladies making the smoothest docking I’ve ever seen!
The water was very chilly that day, numbing fingertips almost instantly. But the anticipation of grabbing the oars and digging in outweighed the fear of the cold water beneath us.