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Congratulations to all of us who made it through 2009!!! Happy New Year 20102010 feels like one of those momentous times when you know things are changing for the better, you’re just not sure when or even how. We all have our dreams and here at Whitehall we’d like to see you realize as many of those dreams as possible in the coming year. Let’s do more of the things we know will make a difference for the good of the planet, including sharing the fun of getting out in nature rowing and sailing. It’s almost impossible not to feel good just knowing 2009 is gone isn’t it? Those of you who bought your Whitehall Spirit rowing/sailing boats in 2009 almost deserve an award for courage. Thank you for helping us to have a good year here. It wasn’t the most profitable of years and that is okay by us because we’re still moving, even if it is with smaller steps. Many businesses simply didn’t make it through the year and for most of us there is still a lot of work to do ahead to make up for our losses. Yet for us here at Whitehall good things have still been possible. We are feeling optimism. We are feeling immense gratitude too. Somehow when times are this difficult, the support received from so many, even in smaller ways, is felt more intensely. Tango 17™ Launch coming soon! The biggest accomplishment against all economic odds is the upcoming launch of our new model the Tango 17™. It’s been three years in the design and development stage, while the fates and fortunes of the world economy and the rising costs of prototype development buffeted us like some kind of relentless storm. We persevered and we’re glad we did. Hundreds of thousands of dollars later, we can say that this new model is everything we wanted and more. This boat, which is in many ways nearly identical to our classic fiberglass and teak model but at less than half the price, will be greatly loved by bringing many couples and friends the added joys of rowing together, while exploring their local waterways, staying more youthful and fit. Costs have risen all around, just as they did when we built the first Solo 14. Our 2006 dream of a boat that would be lighter, stronger and very easily maintained, which would also help keep its owner lighter, fitter, stronger and happier, came true in 2007. Though we had hoped to also keep the base price of the Solo 14™ about a thousand dollars lower, we simply could not get it there without compromising on the basic quality and gear we included in the boat . The boat needed to be tough enough to stand up to hard usage and withstand the major forces placed on the hull by the constant motion of the slide seat’s movement combined with the 9’6” sculling oars pulling on the outriggers. Three years later the several hundred happy owners of the Solo 14 have confirmed that we did achieve our goal and that the boat is definitely worth the price. See the Solo 14 loveletters… Happy New Years E-card from the Sunshine CoastBert Reeve, owner of a Whitehall Spirit 14 Classic slide seat model since 1998 sent his second annual E-card featuring his boat decked in the white stuff. It does look very pretty though more impressive is that his last row of 2009 was his one hundred and thirteenth row of the year. Not bad for a 73 year old! Bert tells us that rowing saved his life by being a way for him to keep fit when his knees gave up and he could no longer engage in his other favorite activities. Hello Marie and Harold: “Not so much ice as last year and some nice quiet winter days. I hope that your boats will be flying out the door and onto the water in 2010.” - Bert Reeve See you at the Seattle Boat Show?It’s a little shorter in length this year, Friday January 29th through to Saturday, February 6th, but this will be a very good show and we hope to see you there. This time we’ll be in the West Hall along the south wall at display # 9 straight in from the main entrance. At the show we’ll have a fully rigged Whitehall Spirit® 17 Expedition model and a Tyee Spirit 14 Sail plus other classics. Also you can see and touch the thermoformed Solo 14™ and the brand new Tango 17™, the world’s first thermoformed double.Special Introductory Offer for the January boat show month! The first 25 people to order the new Tango 17™ will receive $1000.00 of top quality Dreher sculling oars with the boat. See it at http://www.whitehallsolo.com/tango/about-tango Commonly asked question: Why do Whitehall Spirit® boats cost more?As you can imagine we hear a lot of price resistance from boat shoppers who want to know why our boats cost what they do. 2009 was a year for even more of the above but after building over two thousand Whitehall Spirit® classics we know a thing or two about what we do and why we do it our way.In 1987 when we decided to dedicate our resources and concentrate on building the Whitehall Spirit® Rowing and Sailing boats, we made a commitment to make them the best in design, quality, strength, beauty and longevity. We put the kind of detailing into the boats that people received at the turn of the last century when the world was still oriented to fitting things out carefully. Good carrying capacity, top rowing performance, seaworthiness and a yacht quality, furniture finish is our standard for these boats. It’s why our boats come with many more features as basic items than our competitors’ boats, for starters. Most of the items we know will be needed for the boat to operate effectively are included in the base price, except when there would be a choice of several solutions such as in the case of oars. It’s also why the boats are a little fuller in the beam with higher freeboard. They handle choppy or rough wave conditions superbly well. We know that many people will likely never get the opportunity to actually see one of our boats before ordering one. It’s totally important to provide them with as much information as possible on how the boats are built and what comes with the boat. After putting together the first full color 40 page catalog in 1993 we built a major website that grew over the years to contain hundreds of pages of information including articles and many submissions from owners. (see the loveletters?) The Internet made it possible to reach thousands more people. And we’re very grateful so many put their trust in us over the years by ordering boats. So one of our goals in 2010 is to build some comparison sheets for people as a resource. See the first one at the following link….. it compares the new thermoformed models with a fiberglass slide seat classic model currently available from a US based company. Sometimes an older Whitehall Spirit® classic comes up for sale that is a very good deal but most of the time these boats sell for as much or more than when they were originally purchased. That’s proof of superior quality and that’s what it’s all about. Doc Side – by Dr. Jonathan Degnan My dear fellow Whitehall Rowers We will discuss shoulders, mental health, and rowing, not in any related order. Your shoulder is not stable; try to balance a cue ball on a quarter, that is your shoulder without a rotator cuff. Now add a fishnet over the ball and the balance is simple. The stability of the rotator cuff is the net. Most exercises compress and challenge the cue ball/quarter causing instability. Rowing is a tension stretch of the rotator cuff thus strengthening and stabilizing the shoulder. Rowing is made to make the shoulder live happily ever after. Mental health and stress cannot be mentioned in the same sentence because of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol allowed cave man to survive (and modern man to take pills). Rowing is a 99% stress free, harmonious, total body exercise including cardio and strength. It would be 100% if not for the 80mph Tennessee bass boaters closing on your transom in a blink of the eye. So, I recommend that you row with all the positive effects of cortisol free living when others are not speedboat fishing. Next time we will discuss endorphins and exercise and peace within. Strength and honor Dr. D. Send along any questions you have to Dr. Degnan at DrJD@whitehallrow.com We look forward to hearing from any or all of you with stories, questions or to book your orders for a spring delivery. The next truck leaves the third week of February. All the best in 2010! |
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