Adam Kreek here.
Yesterday, I woke up at 4 am to go on an adventure with a bunch of my friends at the Whitehall Spirit Rowing Club. We have white, slide seat rowing boats that have a copolymer thermoformed plastic hull made to look like the old whitehall boats rowed on the river Thames in London England.
We rowed out into the dark night, awed by the neon green phosphorescence that lit the water as our oars and hulls cut through the water. It was beautiful. Two “Tango” whitehall shells. Myself and Andrea in one, and Dianna and Sarah in the second.
To be safe we were accompanied by the trimaran Physis (seen at the bottom of the post), captained by Harold Aune and his longtime partner Mea Hutchins. Both are owners of Whitehall Rowing and Sail. Jan, a whitehall rowing club member was also on board Physis.
Just past halfway into the 16.7 mile row, we were in fog, 20 knot winds and 6 foot swells. For safety reasons, we had to turn around. The weather combined with inexperienced oarspeople and poor clothing choices to cut our row short.
Because it was Sarah’s first time in big swells, she did not feel comfortable. This is a good sign to turn your adventure around. Sarah and Diana pulled their boat out of the water onto the deck of Physis. Andrea and I kept going for 45 more minutes. However, Andrea was wearing lycra spandex and a thin top. As the waves crested and soaked us both, I could hear that the swear words and chattering teeth from my bow woman were only getting worse.
We should have had warmer gear on board because we were getting splashed bigtime. I was wearing a merino wool top, which kept me warm in the wet. Another suggestion would be a dryfit top to keep in the body heat.
I had a track & field coach in highschool who always said “You cant put on what you dont have.” This is a lesson for coastal rowing adventure. Be prepared for the various microclimates that exist on the open water.
We returned from cold foggy, wet, windy ocean to the harbour in Victoria BC. It was warm, sunny and calm. Go figure. Be prepared for Neptune and Mother Nature. Pack for the worst, expect the best.
Great description and report … We almost did the row three weeks ago but canceled due to a Gale Warning … That morning it was much flatter wave wise … C’est la vie … I
Andrea and Adam: Good for you! I was thinking of both of you during my creampuff row out here on Richardson Bay this a.m.in my beloved Whitehall. I am in awe of your courage. Ann
HA great story ,strength and honor on the seas…..had a similar experience may 22 23 1984.sailing a 53 gulfstar from cozumel back to new orleans .after 3days of sunny 20 knot breezes,multiple visits from sea mammals and only 100 miles from the north pass of the Mississippi, something happened. 36 hours later no power,sails or rigging and still 100 miles out our respect for mother nature had matured.the vessel was taking on water while the sea anchor labored to keep us pointed.an oil rig worker recognized our situation and from the heavens came the sound of new life,the basket was lowered 8 times and 45 min later we were taking warm vertigo showers……jd
What a story, Jonathan! Did you learn anything from your rescue experience that we can use when we hit high waves?
Glad to hear you are adventuring in your whitehall, Anne!! An adventure is an adventure is an adventure. It important to just get out there.
In my original post, I called the whitehall rowing shells a dory. But these boats are not dorys. Take a look at the difference between a dory and a whitehall:
http://www.whitehallrow.com/faq/index.php#dory